Next Time You Lament Not Having A Piece Of Equipment

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I'm an amateur photographer with a good job, a great wife, and no kids. I should save more money than I do, but I love stuff, and I'm really bad at denying myself a toy when I have a serious urge to try something. After reading this, I'm thinking that I need to replace my passion for gear with a passion for using what I have to its highest advantage. And if you think you are already, I'm guessing you'll re-evaluate that after reading this...

DEDPXL Dispatch :: Cuba · DEDPXL
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
Wow... Thanks for sharing that, Jake. For one thing, it serves as a reminder of how lucky (and spoiled) many of us are without even realizing it. Then, it inspires me to push myself instead of just dabble as I wish for newer/better/greater or simply just more.

NAS will still be there, I'm sure, but now the PFA (Passion For the ART) is overriding it for a while.
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Thanks for posting this link Jake. We seem to forget what Life is about with our constant search for the sharper lens & body combination.
 

sonicbuffalo_RIP

Senior Member
....and if you think the people in Cuba have it bad, try Haiti. They are the poorest country in the hemisphere, if not the world. They have endured the devastating earthquake a few years ago and the Hurricane(s) before and after. They make do with NOTHING.
 

snaphappy

Senior Member
Very interesting read and humbling to be reminded how fortunate I am to be able to do this purely for hobby. It is quite amazing what we as humans can come with and make work when we have very little. I think that is where great creativity is found. Yes very humbling
 

Englischdude

Senior Member
thanks so much for the post Jake, I can totally relate to this. My job requires me to travel alot through the backwoods of eastern europe. I can tell you, it always puts my problems in perspective after ive driven through rural bulgaria and seen how happy the villagers are with practically nothing of material value. That my geox shoes dont shine as much as they used to and the tiny spot of rust on the fender of the car, remind me now how lucky I am to have a) have geox shoes that dont shine and b) a car to go rusty!
 

Phillydog1958

Senior Member
Nice article, but the truth be told, we need to adjust our focus and look at this from a different angle. Life in Cuba is hard. Life in any economically-depressed nation that struggles under the leadership of a pseudo-Marxist regime is tough. The sad thing is that if it were not for the Cuban revolution and Fidel Castro, Cuba would be a major player in the tourist industry and would be more than just another Banana Republic/Third World nation. Many of us would be basking in the sunshine of a Havana beach, sipping Cuban rum. Politics . . .
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Nice article, but the truth be told, we need to adjust our focus and look at this from a different angle. Life in Cuba is hard. Life in any economically-depressed nation that struggles under the leadership of a pseudo-Marxist regime is tough. The sad thing is that if it were not for the Cuban revolution and Fidel Castro, Cuba would be a major player in the tourist industry and would be more than just another Banana Republic/Third World nation. Many of us would be basking in the sunshine of a Havana beach, sipping Cuban rum. Politics . . .

While I don't discount your points at all, I don't think we need to adjust our focus at all. It's not about politics, and I have no desire to turn this into a political debate. You could set this any place in the world where art grows out of poverty and need in the midst of political oppression and find an example to learn from. The thought that, "Many of us would be basking in the sunshine of a Havana beach, sipping Cuban rum.", validates the very attitude I find troubling in myself - that because of my level of disposable income I'm happy to replace and consume with little thought to what I have already and what I can do with it.

While I mourn the struggle of the Cuban people, I admire their spirit. Through music and the arts I have made many friends who have escaped the land of their oppression with the creative spirit born of it intact, and they are a powerful force. My own immediate ancestors struggled under oppression in the Soviet Union, being labeled as Kulaks, having the land originally given to them by the government stripped away by the same as they were marched off to Siberia. The world is a nasty place, but much greatness rises from that oppression. We who live largely in comfort have a lot to learn from that, because it may not always be like this.
 

sonicbuffalo_RIP

Senior Member
Jake....I have traveled most Eastern and Southern Caribbean islands. There is a lot of poor people in those countries. I respect your post, but the one thing that grabbed me was that in the end, the blogger presented a link to a photography safari in Cuba. He was doing his best, by the general deameanor of the article, to tell how the Cuban artists are overcoming all obstacles, like holding up a non compatable lens to a camera body, as an example, to then at the end, holding up a sale sign advertising a photo outting. I just didn't like that he was using the article to entice photographers to sign up to "see Cuba" in person.

