book
I'm so excited to announce my new book, "Memorias na néboa" (that's galician, it means "Memories in the fog"). A collection of over 100 images made in and around my hometown.
I'm very proud of this volume, the result of years of work and hundreds of walks with my camera in hand.
The vast majority of my photography is in square format, and it's been this way for a few years now. In this video, I share many of things I've learned over time about the square format, as well as plenty of examples for every compositional technique.
I'm also releasing an e-book with all the information in this video, and much more! Additional compositions and many more examples.
My Patreons get the book for free. You can also purchase a copy of "How to make images in square format".
A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure to talk about my book ONE to Euan Ross from his podcast Biblioscapes in Discussion. It was a lot of fun, and you can listen to the conversation here. You won't regret taking some time to go through some of the past episodes with some very talented and interested photographers.
I owe photography a new way to see the world. I felt an urge to capture and share what I saw, and that’s what drove me for years. Until I published my book. For the first time, there was a sense of completion, almost as if I had accomplish my mission.
Was that it? Was I done with photography?
I wasn’t. All I needed was a break from the summer, and I finally got the perfect morning.
Years in the making, my first "coffee table" photo book is finally here. ONE is a collection of almost 200 images, my best work from the first 5 years as a professional photographer.
ONE is available right now for preorder. Make sure to get your copy before June 13th. On that day, I will stop taking orders and the book will go to the printer. There will be no more copies after that.
If you can't find your country in the list, please contact me to find a way to get a copy in your hands.
In this video, I give you a quick overview of my whole photography process. From the very beginning, when the image is just an idea, to the very end, sharing those images online or making a print.
One of the recurring themes in the messages I get from other photographers is about their struggle to find time for photography on a daily basis.
Today, we are so busy all the time! It's the busyness era. If you aren't doing something, you are falling behind. It's all about the hustle, right?
This is an issue I'm deeply interested in. Recently, I read the book related to this topic, Make Time, and in this video I share some of the key points from the book, along with some of my own, all applied to photography.
We'll see why we are so busy, why we need to make time for photography, the highlight of the day, and several tips to make time for photography.
I love the default Notes app on iOS - because it synchronizes across all my devices, it's like having a notebook always with me.
One of the ways I use the Notes app is to capture all my thoughts and ideas, in whatever form they might happen. Every day, I create a new note and I start filling it with everything the day might bring: from a rough schedule of how I expect the day to go, to notes from books and articles I read, or podcasts I listen to, including images of stuff I find interesting, inspiring quotes, audio recordings of ideas that come to mind, and in general, anything that goes through my mind that might be useful or inspiring in the future.
Every once in a while, usually on the weekend, I'll go through my notes and pick the most interesting parts. This is how I come up with ideas for my videos / blog posts, places I want to photograph, and how I learn (some of the things I write down are good starting points to research more about the topic).
I love reading physical books.
Most of them, though, only serve their purpose for a few days. Once I'm done with them, they become both a waste and a burden (my semi-nomadic life means I can't bring them with me). Reselling or donating them is the only option -if you can find anyone who wants them, that is.
This is why the vast majority of books I read are electronic: there's no waste and bringing them along is not an issue. But I miss the paper...
Libraries are the answer to this problem. In general, libraries here in the US work so much better than the ones I've used in Spain. Even though you might have to wait a few days (or even a few weeks if the book is popular), you get access to a huge catalog of physical and electronic books, plus a big collection of audiobooks.
One of the first things I did once my quarantine was over was to visit my local library and renew my membership. I also grabbed a few books, of course. And I have a few more on hold that should be on my way from other branches all over Indiana.
This way, I get to read and enjoy the paper version of the book, and return it for someone else's enjoyment. There's no waste, and no need for more storage.
If I like the book, I can buy the electronic version to keep as reference / for future readings.
I'm a big advocate of new technologies, but also very aware of the dangers of smartphones and always-connected devices in general. While they can be tools of empowerment for artists, they can also be the source of distraction.
A distracted mind can’t take photos. Let’s see how reading can rebuild our capacity to focus and increase our attention span, and how that affects our photography.
Read MoreI thought I had everything figured out. Then I found myself quitting my job, selling all my possessions and moving overseas with my wife. What followed was an adventure that transformed not only who I was, but who I thought I could become. This is the visual story of a journey of becoming.
