The Havana Masterclass report

I’m going to break from tradition a bit – rather than me show you a whole bunch of photographs of my students photographing, I think it would be better to let the results speak for themselves: instead, most of my students have graciously agreed to share a few of their images and thoughts from the recent Havana Masterclass. It should give you a fairly good idea of exactly what we do during a Masterclass…

Recognizing that at this stage of creative development, each person has very different needs – but only the common one of feedback – the syllabus was personalised. Each student brought in an objective, and a portfolio of 10 images that came closest to meeting those objectives; we then spent a day deconstructing and working on individual development tasks and exercises for each person, with the aim that they would work on them separately or simultaneously during the week as opportunities presented themselves, and in their individual shooting sessions with me. At the end of the week, everybody presented a new portfolio of 10 images together with their original objectives to the group – and the process was repeated. In between, we had our dose of cultural immersion from important photographers (including Jose Figueroa, photojournalist and assistant to Korda; Nelson Ramirez, Director of the Fototeca – Cuban Institute for Photography), participation in the enormous 1st of May parade at Plaza de la Revolucion, and diversions into the music and sports scenes.

I’m pleased to say that I’ve seen significant growth between day one and day six; even though not everybody stuck to their original objectives (being opportunistic, flexible and visually ‘open’ is perhaps one of the most important aspects of being a good photographer and capturing unique images). I know I certainly didn’t – I wanted to shoot Ultraprintable, contextual tableaux, but landed up instead focusing on the relationship between people and their cars.

The curation was probably the most difficult part of the entire exercise, but the most important: if you take and show a thousand excellent images, none will really stand out or be memorable. If you only show ten of those, they’ll be outstanding. Similarly, if you shoot a 990 crap images, but show the 10 good ones, nobody will suspect you’re not shooting like that most of the time. As photographers, we are only judged on what we show, not what we shoot*. Developing that ability to objectively assess and see is extremely difficult because seeing and capture is by nature a very subjective and emotionally invested process, yet objectivity is something a good photographer must possess. To be fair, I subjected my 7,000+ images through the same wringer – in about twenty minutes – on the last day also, live and with an audience. Needless to say, there are always going to be differences of personal opinion as to which images make the cut and which don’t – what I’ve published here are a balance between my student’s picks, and my own curation from that reduced set.

*I think people are getting sick of me saying ‘the four most important things in a photograph are…’

Anyway, that’s enough from me – I’m going to let my students’ work speak for itself; first some thoughts, then their images. I’m proud to say that it’s all good work by any measure, and that there are a large number of images I’d be proud to have in my own portfolio – except that it would never happen, because by nature everybody sees the world differently. And this is perhaps my litmus test for a good workshop: the participants have not only developed their own vision, but managed to execute it well enough that the vision comes through clearly enough to stay with the audience. MT

I’ve got a couple of places left for Making Outstanding Images Chicago (September 3-5) and Masterclass Venice (late November); Masterclass San Francisco (7-12 September) is full, but I am accepting standbys. If you’d like to join us for any of these sessions, please click here for more information.

There are also limited edition Ultraprints available from my Havana portfolio, available until 20 June here.

Erling Maartmann-Moe (and here)
I am an amateur photographer from Norway, photographing landscape, family, travel, architecture, street. My goal for the Havana Masterclass was to develop my documentary style and composition. Havana is almost seductive for a photographer, with its strong color palette, friendly people and interesting cityscape. The challenge is to create something that goes beyond mere touristic impressions. I hope I managed to do that in some of the shots. It was a great learning experience, great group, great city!

