Cuban candids

December 16, 2018April 16, 2024 / mikeosbornphoto / 20 Comments

I’m a reluctant portrait and street photographer. But a recent trip to the revolutionary island of Cuba pushed me into unusual territory.

This Caribbean land mass has a large and engaging population. The warm climate means that life often takes place outdoors. People gather in city squares and on street corners, meaning it’s relatively easy to capture images.

My tips for remaining undetected are a good zoom lens and an ability to pretend that you’re taking a photograph of something else. As you can see with some of these images, that didn’t always work.

But if this gives just a hint of the Cuban people’s essence, it was worth the effort.

Click first image to see the gallery

The islanders

February 21, 2016April 25, 2021 / mikeosbornphoto / 14 Comments

The island of Sri Lanka is a country of great natural beauty. But it also bristles with life and people, particularly in its bustling cities and towns. During my recent trip, I found my camera turning towards its people. Some of them I met and asked to take their photographs, sending them copies of their portraits when I returned home.

There was Lala, a pleasant, polite man who showed me the local village and Mr Silva the sarong seller who looks careworn in his picture, but waved and smiled at me after our encounter. I didn’t meet the lady in white seen on Kandy’s main street – but she seemed to gaze straight into the lens.

Other Sri Lankans were observed and captured from a greater distance, while there was no shortage of street and crowd scenes on a busy festival day in Kandy. Sri Lanka also boasts a wide variety of animal life, from cheeky monkeys to a docile cow who watched the sunset on the beach and then lumbered away. Faces become even more fascinating when they’re less familiar…

Click first image to launch the gallery

The photographer

May 30, 2015May 30, 2015 / mikeosbornphoto / 13 Comments

A captured moment in the sumptuous gardens at Eltham Palace, a beautiful stately pile close to London. This young woman, with camera hanging from her shoulder, was taking a moment during her visit. She was standing in the right spot in this stretch of formal garden. It was my chance to take a photograph without being detected. This tends to be the only time when human subjects make their way into my photography, when the stories can only be speculated upon.

Sitting at the window

July 18, 2013 / mikeosbornphoto / 14 Comments

A couple are perched on the floor, comfortably on the wooden slats. They’re next to a window, and it’s quite an expansive one. They are gazing intently at something, but it’s not easy to tell what from this perspective.

The photograph may have some parallels with this image of a couple I took on Primrose Hill in London.

But where might this pair be?…

The walled garden

June 23, 2013June 25, 2013 / mikeosbornphoto / 23 Comments

This little gem is literally around the corner from my new home. I’ve been there many times over the years, but it’s now part of the neighbourhood.

At the moment, the walled garden in Ravenscourt Park is bristling with blooms and is a real oasis of natural calm. Visitors amble through the gates for a tranquil few moments, while young couples steal some time to themselves on the sheltered benches that line the old walls.

Such a small space can produce an unexpected array of shots. You have to be very discreet to attempt any candid shots, and I largely failed in that pursuit on this warm, sun-kissed evening.

Summer was alive and well, and a far cry from some of the photos I captured here in the grip of the icy winter.