Photographer Kenneth Greene Captures Cuban Captives

    SAN DIEGO, CA, January 07, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Working with what President Obama refers to as "the power of people-to-people engagement", photographer Kenneth Greene has published his first volume entitled Cuban Captives: The Cars of Cuba (http://tinyurl.com/mv66qcv).

Shot over the past few years utilizing special programs that have rarely been available through the US Treasury Department, Mr. Greene has intimately documented Cuba's captives - the "Yank Tank" - in an edition that seems more full of oil paintings than snapshots.

"The Cuban people have been unable to import cars since 1959," he explains, "leaving this island nation frozen in time." He continues; "There are roughly 60,000 US classic automobiles from that era still being driven as both taxis and personal transportation."

Greene's volume presents dozens of curvaceous mid-century Chevys, Studebakers, and Buicks that have been preserved through loving care, ingenuity, adapting household products, and the cannibalization of some of their number that couldn't otherwise be salvaged.

"From the Cuban cities of Havana to Trinidad, I found myself constantly surrounded by every combination of two-tone Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, and a host of similar vehicles left over from before the Eisenhower administration initiated the embargo in 1960," Mr. Greene recalls of his most recent adventure. He adds "I'm pleased to help open the doors and show people what they've been missing all these years."

Assuming US politics don't interfere, travel will eventually start again between the US and Cuba. The expected easing of relations between the two nations suggests these vintage cars could ultimately make their way into US collectors' hands for many tens of thousands of dollars each.

Which means for those not making the trip or actively collecting antique American cars, there's no better way to enjoy the finest automobiles and visions of life in Cuba for a fraction of the cost than with this world-class photography collection.

Kenneth Greene is also currently developing his second volume, Cuba Through My Eyes (http://tinyurl.com/pd5oo38).

When Kenneth Greene photographs people, he captures a feeling for that one moment that really matters in their lives. He may not know what happened just prior to the photo, and he almost certainly won't know what their lives will be like after that instant he memorializes. He captures that moment in time alone, but it somehow tells their entire life story in a second.

"I'm looking for the instant the tide recedes and washes over the rocks; the moment a diver propels herself upwards and her feet leave the diving board; or when a couple embraces...just before the waves crash down upon them. These are the moments in life when you hold your breath, wondering what comes next."

Kenneth's whimsical drawings appear in a line of coloring books and note cards entitled, Pictures From My Mind (http://tinyurl.com/mqnpb6l). Geared to young children, teenagers, and adults, these images can be colored, will spark new ideas with readers, or can just be enjoyed as they are.

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