Becoming an American is a visual autobiography, covering one of the most transformative periods of my life. After 30 years of comfortable and predictable life in Spain, I quit my job, sold everything I owned, and got on a plane to cross the ocean.
I was to travel thousands of miles in the next few years, but the true journey didn't happen on the road, it was within. By embracing the unknown, going well beyond my comfort zone, and experiencing new places, I realized I was able to build a whole new self, from scratch.
The images in the book are the experiences I went through to build a new me. Most of them were neither comfortable nor predictable, but that's what kept me constantly in awe and feeling alive.
I felt free for the first time in my life. I had become an American.
This book was never in my mind when I was capturing those raw moments. Most of the images were never meant for publication, but that's what makes Becoming an American so personal for me.
Becoming an American is available for purchase now. Please allow a couple of weeks for printing and delivery.
I have a new book I'd love to share with you. In "Photography is easy", I try to debunk 10 common myths about photography. I talk about topics like camera gear, Instagram, how to make images anywhere, and why we should strive to be and remain beginners.
This is the cover of Becoming an American, my upcoming book.
I've been working on a couple of books that I hope to release very soon. I started working on one of them years ago, but never found the time required to finish it and it's been a side project since then.
I realized I wasn't going to finish it ever unless I created some space and time for it. This means I had to cut down on other parts of my work, my YouTube channel to be specific. I haven't uploaded any videos for over a week now, but don't worry, there will more as soon as I'm done with these two bigger projects.
Self-play is a concept that I find fascinating: artificial intelligence can learn how to play games -like chess- by playing against themselves over and over. Starting from scratch, with no knowledge of what works and what doesn't, machines eventually come up with strategies and plays that surprise even grandmasters, who reward them as "creative". This made me think about photography: how we look for inspiration in other photographers' work, and the value of experimentation.
Read MoreI'm currently reading Susan Sontag's On Photography - definitively a thought-provoking book, to say the least.
In Heroism of Vision, she mentions photographer Edward Weston and his supposedly vision of photography as "elitist, prophetic, subversive, revelatory". Sontag attributes to him the following thought:
Photographers reveal to others the world around them [...] showing to them what their own unseeing eyes had missed
This vision does sound a little elitist, painting the photographer as a prophet.
While I distrust truth-tellers, I do believe our photography can be self-revealing and we can become our own prophets. Photography has led me to places where I would normally not be and to situations I wouldn't necessarily put myself in.
It makes me feel alive.
I see image making as the excuse to connect with a forgotten part of the world that doesn't seem to affect us (me) anymore. We live in these little bubbles, away from nature, and photography helps me to find part of that lost connection. It's worked for me and that's why I share my work and passion for photography, because I believe it can work for others as well.
An approach to photography not as a means to show anything to others, but to reveal the world to ourselves.
As photographers, we often have to deal with resistance. As Steven Pressfield puts it, resistance "is a force that will stop an individual's creative activity through any means necessary", including "rationalizing, inspiring fear and anxiety".
After a long trip through Spain, France and Germany, I took a break for 3 days. It was a short one, but enough to "break the momentum" I had.
In this video, I face that resistance and try build momentum again. From beautiful Innsbruck, Austria.
I recently read the book Make your bed by William H. McRaven. It's a just ok read, but the subtitle intrigued me:
"little things that can change your life"
The basic idea is that even the smallest things you do early on can trigger a chain reaction that will determine the rest of your day.
It resonated with me. This might sound familiar to you as well:
A lazy and unproductive day starts the night before, going to bed a bit later than usual. I'll get up a bit later and will be a bit more tired. Less time and less energy mean fewer things getting done. It's around noon when I realize I haven't done much, and usually give up my whole day by then. "It's already too late and I'm tired, I better leave this for tomorrow".
A productive day, on the other hand, starts by going to bed at a decent time, getting up early, and trying to accomplish something before the sun is out. Writing, going for a walk / run, or getting out to photograph are essential in my morning routine.
The day won't seem so overwhelming when it's still 8 or 9 in the morning and you've already accomplished something, even if they are small things.
And yes, I make my bed too.
In this video, I wonder about the value on buying photo books. Taking into consideration that we can look at images from our favorite photographers online, at any time and from anywhere, are books still a good investment?
I don't mean a financial investment, by the way. I mean an investment on our photography, to improve our vision and to get inspired.
Also in this video, I venture on the streets of Lisbon looking for a photo book. It'd be the first of my new collection. The chosen one: "Genesis", by Sebastião Salgado.
