Invisible Cameras

Photography changes the way we see things. Everything shows details that weren’t there before, the features of a face become obvious to our eyes, objects have new angles and it even becomes possible to photograph a personality.

The light no longer looks the same either, now it has tones and meanings. It can be happy, sad, melancholic, anxious or peaceful… now the light has moods.

And now I take photos with my eyes. I walk down the street and imagine how would I photograph that girl with green eyes, freckles and red hair. The framing, the light, the contrast, the colors and the final picture in one blink.

That lady and her small yorkshire sitting in the park, pose to my invisible camera and I take their picture to demonstrate “how things resemble to their owner” as that old Disney movie reminds me.

Taking photographs with the eyes is a great exercise that eventually becomes inevitable. It comes with the package of being a photographer. It’s about feeling so passionate about something that you can’t go by a day without it. Just as the musicians playing invisible instruments, not having a camera doesn’t mean no pictures will happen.

And this is great because it helps to develop a vision, a personal style. And what better place to do that than in our minds? Viewing photographs everywhere trains our eyes, and, by doing so, the image processing occurs in our heads, opening infinite possibilities of editing that can then be applied to reality.

This practice will help to be more clear about what we want and where can our images go to. 

Making, baking and photographing a cheese cake!

In My First Entry I mentioned that my blog would basically treat  three themes, the marketing world, the uncontrollable passion for photography and love for the culinary delights. But it’s time to recognize that, of all of them, photography takes up 80% of my mind and of my posts.

Today, however, things change a bit! Yesterday, to calm post-lunch sweet cravings, I decided to make a cheesecake. Besides, doing it would provide me of a good time and, yes, I can not deny that I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to practice food photography, one of the most challenging types of photography (for me at least).

After separating, measuring, mixing, baking and cooling as a result i got a delicious, creamy, golden cheese cake. Definitely cooking a dessert on a summer afternoon, listening to some French music is a wonderful pleasure of life.

After waiting almost one day to have the right light, I did a little photo shoot of my beloved cheesecake. I placed it on a table with a couple of tablecloths to give some warmth to the images. I also made sure to have a solid color background. In this case I used white to really focus the attention on the cake, and also to provide clarity and a feeling of freshness to my pictures.

I think the result was pretty good, considering my limited experience in food photography. Maybe I would have liked to try some shots with a different background, I’ll do it  for the next time as I intend to practice more this kind of pictures.

Dreaming a Little

This morning I was strolling through Internet. I visited the usual sites, such as my email, Facebook and Twitter. Then I decided to  deligh my eyes viewing National Geographic’s photographs.

And seriously,  hours can fly admiring these images. So beautifull sceneries, such amazing landscapes, really trigger the desire of going to every single one of this places, camera in hand, and save spectacular experiences.

So, imagination flew away. What would it feel like to be a photographer for National Geographic? Having the opportunity to travel around the world taking pictures of most amazing landscapes in the world has to be the ideal lifestyle.

And, having fun and dreaming a little more, I took the liberty of making this little montage! Hope you like it!

My very own National Geographic Magazine Cover

As cliché it may sound, dreaming is for free 🙂

Photography Expeditions

Since I arrived to Barcelona, ​​as I mentioned in my First Post, my life, of routine, has had close to nothing. However, taking weekend expeditions has becomed a delicious habit.

I’ve had the opportunity to know different towns and beaches away from the center of the city. And, besides being extremely fun, these trips have given me the opportunity to photograph stunning sceneries.

Therefore, I decided to share some of the pictures I’ve taken during these excursions.

I took this photograph in Sitges, a small and very beautiful seaside town south of Barcelona. I loved the contrast between the small and bright flower on the immense blue ocean.

My second destination was the city of Tarragona. Also located south of Barcelona, among its beaches and rich historical content,  this city becomes an excellent tourist target.

The way the sun streamed through the leafy branches of this tinitaria was spectacular. The breeze, the colors and the lighting conveyed a sense of unmatched calm.

This image is an HDR of the amphitheater. I decided to take it with this technique, hoping that the result was as faithful as possible to reality. I think I succeeded!

After visiting many beaches, it was the mountain turn . My third destination, Rupit, was the chosen destination.

With this spectacular image the town received me. Completely built in stone structures, a suspension bridge, a river and flowers in all balconies, Rupit makes us feel as if we travel to the past to take part of a wonderful story.

 

Bugs also have their role in this story

On the road leading to the hermitage of Santa Magdalena,  a variety of the most  colorful wildflowers  I’ve seen, decorate the trail

 

That same day, the adventure ended in the town of Besalu. I’ll let this images speak for me.

 

 

And to end this collection of photographs and experiences, I would like to share the last trip I did.

Walking up to the Tibidabo is amazing. My experience tells me that, if you have the opportunity to visit this place, the best option is to do it on foot. The possibility of mixing with nature, and still being so close to the city, is unique.

 

 

Always take your camera wherever you go. Remember to have a point of interest in all your photos. Do not rush, take your time to press the shutter. And above all, enjoy!

