Issue 77 of my fabulous photography magazine is hot off the digital presses (via email). I came back from trips to two very different cities and feature many urban landscapes. The issue’s travel section does a deep dive into Montreal. I’ve bought a new lens after selling a bunch of cameras and lenses as I attempt to scale down. As I discuss, I’m basically replacing the old, less expensive stuff with fancier gear. I also took my first step into a new hobby that other photographers might find interesting. Sign up for the free magazine to get the next issue and all the previous issues.

I mentioned in a previous post how the El Floridita had a fantastic vibe. The interior had a classic look, but a big part of it was the live music. I’m not knowledgeable enough to identify that style of music or remember it, but imagine a percussive, cheerful island beat.

Combine the relaxed atmosphere, great ambiance, flowing frozen daiquiris, and add the music, and you can imagine the attraction. Once they started playing, I got up and shot close at 24mm.

To give context, this was the perspective from the middle of the room. The folks in the foreground didn’t look particularly excited. Maybe they are locals and are used to this. It was great fun for the tourists, however.

This lovely couple by the bar started dancing in the middle of the performance. I wasn’t positioned well to get a good shot of that action. And it wouldn’t have been challenging given the low-light conditions. Though the exposures look bright in these pictures, this bar shot was at ISO 12,800. I only had an f2.8 lens, which hampered things.

I got another shot of the musicians as we were leaving. The entire experience was memorable. One of many during my trip to Havana.

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