Street Photography in Havana

Old Havana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site packed with colonial squares and cobbled lanes. It is also where most visitors go. Walk it in the morning, when light is soft and the streets are calm. Obispo Street and the main plazas are busiest. Matt, of Street with Matt, found the southern part of the old town, around Calle Habana, just as beautiful with far fewer tourists. Frame people in doorways and under balconies, with a colored wall behind them. Caution: women dressed up with big cigars and Fidel look-alikes pose for money. Pay if you shoot them.

The Malecón is a seawall and road that runs for miles along the coast, from Old Havana west to Vedado. In the afternoon and at sunset it fills with fishermen, couples, musicians and friends sitting on the wall. Warm light hits their faces from the west. Shoot along the wall for layers of people, or put the crumbling facades behind a figure. In winter, cold fronts can throw waves over the wall, with kids dodging the spray. Caution: sit on the wall with locals at sunset, but keep your camera strap on near the water.

Centro starts just behind the Capitolio and is the most densely populated part of the city. It has the same old buildings as Habana Vieja, with less polish and far fewer tourists. Doors stay open, and neighbors talk from balcony to street. Matt picks out Calle Lagunas and Calle Animas, just inland from the Malecón, as his favorite streets. Barrio Chino is nearby too. Mid morning and late afternoon give the best light down the narrow streets. Caution: people here are more alert to cameras, so shoot quickly or say hello first.

Vedado lies west of Centro and was the playground of the 1950s casino era. It feels more affluent, with wide, tree lined avenues. Walk Calle 23, known as La Rampa, down toward the Hotel Nacional. Avenida de los Presidentes has benches and a strip of park where young people gather in the evening. Afternoon light through the trees is soft. Frame a classic car against a modernist building, or catch the evening crowd on the avenue. Caution: stay on lit main streets during blackouts, when whole blocks go dark.

The square itself is a big, empty grey space. The famous steel outlines of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos cover two government buildings, and the José Martí memorial tower stands opposite. It comes alive for big events such as the May Day rally. On normal days the better work is in the streets nearby and around Estadio Latinoamericano, the baseball stadium, when there is a game. Shoot the square wide to show a lone figure against the scale. Caution: these are government buildings. Don't photograph guards or police, and move on if asked.

A short ferry from Old Havana takes you across the bay to Regla, a quiet working town known for Santería. The ferry itself is the first subject, with commuters and their bikes packed on deck. In Regla the streets are calmer, with a blue collar feel and few tourists. The church of the Virgin of Regla sits near the dock and draws worshippers dressed in white. Go in the morning. Caution: it is illegal to photograph harbours in Cuba, so point the camera at people on the deck, not at the port. Expect a bag check before boarding.