One of the most important things for every photographer should be to back everything up, redundantly and safely.
Read MoreHow to back up all your photos and videos safely
in journal
"Door", San Andres de Teixido, June 2018
in photographs
Windmill near San Andres de Teixido.
I loved the way this door "to nowhere" looked in the fog, and I had to make an image of it.
America Untitled, by Adrian Vila - dates and locations
in journal
America Untitled (2017-2018) was born from my love for the landscapes of the American West. An admiration that pushed me to the top of volcanos and remote deserts, to hike hundreds of miles, to walk on frozen lakes, and beyond my comfort zone in the middle of snowtorms.
No matter how difficult or challenging a situation was, I always had a camera with me. I took amazing photos and videos; I made countless mistakes and came back with terrible imagery; I ruined cameras due to sand, rain and ice.
All of this was part of a learning process: over time, I developed my own vision, stopped taking photographs and started making images.
It was the beginning of America Untitled. Months of traveling across 25 states and a lot of hard work were necessary to make a collection of 46 images, a strict selection from more than 250 rolls of medium format film.
America Untitled exhibition, dates and locations
More dates and locations to come soon.
August 3-17 America Untitled - Casa da Cultura, Quiroga, Spain.
November 15-30 America Untitled - Casa da Cultura, Monforte de Lemos, Spain.
Press
Ilford Photo The American West
Graine de Photographe «America untitled», Une série de paysages en noir et blanc de l’Amérique de l’ouest.
New projects
in journal
These last few days, and besides launching Image of the Month, I've been busy working on a couple of new projects.
I'm trying different techniques, and even though I don't know if these projects will materialize in new work, I've been having a lot of fun.
I'll be posting some images as a preview of what's to come. The one above is the first one and belongs to Project 1, still with no name.
American Road Trip Journal #26: Baby Bell Rock
in journal
New episode of the American Road Trip Journal.
Still in Sedona, Arizona, Luna and I go on a hike to Baby Bell Rock. It is an easy, short and beautiful hike to great views of the amazing rocks and colors of the area.
I try to shoot some photos with my Bronica SQ-Ai and Ilford HP5+, but once again, I struggle to get good compositions in black and white. Color is just too hard to get out of your mind when shooting here.
"Light", San Andres de Teixido, June 2018
in photographs
I had very different plans for this morning. I was supposed to be photographing the beautiful cliffs of the Costa Ártabra, but ended up shooting rather dramatic, mysterious shots in the thick fog that devoured the whole landscape just after dawn.
You know I love shooting in the fog: you can create beautiful images (like this one, "Light"), that otherwise would be impossible to get.
The key of this image, for me, it's the door and the light that peaks out from it. It's subtle, but it's there. And you can't avoid lookint at it.
See more images of Galicia here.
Watch the video of this morning.
"Crosses", Spain, July 2018. Image created with AOWS B&W Red Filter preset.
Download AOWS B&W Red Filter preset for free
in journal
This is the preset I usually apply to my snapshots from documenting my life and the places I go to, images that are meant to be for me and don't require much farther editing.
This preset transforms your RAW files into a gritty and contrasty black and white image. It uses the Red Filter profile from Lightroom to further increase that look.
Read MoreIntroducing "Image of the Month" and the first of the series: "The last of winter"
Today, and after a long time perfecting the process, I'm proud to announce the result of years of hard work, dedication to photography, and pouring my soul into my passion. A new series of images I'm releasing for sale that I call Image of the Month.
These images are not just ink on paper: I like to think of them as organic images. Made on film, each one tells a story and shows how I see the world: the ethereal, the unseen, the mysterious, the beautiful.
My aim is to share the experience of being there, at that moment, with you. To make you feel what I felt.
The first of these images, "The last of winter", is the perfect example of what moves me and motivates me to create.
artist contract
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.
want to know more?
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".
Prime vs Zoom lenses for landscape photography
in journal
What's the meaning of life? Who am I? Could we be living in Matrix? These are really important questions, but they all pale compared to a more important and crucial one. What's better: prime or zoom lenses for landscape photography?
Read More"White Horse", San Andres de Teixido, June 2018
in photographs
I loved photographing the horses on my trip to Cedeira a few weeks ago.
I was looking to shoot the dark ones against the sky, silhouettes on the horizon.
The white ones were more rare, but beautiful creatures. These ones I would try to photograph with a dark background to create contrast.
