It was such a pleasure having Sandra and her husband join us on one of our Cuba Photo Adventures. But before coming to Cuba, Sandra made it a point to spend some time with us in New York learning the basics of photography and some of the advanced features of her Canon DSLR. The two most impressive things about Sandra (besides being such a lovely person), is her “drive” to figure it out no matter how long it takes, and the “tenacity” she puts into every creative idea that comes to her mind. Wait… there’s a third! And that would be the wonderful excitement and passion she applies to her hobby. As we began to explore the streets in Havana we watched her carefully craft her shots, concentrating mainly on composition and exposure. Using an all-in-one kit lens, she did the best she could considering the inherent limitations of the lens. We always enjoy seeing our guests spread their wings and get excited. As we photographed from morning to night, it was clear she was hunting for that one great photo. BTW, in Cuba there is no such thing as just one. It’s usually dozens. After spending over an hour at the boxing gym, we had a feeling their was a championship photo taken, based on Sandra’s excitement. Sure enough, we were right. “The Boxer” as showcased below, has been exhibited numerous times since. Sandra, we are so happy to have helped inspire you and we continue to admire your work and passion. Thank you.

I came away from my Photo Workshop Adventure to Cuba with thousands of photographs. I loved some, liked many, and had a fair number of fuzzy, out-of-focus, shaky tripod shots – but Michael Chinnici wisely pointed out to me that Ansel Adams said he was happy if he loved one in a thousand of his photographs.

This image of The Boxer was the one that I loved. I had watched this young man train in the ring for a while, but now he was out of breath from sparring, the sweat glistened on his body, and the angle of his head questioned if he could go the distance. To me, his story had to be viewed in black and white. In the three years since the Photo Workshop Adventure crew ignited my passion to pursue photography I’ve been fortunate enough to show and exhibit my work, including this image. Living in New York City I have ample opportunity to wander the streets with my camera (now a Fuji XT2) and I am still seeking out the people with interesting stories. On to the next one in a thousand… (see more photos below).

ABOUT SANDRA

I’m a New Yorker by way of Memphis, TN. When I came to Manhattan in 1970, photography wasn’t my focus. I came to study opera, but ultimately found I was never going to make the Metropolitan, so I moved on to the business world where I spent the next 20 years (and where I had the good fortune to meet and work with Michael Chinnici!) For the last 10 years I’ve been able to indulge my passion for photography. I’ve studied at the International Center for Photography, and my husband and I have traveled extensively. I’m now fully focused on my camera and what’s in front of me.

A CONVERSATION WITH SANDRA