Stefan Karos
Hearing yourself think. Without our myriad distractions, the people of cuba do this easily. They come to reflection in brief moments that we have lost. We have filled the quiet pauses of our lives with nervous behaviors that mirror the high pace of our purposeful activities. We live at such a mass produced, industrial pace that it seems easier to keep the mental momentum by doing something even when we do not have to. Our technology has enabled distraction to fill every crevice of unscheduled time. And this is not new. Even before we were busy texting, emailing, surfing or listening to portable music that was once limited to grand venues, we had distractions. Newspapers, television, and even the telephone were the devices that our brains used. Reflection and self assessment define us and without this, we are less human. But the cubans are not zen monks who are lost in reflection. Amidst the poverty and paucity, they fill the void with life and energy. They are busy expressing themselves, not yet preoccupied with making consumer choices. You see it everywhere and can be part of it. But in those moments between transactions, you easily can touch the ‘pause button’ of the world. You can feel yourself respond to the world around you. Thoughts and feelings rise to the surface and you feel content. You can do that in a place like Cuba.

Roger Wojahn and www.wojahn.com
I grew up in Southern California and took a Photography 101 class as a freshman in college. Since then I shot primarily landscapes, shots of my kids and candid portraits of friends. I thought I had a better than average eye but produced nothing to write home about. My class with Ming in Prague really woke me up to improving my basic shooting skills and after practicing daily for the past couple years, I felt it was time to join the Masterclass and start defining a personal style. My goal in Cuba was to move in closer and connect with humanity and its narrative qualities. This was was outside my comfort zone, but I wanted to connect and be more present. My hope was to depict not only something situational and organic but also to convey the context of Havana with her powerful colors and crumbling infrastructure. I feel like I made clear progress towards my goal and developing a style but still have a long ways to go. I hope you find something here that speaks to you and allows you to see these beautiful people in a more intimate way.
(Earlier extract from Facebook; I know Roger won’t mind me sharing it:) I got a little sentimental about Havana tonight. A week ago I spent 24 /7 with the most amazing group of guys and one woman. Superlative photographers, historians, artists, entrepreneurs, philosophers, and travelers, as fluent, multi-disciplined and erudite as any I’ve ever met. Plus, they were a blast! I know I will count them as dear friends for the rest of my life.
This morning is our portfolio review. On day one, we described our vision of what we wanted to create this week: trying to get a handle on and define our personal style. On day one, we showed our 10 best photos that illustrated that style. Ming taught us how to stop making excuses for flaws in our work and held our feet to the fire about being ruthless editors. My personal goal was to make photos that use people and situations to draw the viewer in and make them wonder what the story is. It’s a narrative approach that forces me into my discomfort zone: it’s always been easier for me to shoot landscapes or candid portraits of friends or post-card like scenes that didn’t really force me to engage strangers or situations in an intimate way.
Now, after working this week in Cuba, we assemble again all day in order to see the results of our mission. Again we show 10 photos to the group for critique and instruction. Ideally, they will be worthy of inclusion and represent not only illustrations of our stated goals but also a step up in our artistic journey.
My internet is like AOL dial-up from 1986, so I haven’t been able to post any photos. Furthermore, there has been lots of nuking of photos this weak including many near misses and photos with small flaws. I’ll start to get them up when I return. It’s not about quantity this time for me, but quality. In this week at least, that much has changed.
So here we go! I feel like I was fairly successful with my approach from an objective view and no doubt successful from an internal growth point of view. I swallowed my fears and really tried to connect with people’s lives. I hope that comes through in my work.
Wish me luck! Tonight we’ll have one last dinner together and hopefully go hear some splashy horn-filled salsa music before I travel home all day tomorrow. It would have been wonderful to share this week with you. Maybe some of my photos will give you a glimpse into this incredible experience.

Rob Durkin
I want to thank you for your dedication and your commitment to perfection. A little has rubbed off and it is more than rewarding. It is not by nature, my style, but I want to develop in this direction. And you have shown me the benefits of aiming higher. I can now truly appreciate when an image is done right and that is what drew me to come to be with you in Havana. In developing my eye I went to the oculist and discovered my right eye is losing it. So not only do I have to develop my left eye for shooting, but I have a goal of shooting with a greater sense of demand for worthy images. I can see how much is going to be available by developing my post processing skills in PS. This is challenging but I see how much the subject of a photo can be enhanced through simple dodging and burning. I think the osmosis is beginning to work and your videos are supporting it. I am off to the Philippines Wednesday and I am looking forward to practicing what I am learning.
Here are my two images which I feel have come along way with your guidance.

