August 2023
Valdeon Woods n.1, Picos de Europa National Park, León, Spain. 2021
Gelatin silver print, available in several limited editions and sizes.
"On many occasions when I am dancing I've felt touched by something sacred. In those moments, I felt my spirit soar and become one with everything that exists!".
Michael Jackson
1958-2009
I wonder at times if it's worth all the effort that a photograph entails. Moreover, considering the fact that today, more than ever, technology facilitates image creation to incredible limits without even leaving our desk, what's the reason for it? Do observers think, after just two seconds of looking at an image on their screens, about how it was created? Do they even consider if it's real?
Today, with just a computer and a few minutes, it is possible to create the most incredible images with a series of commands. There's no need to travel hundreds or thousands of miles. There's no need to wait for the right sun position for hours. The success of a photograph is no longer dependent on the weather being propitious for it. Developing film and spending hours in the darkroom to print what you saw out there are no longer necessary.
Then, what's the reason for it?
In my opinion, there is something irreplaceable. It's that moment, the result of the conjunction of effort and luck, where all the factors needed to create something unique come together. For a few minutes, sometimes even for just a few seconds, you can feel yourself in tune with what's in front of you. It's that instant when you look through the viewfinder or the glass of your camera and say, "This is it!"
Technology can't kill traditional art because it doesn't depend on those who consume art and how they do it, but on those who create it and the irrepressible need to feel that cathartic instant, that sacred moment of creation.
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