journal
During 2022, I dedicated some time to create contact sheets of all the photographs I was taken. Including the terrible, bad ones. I wanted to preserve them as a brand new way to look at my work. Focusing less on individual photos and outings, taking a bird's eye view of my work as a whole. And I loved it.
The result is two thick volumes, more than 700 pages and more than 14,000 photographs.
In this video, I'll tell you why I decided to do it, why you might want to do the same, and how to do it.
New Mexico Church is an image I took in New Mexico back in 2019. I used my old Sony a6000 with the manual lens Rokinon 12mm f/2 (18mm FF equivalent). I didn't do much to the RAW file, besides adding some contrast.
While the contrast slider can do wonders, sometimes you have to roll up your sleeves and go local. In this case, as you can see if you pay close attention to the images above, I added some brushes to make those white parts of the frame stand out even more.
Especially the monk / priest on the bottom right, the second subject in this image after the church.
The effect is very subtle. It's noticeable when presented with the before and the after, but it'd be hard to spot otherwise. It's not obvious.
This is very important when it comes to editing and post-processing our images: to be very subtle. The best editing is the one that does its job without screaming at the viewer.
When life gives you welding glass, you take long exposures! After breaking my last ND filter, I headed to a hardware store to purchase another kind of dark glass, one that I use when I was getting started with long exposure photography years ago. And you know what? It's even better than I remembered. A totally viable option for low budget long exposure photography.
Photography is not always fun. In fact, it can be really frustrating at times. That's what makes it so challenging but at the same time so rewarding, you have to work hard to get the results you want, and there's guarantee you'll succeed.
Even when we get something, like I did in this video from Pacifica, something else can happen. This day, I lost my only surviving ND filter.
The golf course, my favorite spot to photograph during the winter months here in town. This is round two, the day after I photographed the winter storm that covered the area with snow (watch first part here).
This had been a very mild winter, with almost no snow for more than a month. I had to wait weeks, but it finally happened and I got those snowy Midwest landscapes I love to photograph.
I was very, very close to pulling the trigger on a newer, faster, better, flashier camera. I thought I *needed* it. But then, something happened, something that reminded me of what really matters in photography.
The year could not have started with better conditions: three straight days of dense fog. I'd never seen my town here in Indiana like this before! So of course I spent as much time as possible outside, camera in hand, capturing scenes that don't usually happen around here.
Time flies, and 2022 is already in the rear mirror. What a year this was for my photography! It started relatively slow, with tons of local photography, but it brought a crazy second half with tons and tons of traveling. These were the highlights and best images of the year.
Thank you so much for following along and for all your support. I couldn't do this without you.
I'm back in the US, and I got quite the welcoming! A few hours after arriving, a big blizzard covered Chicago with the magical white powder and brought incredibly cold temperatures. All of that made for some cool photography on the streets.
The only constant is change. That's how my photography (and I) thrives, by moving all the time and being exposed to different places and situations.
I did it! I can't believe it, but I was able to fix my camera's screen myself, saving a lot of time and money in the process. I missed it so much, since the screen plays such a big role in my photography process.
My last stop on this road trip: Pornic, France. A paradise for long exposure photography.
This is it. I'm back home after spending the last 4 months driving across Europe, mostly Norway. An incredible journey I'll never forget.
There will be time for me to reflect on the trip, but as of right now, I'm feeling a bit empty inside. It will take some time adjusting to the new reality, like it did when I first hit the road back in August.
And then, once I get used to being at the same place, once I established a routine, it will be time to leave it all behind again. This is what I do. Where to? When? For how long? I have some ideas, but I will know when the time comes.
This is the end of this (short) period of my life. This is the beginning of a new one.
Iconic locations have been photographed thousands, if not millions of times before. Still, I think there are very good reasons why we should go and try to capture them ourselves, even the cliché photos!
A Q&A from Oslo, on our last day in Norway.
Some days are just special. It is on those moments that I make most of my images, including my best photographs. Of course, that is not to say that we shouldn't get out as often as we can.
If you've ever felt an urge to grab your camera and start taking photos after seeing a great image from another photographer, this one is for you.
I keep a folder -aptly named "Inspiration"- in the Notes app on my phone with a collection of images that, for whatever reason, inspire me. Most are from photographers I admire, some are random online finds.
Sometimes, when I'm not feeling it, I open that folder and start scrolling through those images. More often than not, this simple act puts me in the right mood and I start seeing.
Perhaps, this is something you want to try yourself.
Inspiration can spread like wildfire.
Camera companies don't sell cameras, or lenses; they are trying to sell us an idea, a hope: buy this piece of equipment and you will become someone else, an adventurer, an explorer; finally being able to make the images you've always wanted to make.
We take the bait, and it feels good for a few hours, or a few days. Photography feels exciting again! But of course, nothing lasts forever, the hedonic treadmill works its magic and we are back to base one, feeling uninspired, until another sale tries to convince us once again that we can get there by purchasing yet something else.
Camera companies, like every retailer during this time of the year, are playing with our feelings of dissatisfaction. Perhaps with our own work, or something else. A feeling we can easily get rid of with just a quick and easy purchase.
As a photographer, I've been and I am there. I too feel dissatisfied, and spend way too much time thinking of camera gear and other easy ways to battle those feelings.
Even during this road trip across Norway I'm on, whenever I felt uninspired and couldn't find any images, I started to fantasize with what other places I should visit next. Almost wishing I was somewhere else. Imagine that, being in Norway and thinking that way!
I speak only from my personal experience, but I believe that these feelings are normal and natural to us. Perhaps, even the source of our creativity. The desire to create something new, the urge to keep getting out, the itch to explore and discover the world.
I think this is our curse, something we will experience as long as we are still growing. I believe that the moment we stop having these feelings, we will have stopped improving. And that'll probably be a sad moment.
So, be aware of this. We feel dissatisfied because we are still growing as photographers, as artists. Recognize that feeling for what it is. Look at it from a distance. Try to accept it. Don't let it define you. Be kind to yourself.
And then, grab your camera and go out make some pictures. That's still the best remedy I've found to put these feelings down.
It feels like it was a few days ago when I hit the road, but it’s been almost 4 months since I left to embark on this road trip across Norway. What an incredible experience this was! I will never forget waking up to these stunning landscapes, having breakfast out in nature, and the nights falling asleep to the sound of nearby streams.
As time passed, though, my sensitivity to these landscapes and to the experience itself decreased. I don't want to say I took it all for granted, but I got used to it somewhat. It always happens to me, no matter where I am.
Even though we human beings don't like change, we can become accustomed to almost any situation given enough time. Perhaps, this is why I keep moving every few weeks, every few months. No permanent home, always on the move, carrying all my possessions with me across two continents.
Despite all the downsides of this lifestyle -and it has plenty of them-, the main reason I like living this way is because it exposes the true nature of time. I don't let myself get used to anything for too long. There's always a feeling of urgency, of trying to take it all in while it lasts, because there's an expiration date.
The deadline for my time in Norway is approaching quickly, and I know I will miss these drives along the Norwegian lakes and fjords very much. Very soon, all of this will be just a memory of something that happened in the past. A memory I'll have to fight to keep alive.
But as they say, every beginning is another beginning's end. In a few weeks, Norway will be over, and I'll be back in Spain. Shortly after, I'll leave for the US. And not too long after that, I'll be taking another plane back to Europe.
We are running out of time, even if we don't notice its passing. Let's take it all in while we can.
