Cars in Havana - V

A classic black American car parked on Calle Galiano in Centro Habana, La Habana, Cuba. I photographed it in daylight during my time in Havana, framed against one of the faded pastel facades that give this part of the city its familiar look.

What caught my eye was the contrast between the heavy, dark body of the car and the light turquoise building behind it. The facade is full of small details: carved arches, worn columns, iron balcony railings, and old paint that has peeled and softened over time. Nothing feels polished, and that is exactly why I liked it. The scene has that layered Havana look where the street, the architecture, and the car all seem to belong to the same long story.

I shot it straight on from across the street so the car would sit low in the frame and the building could fill the background almost like a stage set. That front-facing view made the shape of the car easy to read, while the vertical crop let me keep the height of the facade and all the decorative work above it. The people near the entrance add a little movement, but I kept them small so the main focus stayed on the car and the building.

The soft daylight helped a lot here. Strong sun would have made the pastel walls too harsh and flattened the darker tones of the car, but this light kept the colors gentle and let the chrome details stand out without taking over the frame. I also like how ordinary the moment feels. It is not a parade or a staged setup. It is just a parked car, a lived-in building, and a street scene that felt very true to Centro Habana when I was walking through it.