Tom
thomasmccartney.com
Tom
@thomasmccartney.com
Photographer, mountain biker, skier, yoga, engineer, and lover of world food

https://thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page
Moments from the ICE Out of MN march.

In freezing temperatures, thousands filled the street with signs, chants, and movement--neighbors, families, and organizers coming together in a rare, charged moment of public life.
blog.thomasmccartney.com/2025/12/23/i...

📍 Minneapolis, MN | December 20
December 23, 2025 at 5:15 PM
FUFC is hosting a nationwide bodybuilding event in Havana this weekend — streamed worldwide:
www.facebook.com/FederacionUn...
Raul is part of this: I interviewed and photographed him in Havana--he trains with nothing but discipline.

#Cuba #Havana #FUFC #Raul
December 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The owner rolls his cigars on the porch, packs them in simple boxes, and sells them himself. His hands say everything: wide, flat fingers from a lifetime in the fields. Work you can read like a map.

#Cuba #Documentary #Viñales #FarmLife #HandsOfWork
November 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Trejo Gym in Havana doesn’t care who you are — only how hard you work. Shot these three athletes between rounds, focused and unshaken. Cuba’s boxing legacy lives in places like this.

thomasmccartneyphotography.start.page

#Cuba #Havana #Boxing #CubaBoxing #Photography #Documentary #Leica
November 14, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Brought studio lights into a freezing river to photograph guide Bob Humphrey in Minnesota’s Driftless region for his business.
Cold water, steady hands, and a lot of trust.
#Photography #Driftless #FlyFishing #OutdoorPortrait
November 12, 2025 at 5:15 PM
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
November 5, 2025 at 5:15 PM
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
November 1, 2025 at 3:00 PM
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
October 28, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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
October 25, 2025 at 3:30 PM
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
October 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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
October 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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.
October 18, 2025 at 5:02 PM
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
October 16, 2025 at 4:15 PM
🚀 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
October 14, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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
October 11, 2025 at 3:15 PM
“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
October 9, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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
October 7, 2025 at 4:15 PM
🩰 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
October 4, 2025 at 3:30 PM
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
October 2, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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
September 30, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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
September 27, 2025 at 3:45 PM
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
September 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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
September 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
@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
September 18, 2025 at 4:15 PM
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
September 16, 2025 at 4:15 PM