Guest Instagrammer: Fernando Medina
Over the next two weeks, Fernando Medina, a 25 year-old Cuban photo-journalist living in Habana, will be taking over our Instagram account.
CK: Tell us a little bit about yourself, your work, and your favorite Cuban food.
Fernando: A few years ago I was speaking with an excellent Cuban photojournalist, and in the midst of our chat, he said some words that have marked my early journey into the art of photography, “the images we capture are an interpretation of reality, of the reality we perceive and then translate into images.”
Perhaps for that reason and the love I have found over time for photography, I pursued my Journalism Degree at the University of Habana, always with the very clear plan to become a photojournalist.
From documenting daily life to sports, political, economic and cultural events, these themes have been my focus throughout the development photographic career. Getting to know the people I portray, looking them in the eyes, trying to understand their inner self so that I can then project my best insight about them, is a magical style that I have discovered over time.
Currently I work as a photojournalist at a digital magazine called Cubahora, a platform through which I can document the changes that Cuba is experiencing today through the modernization of its economic model and the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with the United States.
An important and fulfilling personal project of mine has been to document the lives of farm workers in the Cuban fields. I was honored that some of these images were selected by the New York Times Lens Blog editors to be presented at the Third Annual New York Portfolio Review, sponsored by the New York Times Lens blog and the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism.
I love Capa’s timeless phrase, “If your photos are not good, it’s because you did not get close enough.” Oh, and my favorite Cuban food is the tamale.