I got a few exposures, and this one was my favorite.
This image was made on film, actually.
Let's talk about grain on digital images
I frigging love grain.
I love it on my film photos: actually, I push them 1 or 2 stops (and even farther) not only to increase the contrast but also to get more grain. Some of my favorite images (like the one above) are full of big, rough grain.
This is why I add it to my digital photos as well.
Read MoreTower at night, Monforte de Lemos, July 2018
in photographs
I woke up early that morning, hoping for some fog. There was some indeed, but not enough to make me go out and shoot an hour before dawn.
Then I went to the living room and looked at the castle, on top of the hill. That window is the only one in the house with a clear view of the medieval structure.
I couldn't see it. The fog was, obviously, thicker up there. I put my clothes on and headed outside.
I took a few exposures, this one being my favorite, I believe. It was dark, not was there half an hour left until sunrise, but the fog didn't help the light to get through.
This is why I won't get tired of saying: wake up and get out.
How I made "Gate": from capturing it on location to editing the image
in journal
"Gate" is one of my latest images, born just a few days ago.
I want to show you how I made it, from beginning to the end, explaining the whole process.
Read More"The Path to the Sea", Illa Pancha, Ribadeo, June 2018
in photographs
Download the PDF of my new Free eBook "Lightroom CC Workflow"
in journal
After uploading a video about my workflow in the new Lightroom CC, I thought it'd be more useful for many to have those steps written down and well organized.
That's why I wrote a new eBook that I offer for free: "Lightroom CC Workflow".
Lightroom CC Workflow
How to keep your photo library under control and safe
You shoot a lot of pictures every day, you have a few projects going on at any given time, you upload your images to multiple social networks, to your website, you sell stock photos, you print your photos... among many other things.
Making a big photo library efficient for several projects is hard. Keeping it clean, tidy and, most importantly, safe, can be overwhelming. But I believe it doesn’t have to be.
Over the years, I’ve developed and refined a workflow that I use every time I make new images.
The goal of this workflow is to have a small catalog, easy to manage and browse, and unload everything that we don’t use elsewhere (but still accessible).
I sent a copy of the book to the subscribers of my newsletter a few days ago. If you haven't joined us yet, please consider subscribing to stay up to date and get books and other educational material like this one for free.
The book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial- NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND) license, so feel free to share with everyone you think might find it useful!
Landscape photography in Cedeira, Day 3
in journal
Last day of my trip to Cedeira!
As usual, the forecast completely missed it: I was expecting "mostly cloudy" and I got "rain and wind". Even though I got rained on, I still made some images (one of them was one of my favorites from the trip).
In these conditions, make sure you protect your gear appropiately. I've already ruined cameras in the past, and believe me, it isn't fun. Use a plastic bag to cover your camera, and if it's raining a lot, just don't shoot at all or use your phone (if it's weatherproof).
"Gate", San Pedro de Rocas, Ourense, June 2018
in photographs
This was a complicated shot.
First, it was hard to compose with my zoom lens. The widest it can go is 24mm, definitely pretty tight from this composition.
It's also a scene with a vertical subject, and I had to decide what else to include in this square frame so I could fit the gate and the bells / cross on the top, leaving some necessary empty space for this image to breathe.
Second, the sky was very bright behind the structure. I shot two long exposures, exposing for different parts of the image, and then blended them together in Lightroom. That gave me the extra dynamic range I needed.
Lastly, it was a long edit. I had to clone out a sign (that really distracted from the rest of the image), and dodge / burn a lot of it.
At the end though, I'm happy with the result.
A couple days with a Fuji X100T
in journal
For the last two days I've been shooting with a Fuji X100T I borrowed from Rachel. I'd tried that camera a few times before but never for too long.
I have to say I've been having a lot of fun. It's not a camera for the kind of images I make for my main body of work, but for casual, handheld shooting, is almost perfect.
These are some of the shots I got.
Read MoreLandscape photography in Cedeira, Day 2
in journal
My second day of landscape photography in Cedeira was an intense one. I found dense fog, which made impossible to photograph the big vistas. But I found something much better: intimate and mysterious compositions.
Cantabrian Sea, June 2018
in photographs
The Cantabrian Sea washes the northern coast of Spain. Still the Atlantic Ocean, it gets a different name near the shore.
I took this long exposure a few miles away from Ribadeo. There was a break in the clouds just above the horizon, and I liked the little rocks in the distance.