Tom

Ileana — Chapter Three
“The Revolution’s Promises and Fault Lines”
For Ileana, free healthcare and abortion rights defined a new moral map — progress shadowed by loss.
Read it here → buff.ly/RdAMJrm%EF%B...
📍Havana, Cuba
#Cuba #DocumentaryPhotography #Photojournalism #Leica #AfterTheRevolution

Stillwater, Minnesota, along the St. Croix.

A couple quietly watches the river, steady as the flow beneath them.
Workers rest in the sun.
A bridge operator stands in the shadows of the lift span.
And finally, the bridge itself....

#Stillwater #DocumentaryPhotography #StreetPhotography #Leica

Love this story

Great story

Two Cubas: One Survives, the Other Exploits
In a nation where the state hoards billions, ordinary Cubans rebuild dignity from the ruins.
He once lived above this collapsed home—now he stands amid its wreckage.

buff.ly/fyKmfYo

#Cuba #DocumentaryPhotography #Photojournalism #Resilience #HumanRights

Promotional Campaign: A day in the life at Nina’s, classic coffee escape.

📍 Nina’s Café @ninascoffeecafe
🎥 Creative Direction & Photography: Thomas McCartney
💡 Lighting & Crew: Full production setup to match the mood

#NinasCafe #StPaulMN #CoffeeCulture #LifestylePhotography #CoffeeLovers

Love it!

Love it!

Raul — Victory Against Yourself
Cancer survivor. Natural bodybuilder. Faith and discipline as medicine.
With his coach Dagmor—once a gangster, now certified by FUIC—he rebuilt strength and purpose.
From my Cuba series thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

#Cuba #Resilience #Faith

Ileana Yarza — Chapter 1
(seen reading it in the image 9 years later)

When Obama planned his 2016 Havana trip, Ileana wrote him—and invited him for coffee. Then the media frenzy.

🕊️ From my Cuba series, “After the Revolution”
buff.ly/wYQzYwq

#Cuba #Leica #Photojournalism #CubanStories

Promo Session at House of Comedy

A shoot with @davidharrislive--stand-up comedian, Emmy winner, and all-around pro--at @houseofcomedymn inside the Mall of America.

We set up both live and off-stage portraits with crafted light to create a unified look for his promotional work.

Between Fights

Between matches at a rural cockfight, Michael, the local guide who secured access to this hidden world, rolls dice on a worn rug as others watch, pesos in hand, tension and trust hanging in the air.

“Inside the Ring” → thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

🚀 Blog Post: Inside the Ring: My Night at a Cuban Cockfight

It didn’t start quietly.
Heading toward the arena, my fixer told me to pull over.
He and our local guide disappeared into the dark. When they returned, he whispered, “He got a gun.”

🔗 thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

NEW BLOG POST — “Two Cubas: One Survives, the Other Exploits”
A barber, a shoemaker, a seamstress—and a regime hoarding billions offshore.

Cuba Series→ thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

#CubaUnfiltered #VisualEmpathy #EverydayCuba #Photojournalism #DocumentaryPhotography #Leica

“The River”: A Rebrand in Motion

Rooftop wind, whiskey, and a poker game gone sideways. That was the day the David Yellen Band rebranded as The River--and everything clicked.

#BandPhotography #TheRiver #Minneapolis

No setup. No staging. Just Cuba. These are the portraits I keep coming back to.

-Grandmother and Child, Havana
-Portrait on a Havana Stoop
-Cigar Sale on the Sidewalk, Havana

thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

#EverydayCuba #StreetPortraits #VisualEmpathy #CubaUnfiltered
#Leica

🩰 Honored to photograph the new 2025–26 company members of @twincitiesballetmn in a vibrant, collaborative session. Tethered monitors, team energy, and pure joy in the studio. Shoots like this are why I love commercial work.

#Ballet #DancePhotography #StudioSession #Minneapolis

Cuba’s New Hustle
Scarcity meets creativity — a shoe designer, a seamstress-turned-owner, and a hallway barber making it work.
🔗 thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

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#Cuba #StreetPhotography #VisualStorytelling #Leica
#CubanEntrepreneurs #LifeUnfiltered #PhotoDocumentary #EverydayCuba

A new kind of hustle in Cuba.
Private business is back — and thriving.
Craftsmanship, pride, and grit. One boot at a time.

#CubaSeries · #DocumentaryPhotography · #StreetWork · #Leica · #Cuba · #Entrepreneurship

Just off the Malecón in Havana.
Ice cream, side-eyes, a little swagger.
Laughing, flirting, flexing, and yeah, maybe showing off a cigarette or two.

This is what fun looks like when the street is your stage.

#CubaSeries #Havana #StreetPhotography #DocumentaryPhotography #LifeAndPeople #Leica #Cuba

New long-form story: Ileana Yarza’s life spans Cuba’s revolutions, blackouts, and survival. A personal window into the island’s history and present.

In the Cuba series: thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

Hashtags
#CubaSeries #Cuba #DocumentaryPhotography #LifeAndPeople #Leica

I just published a long-form story on Ileana Yarza: Revolutionary, economist, and witness to Cuba’s struggles from pre-revolution to today’s blackouts.

In the Cuba series: thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

#Cuba #DocumentaryPhotography #Photojournalism
#CubanLife #HumanStories #Leica

@dangerousmanbrewing wasn’t just a brewery. It was NE Minneapolis at its best: Creative, local, unforgettable.

Got to know the founders.

Made this promotional portrait in their brewhouse.

Loved the beer.

#DangerousManBrewing #CraftBeer #NEMinneapolis #Leica #BeerPhotography #CommunityMatters

Boxing in Old Havana.
I climbed into the ring at Rafael Trejo Gym and danced with the boxers. One looked at me and said, “You’re crazy.”
Fair.

thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

#CubaSeries #Havana #BoxingCuba #Leica #StreetPhotography

School was closed again in Havana — this time, a virus.
No online option. So Dori sat on the floor and taught her boys herself.

They make it work.

Full Story: thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

#CubaSeries #Havana #Resilience #ParentingInCuba #FamilyLife #Leica

Raul lives in Havana.

After cancer surgery, doctors missed the real cause: a tumor pressing against his spine.

Faith, family, and meds from the U.S. helped him recover.

#CubaSeries #Raul #FaithAndResilience #Havana #Healthcare #Leica #DocumentaryPhotography

In a makeshift gym in Havana, Raul trains with discipline most people will never understand.

He’s a cancer survivor.
He doesn’t use steroids.

“Every day is a battle.”

Story coming soon.

#Raul #CubaSeries #Havana #Resilience #Bodybuilding #Leica #CubaStories #Discipline

Trying to hold it all together.
Tattoos for cash. Camera sold for food.
The kids play between blackouts.
Just another Monday in Havana.

See the Cuba Series:
thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

#Documentary #Family #LifeAndPeople #VisualStorytelling #DocumentaryPhotography #Parenting #Leica #Cuba

Illiana, a Cuban economist, stands beside Obama’s letter—one she hoped would signal change. Her story bridges revolution, hope, and quiet resilience.

New blog coming soon.

#CubaStories #Revolution #CubanWomen #VisualStorytelling #DocumentaryPhotography #HumanNarratives #Leica

Five generations in one field.
This family has cultivated tobacco on this land for over a century
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👉 Read more in the Cuba series: thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page
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#Cuba #DocumentaryPhotography #Resilience #FamilyHistory #VisualStorytelling #LifeAndPeople #FarmLife #Leica