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Existing where the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico meet the Atlantic Ocean, the Republic of Cuba is a timeworn yet undeniably magical country. President Barack Obama’s administration successfully loosened restrictions for Americans traveling to Cuba, ending a 54-year stretch of hostility between the nations.
Aspen-based photographers Chris Council and Emily Chaplin of C2 Photography joined the travel boom and jet-set off to this beautiful country to photograph an editorial travel assignment for a magazine client who they had worked with previously. C2 photography’s goal was to create still images and video that captured the experience of traveling to Cuba on a “people-to-people” exchange trip. As a result, they needed to capture the beauty of the place. However, it was essential that Chris and Emily also got up close and personal and photograph the Cuban people as they work and live.
The project was assigned to the duo with short-notice, so there wasn’t much time for pre-production planning. Fortunately, the writer had already visited the country and had a full working draft of his piece. From discussions with him, the magazine editor and art team, Emily and Chris were able to compile an extensive shot list to cover all bases, with the understanding that some shots might not be feasible given circumstances on the ground.
Chris and Emily were completely on their own on the ground in Cuba and had to make all contacts and arrangements themselves, turning out to be their biggest challenge. Because they both speak Spanish, this was ultimately the key to their success.
We knew the language, which enabled us to get around easily and get granted access to certain shots that we probably couldn’t have obtained otherwise.
In response to the boom in demand following the Obama administration’s actions to loosen restrictions in Cuba, every hotel room in Havana was already booked during Chris and Emily’s stay. Thankfully, Airbnb came to the rescue. They had just started serving Cuba prior to their trip and still had enough selection available to make finding affordable and convenient accommodations possible.
C2 Photography’s client was thrilled with the images and video they captured.
Many magazines turn to stock imagery these days, but our client placed a high value on having original, unique content to entice their readers. It elevated the quality of the magazine and also spoke specifically to the storyline of the written piece.
Chris and Emily loved exploring the rural area of Pinar del Rio province. Their favorite experience was an impromptu encounter: their taxi driver pulled over along the highway when they saw a tobacco house that they wanted to photograph. They ended up walking over to the house and entering with his help and found four women at work stringing tobacco leaves. The women graciously allowed them to photograph them as they worked.
Chris and Emily also hope to return to Cuba in the future for new clients and plan to explore even more of the country.
See more of Chris and Emily at c2-photography.com.