Scott Devitte 
I toured Cuba extensively in the last year of the Clinton administration. There was great hope back then that Cuba would be “opened” up. Sad to say that didn’t happen and it shows. Though many of the photos on this blog look colorful the sad truth is that the color and vivacity have just been leached out of this country. It is resembling a grey scale with sploches of color. I tried to capture this. I was very sad the first days of this workshop, but, as I reconnected with people I had met 15 years ago I was just amazed at how they managed to persevere in their art. I realized that the soul of the Cubans will not be extinguished even as their country crumbles around them. I love this place..I love these people…as they, as we, await release.

Jeff Egee
The trip to Cuba marked my second adventure with Ming Thein. Just last October, I was lucky enough to spend a long weekend on an introductory course with Ming and an amazing group of individuals in Prague. The incredible thing about these trips that I didn’t think about before coming, is that they unite an extremely diverse group of individuals who are all incredibly passionate about photography. So despite everyone being seemingly different, we all have a shared passion. Ming is a great teacher and a brilliant person – not to mention an amazing photographer. I’ve now left both trips feeling inspired and much more confident with my ability to take great photos. The other photographers on these trips have become friends and critics of my work, and the network alone has made these trips well worth their time, money and effort. I would implore anyone that is a fan of Ming and enjoys photography to take the leap and sign up for a course the next time Ming comes to your corner of the world. You will take your photography to the next level and leave feeling just like you did the first time that you realized that you loved photography. I went to Cuba with an open mind and the hope to expand upon what I took from the Prague trip. I also was hoping to come home with a few good photographs! I will let you judge on the latter, but I left the Cuba trip just as I did in Prague – a better and more inspired photographer looking forward to the next trip. Just as we hatched the idea of Havana in Prague over a glass of rum, we once again talked about what the next trip with Ming will be. The group of photographers in Havana was excellent. We realized early on, that despite everyone’s photographic style being extremely different, everyone brought a different unique group of skills and insight to the table. Everyone being so different actually was a big benefit to my learning because it brought such a diverse set of artistic perspectives to the table. I am really looking forward to the next trip with Ming and a future group. If you haven’t done so already, stop thinking and start booking a course with Ming. The experience will open your eyes and you will undoubtedly come away from it a more enlightened photographer.

Mike Letchford
Mike has also published some much more detailed – and extremely flattering – thoughts on the workshop on his own site here.
I’ve been following Ming’s work for some time and been fascinated by the quality of his images – particularly his monochrome ‘street’ work. As a ‘Candid’ photographer I was very interested to meet him, having also worked through his video materials, to get his help, on a one to one basis, on how to establish a ‘photographic style’ for myself. I was also particularly intrigued to see what the Havana location might offer in the way of unique photographic challenges. In Havana, I had originally planned to capture the fascinating array of 1950s vehicles that the city offers, but after the Portfolio Review on the first day I changed my objectives. I decided to try and represent the everyday people in a variety of situations – to try and capture as many ‘Havana Moments’ as I could. Technically, I also wanted Ming to help me with my processing of monochrome images; to help me retain the energy of each image while keeping a full range of tonality between a solid black and white. He helped me reexamine my workflow and gave me several useful tips on improving my work. The three images I’ve chosen each capture something of the essence of present day Havana – there seems to be more than meets the eye in every scene – which is how I see what is happening in Havana today.

Diego Defilippi

Ciao Pui
At the beginning of my first trip to Cuba, Ming challenged me to add more dimensionality to my collection of complex planar renderings. [MT: Ciao really has this style perfected; but as always, onwards and upwards!] But Havana is such as a photogenic city, I was pulled in multiple photographic directions. Surprisingly as the week went on, after meeting and interacting with countless locals, some of whom were Cuba’s most prestigious photographers and artists in various meetings set up by Ming, the more I notice the multi-layered interpretations of Cuba’s state of affairs. It would only be fitting to present you here a sample of my photos containing visual elements that reflect this experience of encountering multifarious framing of history and culture. Enjoy!”

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