Other than that, and I can see beyond the money aspects of the article, it was a great write up as to the dealings of the poor in Cuba. By our standards though, Cuba is rich compared to Haiti.
 

Phillydog1958

Senior Member
I don't want to start a political debate either. It's just that I have several Cuban friends whom I know would want me to remind readers of their struggle and plight as well as how it came to be. Also, I don't think tourism is the sole savior of the Cuban economy, but there were BIG plans for Cuba, due it's close proximity to the Miami. Casinos, hotels and all of the other benefits of tourism would be available. Certain segments of US organized crime was in Cuba, just as they were in Vegas. The Batista Revolution ended those plans. The nation would be better off. Let's not forget about US embargoes that have been placed on Cuba.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Jake....I have traveled most Eastern and Southern Caribbean islands. There is a lot of poor people in those countries. I respect your post, but the one thing that grabbed me was that in the end, the blogger presented a link to a photography safari in Cuba. He was doing his best, by the general deameanor of the article, to tell how the Cuban artists are overcoming all obstacles, like holding up a non compatable lens to a camera body, as an example, to then at the end, holding up a sale sign advertising a photo outting. I just didn't like that he was using the article to entice photographers to sign up to "see Cuba" in person.

Other than that, and I can see beyond the money aspects of the article, it was a great write up as to the dealings of the poor in Cuba. By our standards though, Cuba is rich compared to Haiti.

While it's hard not to see something like that and think of the old mutual back-scratching that goes on in the internet community (bring me to Cuba and I'll promote your photo safaris), the one thing that I'll give Zack a pass on here is that there aren't a lot of ways for anyone who wants to see Cuba to get in other than tours like this. Personally, I clicked the link because it was one of the first times I'd been presented a way for me to go see a land I would love to see. If he gets a cut, so be it, but having read a lot of Zack's stuff I have to believe the emotion is genuine and the link was for the very purpose I'd have wanted it - to let folks know how to get there rather than getting flooded with emails asking just that question. There are thousands of places to see that you can go to on your own, so when I see guys promoting "Photograph Yellowstone", "Journey to Ireland" and things like that I feel the same way you did. But not this time.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
This article reminds me of one community which makes musical instruments out of trash. It's really nice to see people think enough of the arts to work so hard to create what so many of us take for granted.

 

oldhippy

Senior Member
Nice article, but the truth be told, we need to adjust our focus and look at this from a different angle. Life in Cuba is hard. Life in any economically-depressed nation that struggles under the leadership of a pseudo-Marxist regime is tough. The sad thing is that if it were not for the Cuban revolution and Fidel Castro, Cuba would be a major player in the tourist industry and would be more than just another Banana Republic/Third World nation. Many of us would be basking in the sunshine of a Havana beach, sipping Cuban rum. Politics . . .
Sorry but had not Fidel stepped in, Cuba would have been still run by big money and American gangsters. The Cuban people were oppressed and almost inslaved to put money in the rich American corporations. The Cuban people have been deprived by the blockade, set up by capitalist intrest. Yes we could back on their beaches, or should I say our beaches. Ed
 

Phillydog1958

Senior Member
Hey, I agree with you Oldhippy. I posted some of what you just posted, previously. I sort of feel that we're on the same sheet of music. I just feel that Cuba probably would be a lot better off than it is today. We have no way of knowing which system would be best for Cuban people, but capitalism along with ALL of it's corruption, would be my first choice. Karl Marx would frown upon what is perceived to be "Communism," today. I don't want you guys to think that I play the Devil's Advocate just for the sake of doing it. I don't mean to be offensive or argumentative. It's just that I have a newspaper background and I strongly believe in the notion that newspapers are the watchdog of society. Many of my former newspaper colleagues often brag and boast of having ink in their veins. They're dedicated to their craft. Newspapers were created to protect the common man. Ben Franklin understood the need to have a voice for the people. The first newspapers were that voice. We know that "Big Business" and government will err and not always do what's right for the people. I'm trained to think beyond what's on the surface. I am critical but openminded. I just felt that the author could've given a brief, 2-sentence recap of what has happened in Cuba. Why? Because many don't know. I hate for people to draw conclusions without having some of the background facts. We all have our pre-conceived, ethnocentric notions of the things that we are not very familiar with. That's often dangerous and divisive. I understand that the author isn't a journalist, but rather a photog. I do have an appreciation for the article being posted (Many thanks to Jake), because it does provoke thought beyond our daily routine of thinking. That's always a good thing.
 
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