The original author of Lonely Planet Cuba announces the launch of Cuba-Pictures.com, a 14-page collection of 126 travel photos of Cuba.

All photos in this picture gallery are by David Stanley, who researched and wrote the first two editions of Lonely Planet Cuba, published in 1997 and 2000. Stanley first visited Cuba in 1975, and over the next four years he represented a Canadian tour company on Isla de la Juventud, at Varadero, and in Havana. Since then, he has revisited Cuba dozens of times.

A few of Stanley's photos originally appeared in Lonely Planet Cuba, while the rest are published here for the first time. They offer a cross section of Cuba, with the emphasis on "real Cuban life" rather than the artificial world of tourism. The images are intended to convey the atmosphere of some very special places, and the warm, friendly people who call Cuba home.

Each page of pictures provides an introduction to a specific area, and all photos are fully captioned. The site also features a map of Cuba, a shopping mall with Cuban music, guides, and films, and a selection of travel links. http://www.cuba-pictures.com is now open to visitors.

David Stanley has been writing travel guides since 1979. His pioneering guidebooks embrace the South Pacific islands, Micronesia, Alaska, Eastern Europe, Cuba, and parts of Canada. Stanley researched and wrote the first three editions of Eastern Europe on a Shoestring, Lonely Planet's first guide to Europe. Though the current 3rd edition of Lonely Planet Cuba was updated by another writer, much of Stanley's material remains in the guide. His travel pictures of Cuba are now freely accessible at http://www.cuba-pictures.com.