The weight of a hot day

The apathy that comes with a hot day is unique. With the feeling that mind and body are moving in slow motion, to our detriment, getting over the simpler of tasks can turn into a complete agony …

On days like this, the heat seems to emanate from everything …humidity steals the oxygen, and even the wind is too tired to blow…

The monumental weight of a heat, that can only remind us of life in Macondo, falls on us and we surrender to a state in which, between despair and frustration, the mind refuses to think and the body refutes, heatedly, all orders to get in motion…

The result? We are at the mercy of temperature, floating in a sticky and wet limbo, with a blank mind wondering how are we ever going to get on our feet again…

The limbs are loosened mixed with the heaviness of the air… the eyelids surrender… the thoughts get tangled … and the 40 celsius degrees win the battle…

Night of music, breeze and moonlight

I’m sitting here … well, ok … lying down, with my inseparable companion, my camera, some music and the breeze coming through the window, waiting for the Moon to peep through the clouds and grant me permission to photograph her at least one time.

A dog barks in the distance and everything is mixed with Hollie Cavanagh’s voice singing a cover of Bleeding Love from my Ipod.

Meanwhile, the Moon teases me into thinking that I will be honored with her presence. I let her tease me, close my eyes,  embrace the little breeze that comes, timidly, through my wide open window and I keep listening…

I spy the sky again and my eyes show me evidence that the clouds have won. The Moon decided to dispense of my company and my camera lens. Today there will not be pictures of the moon. Only her trail of light filtering through the clouds, mocking me.

Music, breeze and moonlight.

Deep lull moments like this are rare. You have to embrace them before they escape from you like the Moon has escaped from me tonight.

Let’s speak through pictures

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” It may not exist in the world a more recycled and cliché phrase than this one. So much so, that if we wish to know about the famous sentence and look it up on Google, it will not take long for it to interrupt us, auto completing our intentions before we get time to write “image”.

However, it’s commonness, is no reason for underestimating it. If this phrase has become so popular is for a reason: because it’s true. Its origin has foundations based on actual experience.

Without discrediting the exquisiteness of writing, it is imperative to recognize that the potential for expression and communication that an image could provide is extraordinary. It makes it possible to express, experiment and learn.

A perfect example? The photo essay. It is designed to tell a story through images arranged in a deliberate sequence intending to evoke emotions on the viewer.

With a photo essay is possible to know a person, visit a new city or participate in a protest across the world. Just take into account that, to achieve these experiences, it is necessary to devote and sincerely to our work.

Is not enough to be spectators. You will need commitment, dedication with time, patience and a clear objective. We must find the balance between being partakers and observers. We must be present and create a link to our subject without altering the natural order of events.

With these tips and thoughts in mind, I would like to share, as an example, the last photo essay I did. It’s called “My Grandmother”. I invite you to know her through photographs because “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Here are a couple of pictures. To see the full work you can visit my Flickr Gallery through this link. I hope you like it! http://www.flickr.com/photos/69865553@N05/sets/72157633484736063/

A Different Eye

“Seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary”

This phrase may be more easily digested in paper than in practice. However, I think it’s not as utopian as it seems. Let me tell you why. This I’ve learn through photography.

I think we have all experienced the famous “block” at least one time in our lifes. We get stunned and keep trying the same thing we’ve been doing expecting different results or, we stay put staring at the emptiness waiting for some kind of muse to come and rescues us from our mental paralysis.

We don’t realize that what all we need is a different approach, a bit of fresh air, if you will. And here is where the ordinary can save our lives. A slight change in the point of view can create something wonderful.

Whatever it is, look at it from different angle, jump, crouch, climb on a chair, flip it, look for an unusual association and escape the commonplace.

With photography we are usually advised to leave the house, explore, go beyond our four walls. However, I recommend the opposite. Stay home and, as an exercise, take what’s most common to your eyes, whatever you think would be the most boring and ordinary thing to photograph, take it’s picture and have fun with it. Try to see it in a different way.

And this apllies, not only to photography, but to many other things. I would dare to say you can aply this line of thought in any aspect of your life. For example, in advertising, many of the best  campaigns have used this practice, very effectively, to give an original approach to their communications and stand out from the bunch.

So, here is my advice. Train your eyes and your mind to see the uniqueness of things and use their essence to the fullest. Apply it to your life entirely. In your work, your hobbies, your problems and find the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Three months, 500 pictures, a thousand experiences

7,492 kilometers. Yes, that’s the exact distance I traveled before changing my life completely. Seven thousand four hundred and ninety two kilometers. That is the distance from Caracas, Venezuela to Barcelona, Spain. This, strictly, in geographical terms, of course.

With a suitcase in each arm, a bag over my shoulder and my other half next to me, I arrived to Barcelona April 6, 2013. Since that paradoxical day, neither my SD memory or mi own, are enoguh to document everything I’ve experienced.

And, since I’ve been here, the word “routine” word has no meaning for me. Each day followed to April 6 is completely new and different. This, as far as photography is concerned, it is like a dream come true.

My camera never had the opportunity to see so many things. In these ninety days she has been freed from the four walls between which, monotonously, she lived bounded from the world, for reasons beyond her will. Now she is experiencing, next to me, a world of new images.

Here in the old continent, my camera and I are inseparable. We go everywhere together. And that is as it should be for any photography lover. Thus, it is the only way not to lose unique moments andd experiences.

With this new found freedom for both of us, I had the opportunity to capture stunning images. This new life has opened my eyes and my camera lens, teaching me that, to take good photographs, practice and ingenuity, are a must.

As they say, practice makes perfect. But we must never, ever dismiss the purity that a spirit moved by novelty can do for us.