Earlier this year Lisa Shires traveled to Cuba with fellow photographer Alison Harbaugh to complete a photography project she’d planned for months. Once there, she realized that the logistical challenges of working in a developing country were too much for her original plan, so did what many photographers are forced to do: make something happen. The result is a beautiful series of images of the people she met in Havana. Shires presents her subjects in a vibrant, personal way.
Artist Spotlight: Pablo Benavente
In Artist Spotlight, we occasionally ask photographers to tell us in their own words about their work and how they challenge themselves. Today’s Spotlight is by Pablo Benavente.
– “These people come here to take our jobs, man.”
That’s what the guy on the street said to my coworker. Perhaps he thought that I was just another Latino that didn’t speak English, or perhaps he didn’t care.
Like many of you, I started in photography by taking photos of monuments, the zoo, parades, and sometimes friends and family. I shot using different styles, settings, reflections, sunsets, moon rises, filters, etc. As I learned and practiced, I started getting offers to do professional gigs like weddings, events which I still do. But inevitably, when you’ve tried many things, there’s a point at which you ask yourself: “Now what?”