CubaPLUS Magazine

A friend of Yadiel Veunes Alonso, Chino Zapata, who is also a birdwatcher, gave him a camera, and with it he captured his first photograph. In an interview with CubaPLUS Magazine, Veunes Alonso told us: “When I took the photo in which I saw that colorful subject, a Cuban Tody, and felt the magic of freezing the moment with the forest in the background created by a telephoto lens, I was fascinated. It was not a technically perfect image, but it sparked a lot of curiosity in me. That made me study this kind of photography and feel the need to go out into the countryside again and again.”

In this branch of nature photography, planning is very important, explained Yadiel, who in 2024 and 2025 won the Grand Prize at the Naturaleza Digital Contest, an event held every year by the Topes de Collantes Tourism Complex, as well as two other digital editions. He has also admitted on other occasions that his photographs are not motivated by competitions but by personal satisfaction.

“Before pressing the shutter,” he pointed out, “you have to study the species you want to photograph, its behavior and habits, and anticipate the light. Because of this, an ordinary scene can turn into an image with intention, emotion, and meaning. The camera records what it sees, but the study carried out in the field is what decides how and why that story is told.”

With these images, he noted, he hopes to contribute to conservation, helping people discover the beauty of our birds, especially the endemic ones, and become aware of the damage caused by species trafficking and poaching. “I try to awaken admiration, respect, and awareness; to show beauty, but also the fragility of ecosystems. When I work with communities or individuals, I am interested in highlighting dignity, identity, and the stories that inhabit everyday life. More than documenting, I seek to provoke an emotion and leave a message that invites people to look more closely and value what we often take for granted.”

To become a relevant photographer, he says, one needs great passion, love for nature, and extreme patience, especially in bird photography, where frustration is part of the process. Among other requirements, he mentions:
Patience: the ability to spend hours in a hide under the sun or the rain to achieve the perfect angle is what builds a strong portfolio.

Adaptability: in Cuba this includes the ability to work with available resources, making the most of natural light and the environment.

Composition: looking for unusual angles or playing with light and shadow so that a biological record becomes a work of art.

Consistency: when someone sees a photograph and can say, “this is his or hers,” because of the way color or atmosphere is handled. “Having a personal signature; technique is learned, but the eye is cultivated,” he emphasized.

With so much competition and such a diverse world of contemporary photography, do you have any suggestions for those who are just beginning their path in nature photography?

“Study your subject before your camera. Do not go out simply to ‘look for’ photos; go out to understand the ecosystem. Learn about behaviors. If you know their calls, feeding schedules, and nesting seasons, you will be in the right place before the bird arrives. Observe without shooting. Spend time looking through binoculars. Understanding a bird’s body language will allow you to predict the exact moment when it will take off or hunt. Master natural light in bird photography; light can be your best ally or your worst enemy.”

To conclude the interview, this farmer from Matanzas, a lover of nature as he describes himself, wanted to highlight the following:

“Patience as a philosophy of life. My work has taught me a philosophy of patience and respect. In a world that moves so quickly, bird photography forces you to slow down, to listen, and to wait. That slowness allows me to capture intimate and natural behaviors that are only revealed when the photographer manages to blend into the environment without being a threat. That intimate connection is what I try to convey in every frame.”

Contact
(+53) 5343 3778
Instagram: @yadielveunes
Facebook: Yadiel Veunes Alonso