Learning to let go

March 09, 2019 in journal

It's probably just rain. That's what I thought when I first heard it. As I was putting my headphones on, something told me to pay closer attention to the noise coming from upstairs.

It's not rain. I knew something was off as soon as I started climbing the stairs. There's smoke up there. A lot of smoke, actually. Something was burning and I didn't know what to expect.

The room seemed fine at first sight. It took me a couple of seconds to see them through the holes they had created on the ceiling: flames. There was a fire in between the roof and the ceiling right where the chimney column goes through. The house is burning down.

This image wasn't supposed to work

March 08, 2019 in journal

I made this image during a walk yesterday evening. I had passed by this field dozens of times before, but something caught my eye this time.

This image isn't supposed to work: there's no clear subject, no anchor, no leading lines. And still, there's something about it that I love.

It might be the emptiness of the field, or maybe the blackness of the pine trees. Perhaps the two bright cottonwoods on the very left edge of the frame.

Whatever it is, I think this image has many of the elements I seek with my photography. Many times, that means following your instinct and forgetting about everyone else's rules.

Benefits of shooting with a cheap camera

March 07, 2019 in journal

A few years ago, my most common camera setup was a Sony A7II with a 16-35mm f/4 lens (a combo worth more than $3k at the time). While that's not a lot of money when it comes to cameras, it was for me.

One day, I got caught in very heavy rain in the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. I was on a hike, my camera got extremely wet and I didn't get to a dry place for over 2 hours. As a result, the screen stopped working and I had to send it in for repair. The bill: $400.

That's exactly what my current camera (a Sony a6000) is worth today, brand new.

Over the years, I've found that using a cheap camera has actually a lot of benefits over a more expensive one.

How to copy videos from Sony cameras to the iPad directly from the SD card

March 06, 2019 in journal

I've been testing out my iPad Pro 9.7" (2016) as my sole device for writing, photo editing and video editing. I will be talking about the whole experience in more depth soon, but today I wanted to share the easiest way I've found to copy video files from a Sony camera to the iPad.

The best content I've ever watched on YouTube: "The Atlantic Selects"

March 04, 2019 in journal

Very, very rarely you will see me recommending content from YouTube like this.

However, some of the movies that The Atlantic is putting out in their series The Atlantic Selects are brilliant pieces of filmmaking and storytelling. I think they are the best content I've ever watched on YouTube.

These are two of my favorites, but I really encourage you to take a look at the other videos of this series. You won't be disappointed.

Don't aim for perfection

March 04, 2019 in journal

A few days ago and while working on my YouTube channel, I came across some of the first videos I made.

They are just horrible.

I was partly aware of this when I published them, but at the time I was doing my best.

Today, I have better gear and I know more about video than I did back then. Most of this improvement happened because I started uploading videos and realized what was working and what could be improved.

If I had aimed for perfection I would have never published any video, post or image, ever.

We need to finish. A finisher gets better and better every time they put something out there. Only through practice can we improve.

I hope to come back to my current videos in a few years and see that, once again, they look horrible. That could only mean that my filmmaking skills improved.

White Balance in Black and White Photography

March 03, 2019 in journal

Despite the lack of it, color is very important in Black and White Photography.

White Balance (or Color Balance) is one of most commonly used tools (it's actually two: temperature and tint) in color photography to modify the warmth and tint of an image.

It is overlooked by many when it comes to Black and White imagery, but we'll see why you might want to add this tool to your monochrome editing workflow.

Galician Still Life: Bronica and Ilford FP4

March 03, 2019 in journal

These are some of the images I've made of some objects with my Bronica and Ilford FP4. Watch the video here.

Art made by and for humans

March 02, 2019 in journal

In this day and age where AI is starting to take over photography (see: portraits of people that don't exist made by AI, one is tempted to think that photography is doomed.

I believe this might open new opportunities for (human) artists, actually.

6 ideas to create minimalist backgrounds in your images

March 02, 2019 in journal

When we see something that catches our eye, it's very tempting to focus on that and start shooting from where we’re standing. This is a mistake.

A good subject is not enough to make a good image.

It's very important to stop and give the scene some time, see beyond the obvious and pay close attention to the background and the edges of our frame. They can make or break an image.

Even the most beautiful subject will make for a bad image with the wrong background.

Fujifilm X100T: a short review

March 01, 2019 in journal

I'm spending some time in the country trying to reflect and getting to know myself a bit better. As I put aside all my cameras, this is the perfect excuse to convince my wife to let me use her Fujifilm X100T.

I've always loved this camera. It's already a bit old (it was released in 2014) but still working perfectly fine and creating stunning images.

These are some of my impressions.

Creating a simple and beautiful world through photography

March 01, 2019 in journal

There's a little living room on the second floor at my parent's house. It's home to ancient books, old radios, a TV from the 1950s, a big wooden desk, and even a display cabinet with some old phones and model trains.

In between a shelf and the frame of the door, there's a vertical and narrow bit of empty wall. You wouldn't even notice it, but my dad asked me to make a vertical panorama so they could hang it there and fill that barren space.

What's up with this aversion for empty spaces? Why do we need to fill everything with stuff?

Know Thyself

February 28, 2019 in journal

It's an old trick that my mind likes to play on me. Whatever I do, even if I feel like I did a good job, it always comes to whisper: "you could have done much better than that".

I'm taking a break. Not because I'm burnt out but because I want to listen to that whisper. I want to know if I can do better, I want to find my limits, I want to know myself better.

For the next 16 days -when I have my next photography trip- I will be focusing on those areas that I've been neglecting: self-care, reflection and study.

Digital photography is expensive

February 25, 2019 in journal

They say film photography forces you to think more because every shot costs you money. Digital is "free".

I disagree. In fact, I believe digital photography can be very, very expensive.

Video: “Silent Shooting with the Bronica and Ilford HP5”

February 24, 2019 in journal

Still life photography with the Bronica and Ilford FP4

February 21, 2019 in journal

I want to start adding some still life images and portraits into my projects. In this video, I make some images of tools and old objects to be included in a future project.

Camera gear I use to record myself and document my work

February 19, 2019 in journal

I've talked about the importance of documenting your work before. I believe that documenting and sharing your processes and workflows can only help you to improve them.

One the mediums I choose to document and share my work is video. I've been uploading video content to YouTube for a few years now, and I've learned quite a few things on the way.

I will be sharing some advice, tips and tricks in the next few days. Today, we'll talk about the camera gear I use to make those videos.

Photography doesn't start with a camera (video)

February 19, 2019 in journal

Just some thoughts on video about something we've talked about here recently.

Storks, Monforte de Lemos, February 2019

February 18, 2019 in photographs

This image was one of my first attempts at wildlife photography with my Bronica SQ-Ai. I failed.

As soon as I got close, the storks flew away and never came back. I waited with my tripod and camera ready for almost an hour. They didn't trust me and I don't blame them.

I moved on and kept making images, but decided to check on them again on my way back home, and good I did. They were back, and this time I won't let them leave without an image.

Having ran out of film, I grabbed my digital camera. That would've been my choice anyway, even if I had film. The Bronica proved too big and slow for a scene like this.

I clicked a few times, but it was with this last composition that I got what I was looking for. Inmediately after, they flew away again. This time, I didn't mind.

You can watch the whole thing on this video: "Wildlife" photography with the Bronica.