Photo © Steven Lee 2011

The Malecon intrigued me somewhat, after seeing many photographs by well-known photographers in the past, and now that I was finally arriving on this ‘hallowed’ stretch of concrete I was excitedly keen to make some images that, for a first visit, meant something greater for me than mere snaps.

It was during a drive-by the previous Saturday evening in a Cubataxi, one of the yellow Lada-state taxis, that I noticed the amazing night scenes along the  seawall, with literally thousands of Cubanos mingling, chatting and perching on the walls late at night. I saw young teens, older locals, families with their kids, people swigging and sipping rum from bottles, playing guitars, stalls selling snacks and of course the ever watchful Havana policemen and women, who do such a great job in keeping the peace, thus there are hardly any reported thefts, robberies or crime.

This Saturday night, we cruised the Malecon in a clapped out faded pink 1950’s Ford. Our driver, a huge beefcake of a man, found a convenient spot to drop us off as we promised to return in 30 minutes or face long walk back to the hotel.

The 6 of us headed off and along the Malecon, split up into ones and twos shooting our own series. I shot with a compact Fujifilm X100, which I had been using practically the entire trip, with the ISO cranked up to 400 and using the built-in flash. I also shot stealthily in available light at ISO3600 in a few instances, when I needed to preserve the moment.

Here’s my take..

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

CRUISING THE MALECON by Steven Lee