The EyeCuba team

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Kip Brundage was born in Leesburg, Virginia, in 1953, but he spent the first four and a half years of his life in Venezuela, where his father was a railroad superintendent. A communist revolution made living there too dangerous for the family, and they relocated to Pennsylvania and ultimately back to Virginia, with prolonged stints in Mexico. In his junior year in high school, his older brother lent him a Canon 35mm camera; the rest is history. From the moment he saw his first print appear in the developer tray of the school darkroom, he never wanted another career other than photography. The Christmas of his senior year, his sister gave him a copy of a Greek Portfolio by Constantine Manos, and Kip was determined to become a documentary/magazine photographer. 

In 1972 he drove the family car from Virginia down the “Pan American Highway” to his parent's new home in Costa Rica. The revolution in Nicaragua was igniting, and he witnessed Somosa’s heavy hand. When he arrived in Costa Rica, he began a 5-year project of photographing the cane cutters and camposinos who were his neighbors. In Virginia, Kip showed these images to a neighbor and photographer, Dick Durrance II. Dick offered him a job as an assistant, which involved moving to the Coast of Maine, where he stayed for the next 30 years. After assisting Dick and becoming his production manager, Kip began to develop his client list while learning the ins and outs of magazine and advertising photography. He also became very involved in teaching at the Maine Photographic Workshops, the University of Maine, Augusta, and The College of the Atlantic.

Having had worldwide assignments from most significant magazines, managed major advertising campaigns, and photographed for annual reports for Fortune 500 companies, Kip has had broad experience as a location photographer. “I remember waiting to get my yellow boxes of Kodachrome back from the lab in the early days. It was like Christmas; I usually looked at them in the car driving home from the post office. Did I get the shot? That was the thrilling challenge and the payoff. I still can’t wait to answer that question.” says Brundage today. In 1989 he was selected as one of the best new talents by American Photographer Magazine. His images have been featured in Maine, Boston, New York, Washington, and Virginia museums and galleries. 

He taught his first workshop in Maine in 1979 and continues to teach and share his passion for his craft. Kip’s dear friend Reid Callanan asked him to start a program in Cuba in 2009, and in April 2010, The Santa Fe Photoworks hosted their first trip to Cuba. ‘I have lost count of how many people I have introduced to Cuba, but I have never grown tired of doing this!” Says Kip. He has moved to Cuba and lives in Old Havana with his bride Yunaysy Aguilera in an old colonial home they are renovating. The “Latino” seed planted in his youth continues to grow.

Sandor Rodríguez Castro was born in Caibarien, Cuba in 1982. In school, he had an aptitude for languages, particularly English. He went on to study at the University in Santa Clara and earned a degree in teaching; however, his travels took him to Havana. His language skills landed him a job as a guide for the Historian’s Office and the San Cristobal Agency. A proud yet realistic Cuban, Sandor’s love for history and relaxed yet informative explanations of his country made him a popular guide at San Cristobal. 

At the same time, The Santa Fe Photo Workshops started bringing three groups a week for nine weeks a season as well as producing trips for National Geographic Expeditions utilizing the guides of San Cristobal, Sandor among them. Naturally observant and curious, he began attending image reviews and teaching sessions to understand his new clients better. This was unique from the rest of the guides, and he attracted the attention of the group leaders and instructors with his questions and interest in photography. When he purchased a digital SLR camera and started shooting with the clients, he was encouraged to submit images for review. Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Authur Meyerson as well as Cuban photographers Raul Cañibano, Jorge Gavilondo, Leysis Quesada, Arien Chang, and Claudia Corrales, combined with his willingness to explore new horizons, Sandor’s learning curve and development was meteoric. In a short time, he has become an accomplished photographer with an eye for sophisticated images and challenging subjects. Sandor has taught workshops here in Cuba for the Santa Fe Photo Workshops and the Norfolk Academy, has images in numerous private collections, and participated in shows in Fototeca de Cuba. 2017 he participated in the 1st Photography Hall of the Academy of Art and Photography Cabrales del Valle, earning two honorable mentions.

Sandor’s life partner is Claudia Corrales, who comes from a family of photographers and whose gallery features the work of her grandfather Raul Corrales. Being a part of the gallery and helping to curate it and host its visitors has helped to involve Sandor even more in the Cuban photographic culture. He and Claudia also use the gallery to promote the work of young and emerging photographers. Coming out of the pandemic, Sandor and Kip Brundage (the former director of Santa Fe’s program in Cuba) have combined their skills in organizing trips utilizing their abilities to recognize photo-rich environments to develop unique photographic journeys to capture Cuba “en pueblo.” Sandor and Claudia are essential partners in this new venture, EyeCuba; their gallery is the center of EyeCuba’s activities.

Claudia Corrales was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1987 into a family of photographers and artists and learned to appreciate photography

from a young age. Her grandfather was the famous Cuban photographer Raul Corrales. 

After graduating from the University of Havana in 2010 with a degree in Social Communication, Claudia has dedicated herself professionally to photography. Her work has been published in numerous magazines and books and exhibited in Cuba and abroad, where she finds a diverse market in private and public collections.

Her creative work has expanded to include photography, video, and custom installations. Current social and environmental subjects such as human migrations, climate change, gender violence, social equity, and world conflict fuel her passion for her projects.

As a principal in The Raul Corrales Gallery in Havana, Claudia oversees the gallery, which serves as an archive and outlet for her Grandfather’s historical collection. The gallery also serves as a center for encouraging and educating new Cuban photographic talent.

Leysis Quesada Vera was born in 1973. She lived in a small village, San Francisco, in the south of Matanzas province until she was seven, and the family moved to Amarillas. She graduated with a degree in English (1996), has been a self-taught photographer since 2000, and is a Member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC). Leysis incorporates her life into her work, the people around her, especially her daughters Avril and Mia, are her greatest inspiration. She has developed several national and international exhibitions and has obtained notable recognitions throughout her career, including the Tito Álvarez Creation Scholarship from UNEAC 2011, a nomination for the 2016 Magnum Emergency Funds Grants, a scholarship from The Foundation for a Civil Society (FCS) for FotoFest 2016, Magnum Foundation Scholarship 2021, and a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation for the photo essay: “Cuba during the pandemic” published in The Guardian newspaper; The Annenberg Space for Photography in 2017 highlighted Leysis’s images in the exhibition "Cuba is.” Her work has been exhibited in countries such as Norway, Australia, the United States, Germany, Spain, Austria, Mexico, and Cuba, and her work has also been collected by private and institutional collections worldwide.

“I have worked with many GREAT photographers and met many more. Based on that experience, I can say that Raul Cañibano is one of the finest documentary photographers working and living today. His images combine humor and humanity with a dash of cynicism. Combined with his craftmanship, choice of moment, and frame, each image invokes compassion that intimately connects the viewer, the photographer, and the subjects. He is a humble yet gifted friend to photography and, most thankfully, to me.” Kip Brundage, EyeCuba

Raul Cañibano Ercilla 

Born in 1961, his work focuses on people and demonstrates the vitality of modern-day Cuban photography. Trained as a welder, he was self-taught in photography. During the “Special Period,” Cañibano sought books and images from the masters in painting and photography. He challenged himself to build upon their artistry to develop his vision and points of view. He has exhibited worldwide and won a significant prize in Cuba for a project on the life of rural workers. Magnum has recognized Raul, who is, without question, among the top photographers in Cuba. He has been published and exhibited internationally, beyond Cuba, in the United States, England, France, Norway, Australia, Japan, and Spain. His work is part of the Collection at the International Center of Photography in New York as well as many private collections.