Photographer Kelly Conlin has made multiple visits to Cuba of late, finding that the country is currently in the midst of a crisis.

Rolling blackouts, food shortages, and uncollected garbage are now a feature of Cuban life. “More than one person told me it was the worst they have experienced in their lifetime,” says Conlin.

Conlin explains to PetaPixel that he kept returning to the same few blocks in Central Havana and one day while out photographing, a grandfather winked at him from inside his home, which the photographer took as an invitation. He photographed the grandfather receiving a pedicure from his granddaughter while her grandmother was sewing an outfit for her.

“After that I concentrated on just a few streets and returned day after day,” he says. “People began to recognize me. Someone I had photographed would introduce me to a neighbor or relative, and one encounter would lead to another. Over time, I simply became a familiar presence.”

That encounter turned into Tender Weather, Conlin’s first photo book, which points the camera away from the harsh conditions on the streets outside and into the home where there is still plenty of love.

“I didn’t expect to walk into a home and immediately make the photograph I wanted,” he says. “I would spend time there and let people get used to having me around with a camera.”

“Eventually their attention would shift away from me and back to whatever they had been doing. Those were the moments I wanted to photograph.”

“One of the things that struck me in Central Havana is how visible everyday life is from the street,” Conlin says.

“People spend time in doorways and on stoops, and open windows often give you a glimpse of what’s happening inside. The separation between public and private space can feel much less defined than what I’m used to in the United States.”

Being invited into someone’s home means the photographer can’t just disappear. So Conlin had to get comfortable being visible.

“Everything happened at very close range, and even a small movement on my part could change the picture completely,” he says.

“That proximity also made small gestures much more noticeable. I kept noticing what people were doing with their hands: preparing food, touching someone beside them, praying, grooming one another, or simply resting a hand on a shoulder. I only recognized later how much those gestures had become part of the work.”

Cuba has faced tough sanctions from the United States since 1960, but things have deteriorated recently since the U.S. seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, an event that cut off much of Cuba’s fuel supply.

50% of the proceeds from Tender Weather will go directly toward medicine and other essential supplies that are difficult to obtain in Cuba.

“I don’t want to exaggerate what that can accomplish,” says Conlin. “It’s a small gesture compared with the scale of the problems people are facing. But these families welcomed me into their homes and allowed me to photograph very personal moments in their lives. It seemed important that something from the book make its way back to them.”

Tender Weather by Kelly Conlin costs $45 and can be purchased here. More of his work can be found on Instagram.

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Image creditsPhotographs by Kelly Conlin