journal
I've been having a lot of fun with my bike lately. My bike and my camera, that is: almost the perfect marriage. I got to go to places where I'd never go neither by foot nor by car, and as a result, I made some new images. I got sick, though, as the temperature drops like a billion degrees when you ride a bike in cold weather. Totally worth it.
I'm not entirely sure what function these serve, but they looked pretty good. Good enough for an image, I believe.
Galicia, October 2021.
Mobius Arch is the first image I add to the Image of the Month collection in a while. Actually, it is 1 of 8 new images to complete the collection for this year 2021.
I made this image on a cold morning at the Alabama Hills, a spot I had visited many times in the past. It is definitely one of the, if not the most beautiful single view I had seen in the US so far. Sunrises can be truly stunning there.
But this morning, there was no sunrise: the clouds obscured the view of the peaks of the Eastern Sierra. They also created a very nice atmosphere that I tried to capture here, using the Arch to frame some of the mountains in the background.
I knew this was going to be one of my favorite images from that place right away, and I believe now it is my best from there.
Remember: there are two sizes to choose from, 6x6 and 8x8 (inches). In both cases, the matt and frame are 12x12 (this means a bigger margin for the 6x6 print).
Shipping is free to the US now. International shipping is a flat rate of $19.95.
A new image will be released every month and offered at a reduced price during that time. After 30 days, it will be sold at full price. They will never be on sale at any time in the future, the rate during the first month will be the lowest, ever.
You can find more information about how I create my images and all the details about pricing on The Art and Craft behind my prints.
Back home, back to photographing the fog. I only had an hour before having to run some errands, but I was still able to sneak in some photography.
I love fog. Fog is very important for my photography, as it creates the atmosphere and the mystery I look for with my images.
As you can imagine, being able to predict (or at least have some degree of confidence) where and when fog happens can make a big difference. That’s why I always keep an eye on some key numbers that are a good indicator of possible mist.
I use an app called Clear Outside. It’s not a good one, it’s old and hasn’t been updated in years, but I love how simple it is. I can see everything I need in one quick glimpse, with no distractions.
What I look for is:
This is not an exact science, quite the opposite: predicting fog is really hard. But with the right numbers, and some knowledge about the location, you can have a rough idea of what to expect. And maybe have your camera bag ready to go, just in case.
One of the most beautiful hikes I've done in the Pyrenees. The lakes reminded me a lot of the Enchantments in Washington State, another of my favorite hikes.
This is a moderate hike, a 9.5mile / 16kms loop with some 2,500 feet / 800m of elevation gain. Rocky terrain, it was also a bit slippery due to the rain of the day before.
Photography wise, there are plenty of opportunities. The hike starts through a dense forest with some very beautiful trees, and then opens up once the lakes start. You get incredible views of Midi d'Ossau, and there are other peaks as well.
As always in the mountains, it's all about the light. Conditions can change quickly, especially on partly cloudy days. If you find a composition you like, it might pay off to wait a little bit to see if the light improves.
My photography book collection is rather small: just a handful of volumes I really adore.
Books are an important source of inspiration, and I'd definitely have more if I had a permanent home. But I can't help to think that keeping it small has helped my photography in many unexpected ways.
I lack formal education in the arts, even less in photography. I didn't have a mentor either. I learned many things from work I was seeing online, and from the books I do own, but most of what I know, I gained from experience alone. From the daily practice of photography.
Of course my work and myself as a person are heavily influenced by others. We are humans after all, we don't live in a vacuum. But the lack of formal knowledge and understanding of photography made me freer than I would be otherwise.
Free from comparisons, free from following the rules, and free from not following the rules. I was doing photography for the sake of photography.
This is still true today. For example, I try not to look at other photographer's images of a place I'm going to visit soon. I like to see it myself first, to take it all in with an empty mind, free from preconceived ideas, and make the images I see. Then, I might take a look, often to realize just how different or how similar we saw that location. It's fun.
