DANCING THROUGH HAVANA
Time is precious. Use it wisely. Be spontaneous. Be creative.
A frequent traveller and enthusiastic people photographer, Helmut Püllmanns takes us with him yet again on one of his travels to Havana, Cuba. Last year, we already featured one of his shootings from Havana in our advent calendar and now we're lucky to present another shooting from Helmut in which he followed professional ballerina Claudia Garcia. Though not much time, the two succeeded in creating some outstanding magic that takes you from your screen right into the life of a Cuban ballerina.
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Please tell us a little bit about yourself to begin with. How old are you? Where were you born and where do you live now? What is your profession, and what do you do besides photography?
I was born in Krefeld on the Lower Rhine, then moved to Cologne and stayed there. I studied political science and sociology and education. At around 28, I came across an English company for loudspeakers by chance, whose owner impressed me very much personally. I then became self-employed as a consultant and advertising agency and continued in that job until the end of 2019.
Just around the time when photography became digital I had something like a 15-year "no-bucks" break. I never touched a camera and the films I still had occupied our freezer. At some point I sold all my gear (Leica, medium format) and the film materials (2 drawers in our freezer).
By chance I started again with a bridge camera. First only architecture, but I got bored quickly. So I got into people photography around 2012 - both portraits and street photography. At some point, I got my own studio of about 40 square square-meters with a beautiful, high ceiling. Unfortunately, it is rather useless at the moment because of the ongoing pandemic, but better times will surely come again! I partially photograph professionally and also "just for fun" (TFP). I take everything as it comes! After a long professional life, above all, photography should be fun!
I was born in Krefeld on the Lower Rhine, then moved to Cologne and stayed there. I studied political science and sociology and education. At around 28, I came across an English company for loudspeakers by chance, whose owner impressed me very much personally. I then became self-employed as a consultant and advertising agency and continued in that job until the end of 2019.
Just around the time when photography became digital I had something like a 15-year "no-bucks" break. I never touched a camera and the films I still had occupied our freezer. At some point I sold all my gear (Leica, medium format) and the film materials (2 drawers in our freezer).
By chance I started again with a bridge camera. First only architecture, but I got bored quickly. So I got into people photography around 2012 - both portraits and street photography. At some point, I got my own studio of about 40 square square-meters with a beautiful, high ceiling. Unfortunately, it is rather useless at the moment because of the ongoing pandemic, but better times will surely come again! I partially photograph professionally and also "just for fun" (TFP). I take everything as it comes! After a long professional life, above all, photography should be fun!
What inspired you to do this photo shoot?
Almost a year ago, I travelled to Cuba for the second time. I was particularly interested in the fantastic dancers of the Cuban ballet schools. Through various channels I got hold of some names and Claudia was one of the first to react. I only knew Claudia from a very few pictures, of ballet scenes in the streets of Havana. Absolutely mega! We first arranged to meet for a coffee in the hotel lobby to get to know each other.
Claudia arrived precisely on time - a young woman, very normal, modest and yet very determined and "to the point" in her manner. Only her gait revealed something of her profession: every step, every foot was deliberately placed. She had clicked through my flood of images beforehand. She liked the predominantly simple black and white pictures. A good basis!
It quickly became clear that Claudia has a tight schedule and is very meticulous in everything she does. There was nothing about "... ok, we'll meet there at ??? o'clock". No, our shoot had to fit in between her training sessions and performances. But hey! No problem, I had plenty of time!
The next day she had an hour to spare, so we decided on a first shoot in the hotel lobby. I tried to see Claudia not only as a dancer, but more the young woman in her. We had a lot of fun, so she immediately wanted to arrange a second and ... third ... shooting. Great!
#1 Lobby in the hotel
#2 Rooftop of the hotel
#3+4 Tabarish (Oldtown of Havanna)
Almost a year ago, I travelled to Cuba for the second time. I was particularly interested in the fantastic dancers of the Cuban ballet schools. Through various channels I got hold of some names and Claudia was one of the first to react. I only knew Claudia from a very few pictures, of ballet scenes in the streets of Havana. Absolutely mega! We first arranged to meet for a coffee in the hotel lobby to get to know each other.
Claudia arrived precisely on time - a young woman, very normal, modest and yet very determined and "to the point" in her manner. Only her gait revealed something of her profession: every step, every foot was deliberately placed. She had clicked through my flood of images beforehand. She liked the predominantly simple black and white pictures. A good basis!
It quickly became clear that Claudia has a tight schedule and is very meticulous in everything she does. There was nothing about "... ok, we'll meet there at ??? o'clock". No, our shoot had to fit in between her training sessions and performances. But hey! No problem, I had plenty of time!
The next day she had an hour to spare, so we decided on a first shoot in the hotel lobby. I tried to see Claudia not only as a dancer, but more the young woman in her. We had a lot of fun, so she immediately wanted to arrange a second and ... third ... shooting. Great!
