journal
I go to Northern Washington looking for a very specific image. I thought it was going to take me a while to make it, but I got the right conditions on day one. I felt I had to try to top it, so I decide to backpack into the heart of the North Cascades.
With a new camera and a new lens, my camera setup is finally done. For now, at least. The gear I'm bringing on this photography road trip is everything I could ever dreamed of.
As shown in the video:
Main Camera: https://link.amazon/B0dnNuoU8
Backup Camera: https://link.amazon/B0fqnd9uD
Wide Angle: https://link.amazon/B0b1A7HiX
Standard Zoom: https://link.amazon/B04hShycR
Telephoto: https://link.amazon/B08K3zcmz
ND filters: https://link.amazon/B066OvtGi
Battery charger: https://link.amazon/B0cq0iHl6
Tripod: https://link.amazon/A0hfgYTXE
Good riddance, summer.
I dropped and cracked my telephoto lens. I thought a UV filter was the solution to keep it free from dust, and it may be true... but the $10 cheap filter I got also ruined what could have been the photo of the year.
After a very long and hot summer, I finally get some moody weather. But of course, it was precisely on one of the busiest days of the summer due to family.
In this video I talk about why I keep several long-term photography projects going at once; some built around a place, some around an idea, some I can't even fully explain yet. I get into how I structure them around the places I keep coming back to, what changes when you return to the same spot over months, and why a project might not ever be totally finished.
In the end, the project might not even be the point, but to pay attention.
Yesterday, I got to see my third total solar eclipse. The third time I've experienced this feeling of being overwhelmed, of belonging to something so much bigger than ourselves, of wanting to cry at seeing a mere shadow.
How lucky I feel to have been living in Oregon when the 2017 eclipse happened; to have family near the path of totality in Indiana in 2024; and to top it all, the 2026 eclipse crossing my hometown.
In these moments, photography becomes secondary. I took a couple of photos handheld and put the camera down. I did have a couple of cameras rolling, so I made a little video of the event. It was intended for personal consumption, but there's a short version on my YT channel.
A few hours well spent on the Northern Galician Coast on a beautiful cloudy summer day. Some beautiful Black and White Fine Art Photography.
I recently found this quote by Anni Albers:
Being creative is not so much the desire to do something as the listening to that which wants to be done: the dictation of the materials
This speaks to my heart because it’s the way I see photography, so I couldn’t resist adapting it to our art:
Photography is not so much the desire to photograph something as the listening to that which wants to be photographed: the dictation of the light and the scene
The work of Ansel Adams has been key to the history of photography, and it's still influencing photographers today. But it was created in a very specific context, and that's why I believe someone starting from scratch, making similar work today, wouldn't get much traction at all. The masters of the past didn't become who they are by doing more of the same. They pushed the limits of the art further than anyone before them.
I throw a few things in the car and head to the northern coast of Spain, where not only I get some relief from the intense heat but I also get to make some beautiful images. It doesn't take much to do these things.
Timing is extremely important in photography, that's why we should always be ready. Just in case the conditions we were waiting for finally happen.
A full moon and an intense storm were the perfect opportunity to create some images from my own bedroom.
I had to wait 4 years to buy my dream camera.
A location I had on my shortlist for a very long time, because I needed the perfect conditions to make the image I had in mind. After 8 years waiting, this was going to be my best chance, but will it be enough?
I had an incredible experience at Hidden Light, where I had the chance to print some of my digital photos in the darkroom, using Platinum Palladium. And no one better to teach me than Matt Beaty, who's built an incredible lab where the prints some of the biggest Pt/Pd prints in the world.
Another day at the office, enjoying the process and the landscapes with a camera in my hands.
I recently lost my dog, Luna. She came with me on hundreds of hikes and trips, always by my side while I was making images. But I'd trade them all for the photographs that truly matter.
I'm back in Spain, and I get the best weather I could hope for.
I'm back in Spain. Sadly, I came earlier than expected because our dog, Luna, was sick. It looks like she was waiting for me, because she peacefully passed away yesterday, just a few days after I arrived.
It's always a sad time when you lose a companion. And Luna was the best and most loyal adventure partner I could ever have asked for. She was always in for a walk, a hike, a long trip. We went to many places together, hours before sunrise, hours after sunset, in the snow, in the rain, in the heat and in the cold. It didn't matter the conditions, or the view. She couldn't care less about that, she was all about enjoying the moment no matter where we were. About exploring together. She always had my back.
Luna spent the last years of her life here in Spain in my parent's farm. She didn't get to go on more adventures like we used to, but I know she enjoyed farm life way more. Every day was an adventure, and she got to share it with two other dogs, many cats, and whole lot of humans.
Luna played a huge role in me becoming a photographer. It was because of her that I started going on hikes around Portland. She never, ever said no. Always ready to have a great time.
That's what I've been trying to do this week, as I knew the time was approaching. I got to go out on long walks every day, alone (she was too weak already), with my camera and my thoughts. Exploring the world she loved so much.
It's helping. I usually come back with tears in my eyes, but also with a smile. Life can be cruel, but only because it's also so beautiful. Let's enjoy it while it lasts.
