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Vinales valley is an agricultural region on the western tip of Cuba in the Pinar Del Rio province. It’s a place that’s simple, peaceful, and absolutely swarming with tourist buses.
Vinales Valley View
Well, there it is. Tobacco fields and grass shacks to dry the leaves. Apparently, this view is the star attraction for tourists who venture off to Vinales valley. There are two resorts overlooking these fields and I shot this from one of them.
It’s nice, I suppose. Quaint. Picturesque isn’t a word that I’d really throw out, though. That’s because I spent most of my time watching this view of Vinales valley without firing a shot. The wiser members of our group looked out and then perched themselves at the hotel bar. Others started shooting, perhaps with hopes that magic would appear in post processing.
Me? I plopped my ass down on the sidewalk and waited for things to get better. Curious locals stopped by to see what I was doing as I waited, like this guy.
He was not impressed and left. To be honest, I couldn’t blame him.
Waiting For Some Magic
I can be very patient while waiting for a photo. I tend to show up too early so I can stake out my spot, and then there’s nothing left to do but wait. Sometimes uncomfortably so, or perhaps for a long time. In order to fulfill the mantra that “you must suffer for your art”, I’ve also been known to wait for hours in uncomfortable places just to secure a shot. When it works, I’m happy. It doesn’t always work, though.
The problem is that you don’t always know when you’re waiting for a magical event or sky, or when you’ve just been sitting on a sidewalk talking to a rooster for no good reason. You just have to wait and find out. If the rooster talks back, it’s probably time to leave.
The Other View Of Vinales Valley
When it was clear to me that magic wouldn’t visit me on this day, I tried to make the best of a boring situation. To be honest, I liked the view of the resort much better than Vinales valley, so I just turned around and shot in the other direction.
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