#1 Lobby in the hotel
#2 Rooftop of the hotel
#3+4 Tabarish (Oldtown of Havanna)
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Tell us about the planning process of the shoot – e.g. how did you prepare?
No big preparations. Everything very spontaneous and improvised! #1 a flash with a 10 Euro go-through umbrella. The clothes were her clothes of the day, because it took place in a break of her ballet rehearsals!!! #2 a flash with the Roundflash Beauty-Dish. Besides the "normal" clothes, however, she brought a new (favourite) dress - bright yellow, which suited her great #3 the yellow dress and also something more casual, where she could also show some ballet poses. A lot of available light, otherwise again a flash with the white transmitted light umbrella, either bounced directly or over the ceiling. How and why did you choose this exact location? For #1 and #2, the locations were determined by the limited time Claudia had "in between" her daily work. The BNC theatre was located diagonally opposite to the hotel (short walk), so we just stayed in the hotel. For #3 I had planned this a little bit days before, because my wife and I always went there for a snack and drinks several evenings. Then we asked if we could shoot there while it was open ... no problem at all! What camera equipment and which camera settings did you use on this shoot? Feel free to name settings and equipment for the different photos if you like! All pictures of the 3 shootings with a Fujifilm medium format GFX-50R and the 63mm/2.8 (approx. 50mm 35mm format). Great piece of equipment even if the AF wasn't always fast enough! Otherwise a Godox AD200 + cheap, white go-through umbrella or "Roundflash Beauty Dish 45cm". How did you set up the lighting – e.g. did you only use natural light or any artificial light, and if so, what lighting equipment did you use? See under /5/ ... a lot of Available Light, the AD200 was mounted on a simple tripod, held by my wife. |
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We realise that our questions may not cover everything you would like to talk about so please feel free to add anything you think, or feel is important to you as a person or your work.
Well, of course you can answer such an open question for hours ... no, not here and now ...
In general, however, I come more from the street or snapshot photography. It's hard for me to think ahead and "set up" a picture/model on spot ... many things just turn out that way by luck.
In people photography, the person/model is always the focus for me - they are all somehow always beautiful and interesting. I enjoy finding that out. And when the basic "chemistry" is right, it often results in very authentic pictures. - In this sense I have copied (stolen) a lot from Peter Lindbergh ...
During the shoot I am very quick in taking my shots, often chaotic and rather emotional. I have learnt that if I start thinking, even more so according to the "textbook", nothing comes of it. If I miss the decisive moment, it would annoy me afterwards, because this part of a second is gone in the next moment - forever ... It's just those few moments and the one picture that remains in our memory forever ... But the other side of the medal is that I produce a lot of waste and not always the "most beautiful" pictures come out ... But so far nobody has complained ... :)
Well, of course you can answer such an open question for hours ... no, not here and now ...
In general, however, I come more from the street or snapshot photography. It's hard for me to think ahead and "set up" a picture/model on spot ... many things just turn out that way by luck.
In people photography, the person/model is always the focus for me - they are all somehow always beautiful and interesting. I enjoy finding that out. And when the basic "chemistry" is right, it often results in very authentic pictures. - In this sense I have copied (stolen) a lot from Peter Lindbergh ...
During the shoot I am very quick in taking my shots, often chaotic and rather emotional. I have learnt that if I start thinking, even more so according to the "textbook", nothing comes of it. If I miss the decisive moment, it would annoy me afterwards, because this part of a second is gone in the next moment - forever ... It's just those few moments and the one picture that remains in our memory forever ... But the other side of the medal is that I produce a lot of waste and not always the "most beautiful" pictures come out ... But so far nobody has complained ... :)
Why ZZ Loves It
This photo shoot is another proof of Helmut's ability to not only capture a photo but the essence of a person. Claudia seems so at ease in these photos, happily posing and bringing light and life even to the black and white photos. This is something that stands out in all of his photos and that many of them have in common. He often meets the models spontaneously on his travels and with almost no time to get to know one another before shooting, the ability to making someone feel at ease is crucial to any photographer!
Very well done, Helmut and Claudia! We love all the different poses Claudia offers as well as her many different facial expressions - maybe something that comes natural with being a ballerina but which makes every photo unique and captivating in its own way. We also love the colour scheme of each shoot - perfectly matched and conveying this dreamy flair of Havana, Cuba and the warmth its people.
Very well done, Helmut and Claudia! We love all the different poses Claudia offers as well as her many different facial expressions - maybe something that comes natural with being a ballerina but which makes every photo unique and captivating in its own way. We also love the colour scheme of each shoot - perfectly matched and conveying this dreamy flair of Havana, Cuba and the warmth its people.
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Editor Credits
Text & Image Compilation - Annika |
Published: September 27, 2021
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