There's a lot value in studying someone else's work, but sometimes, it's more fun to go somewhere with an open mind and try to create something different. Something that comes from within.
As new cameras are announced, I can’t help but to feel like digital cameras have peaked, when it comes to photography at least. Most of the innovations of the last few years have been about video. We do get more megapixels and better AF with each iteration, but they are minor iterations.
That’s not bad, though. Today, pretty much any camera in the market is capable of producing amazing photographs. It’s a good time to be a photographer.
But I wonder, where is photography headed from here? Surely, computational photography will play a big role in the short-term. In my opinion, smartphones are not the future of photography, but they are hinting at where standalone, interchangeable lens cameras have to go in the next few years. I can’t wait to see what’s coming next.
After that? Who knows. And who cares, really. Instead of longing for a future better camera, let’s enjoy the features we do have today that we were longing for just a few years ago.
Nature was, is and will always be what inspires my photography. The beautiful landscapes of Oregon were the reason why I picked a camera up and started to take photos a few years ago.
Over time, though, and as I looked for more ways to practice my photography every day, subjects other than nature started to sneak into my images.
A beautiful hike I got to do in the Pyrenees mountains, in Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park.
Social media is probably the most powerful tool creators have to show their work today. There's nothing even close to its reach and convenience.
But with great power comes great responsibility, and social media apps come with plenty of dangers we should be aware of.
I personally try to focus as much as I can on the platforms I do control (my website and newsletter), and use social media as a tool to get new eyes to see my work, keep people updated, and to let everyone know where else they can find me. Relying solely on social media is a trap, it's not under your control, and it's not under your own terms.
I also schedule my posting on social media, so I don't have to open the apps to share my work. I don't even need to have the apps, since I do all of this from my computer.
This is a place I'd been wanting to see with my own eyes for a long time, and I finally made it happen. The light was not the best the firs time, so I went back another time. I made a few images, including one that I love, and got to see the lake with the beautiful Midi d'Ossau in the background.
It took me 4 days to make these images. Four days going to the same spot, hoping to find the right conditions. Until it finally happened. But as I was taking the photos, a car stopped by, someone stepped out with a camera, took a couple of shots, and left. Just like that, they got the same image it had taken me several days to make.
Anyone can get lucky - I have gotten lucky more times than I can count. Luck plays a very important role in photography, especially in outdoor photography where very few things are under our control.
Photographers must seek that luck, though. We have to put ourselves in situations where luck has no option but to find us. Perseverance will give us a better chance to get lucky.
I spent a few hours at the Bardenas reales, the Spanish badlands. A beautiful, vast, and desolate landscape. This is what I saw, and the images I made there.
Making money with photography isn't easy. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work to even make a few $$$, but it's totally worth it if you love the process. And I do.
Starting today, I want to offer the option to those of you who can afford it to support me even further. I opened a Patreon page where you can choose one of the different tiers. Your contribution will allows me to keep doing this that I love so much.
It's a nice morning. Let's go out and shoot some photos.
I made these two images last week, in my parent's farm.
When I saw the ladder, I knew I had to capture it. The light was just so beautiful! While trying to find new angles for the ladder, I saw the cloud and the power lines crossing in front of it. Of course, I took a photo of that too.
Light can happen at anytime, anywhere. Always look for it.
Today, editing software offers us more tools than we'll ever need. Some of them can be used in ways they might have not been intended too, expanding even more the creative possibilities of today's photography.
Come along with me as I photograph a medieval castle on a very foggy morning.
I love walking, and I love photography. So, of course, a big part of my photography is done during my daily walks.
The camera gear I carry with me has changed quite a bit over the years, as I try to find the balance between flexibility, versatility, convenience, image quality, and low light performance. In this video, I talk about my current gear.
You can find a more exhaustive list of the camera gear I use for photography and video here: my camera gear.
