To stop the world

Avenida Zanja 7.30 local time, Cuba.

There are the beautiful beaches, the music, the dance, the cheerful people, the nature, the historical center, Varadero, the 5 stars Hotels and I… am sitting on a little narrow step in front of Avenida Zanja, one of the main streets of central Havana.

But the centre of my attention is into shooting… it’s the scam of digital era… a little bit like playing chess, if you don’t know in advance the move of the other you will never win. Now I’m still, I’m observing. An homage to my friend and artist Hans.

I shoot at what is moving, but if you don’t shoot in advance you only find a car exhaust. Digital, sounds like quick and precise. Nikon sounds like Mercedes. Varadero like paradise… but it’s all relative.

Here, sitting on the step all is relative. In Avenida Zanja the world is passingby but I’m only thinking about the moment just before the pray will come into the viewfinder, and that is the moment when I have to shoot. It’s a calculation between digital slowness and subject speed, distance and light. No, I’m not a photographer, all I need is a means to stop the world.

Michele Fiore