19 August is International Photography Day, celebrating the moment when the daguerreotype was unveiled by the French Academy of Sciences in 1839.
This discovery by Louis Daguerre and Joseph Nicéphore Niépce marked the beginning of photography as we know it today.
A tribute to renowned masters of light
It is a day dedicated to recognising those who have transformed our view of the world from unique and singular perspectives, such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Annie Leibovitz and Helmut Newton, all of whom are prominent figures on a global scale.
In Spain, there are renowned photographers such as Chema Madoz and Cristina García Rodero, who stand out for their different artistic approaches to photography, along with others such as Ouka Leele and Alberto García-Alix, among others. All of them are genuine artists with unique approaches to the field of photography.
It is worth mentioning that all the photographers mentioned, who are just a sample of the hundreds of geniuses that this visual art has given us, both nationally and internationally, come from the old school of analogue photography.
Is it possible for an image to continue to attract our attention?
In recent times, everything has changed at breakneck speed. We are surrounded by a continuous flow of images that we absorb on our small screens and quickly forget in an overwhelming visual environment, full of fast-paced, automatically modified and instantly edited snapshots, as well as the increasingly noticeable presence of images generated by artificial intelligence.
Against information overload and digital saturation, it is crucial to express genuine emotions and authenticity in our creations. However, over time, I have realised that there are still two types of photographs that manage to capture my attention:
Authentic, luminous photography with a sincere touch
This is what I call a “raw” photograph. One that reflects the essence of nature in a genuine and directly perceptible way, without retouching. Where personal interpretation is paramount. Images that are based on light and humanity, as if they had been conceived today by renowned masters of visual art.
That said, I would like to link this to a thought that comes to mind:
When I started out in photography, my SLR equipment was analogue, to the point that I was lucky enough to be able to set up my own black and white darkroom at home. The process, from the beginning, was “artisanal”. Before taking a photo, you used to think a lot about the framing, measure the light as best you could, focus correctly, adjust parameters such as depth of field and shutter speed, and use a tripod if necessary.
Once you had taken the shot (or several shots) and your film was finished, a long and complex process awaited you, but it was also very rewarding. First, you had to develop the film, which was more difficult than it sounds. Once you had the negatives, it was time to print the paper with the enlarger and various chemicals.
To print, you had to choose the type and size of paper.
Once you were in the printing process, you could do things like ‘masking’ to expose more or less of an area of the image in order to overexpose or underexpose it. It was the handmade Photoshop of the time (which hadn’t changed much in 100 years). Your photograph took shape under the red light: there was magic, a lot of magic.
The thing is, when you had that copy in your hand, the satisfaction was very different from what I feel now. In fact, I would go so far as to say that analogue photos have a longer life than digital ones. Perhaps it’s similar to the difference between a song played on vinyl and a digitalised song: the curves are different. The digital has sound curves with edges (zeros and ones), and the analogue is completely organic.
Photography seen as a reinterpreted artistic expression
At the opposite end of the spectrum is photography that engages in dialogue with other artistic expressions such as painting, design and digital art. These are extremely detailed works in which the author can be identified without having to look for their signature. Their aim is not to represent reality as it is, but to reinterpret the world around us.
I could talk at length about this too, as it’s the type of photography I tend to do at the moment. I like taking digital photos, curiously enough increasingly with my phone, without having to worry about complex settings, focus, etc., focusing on what I want to capture and taking multiple photos (they’re free!) of the same frame.
Then I transfer them to Lightroom and do an initial selection. After that, I start editing with this professional tool, which I recommend to anyone who wants to get into the advanced world of digital photography.
When editing, I tweak almost all the settings, such as colour, exposure, contrast, saturation, clarity, texture… I also like to add all kinds of gradient filters and shape filters. In other words, I like to create a “new” image from the one I’ve already taken, giving it a completely different meaning, but with a touch of realism or authenticity.
In some sea photos (I’ve been taking a lot of them lately), I even invent a fake sun on the horizon if I ‘need’ it to give some kind of emphasis to the photo I want to compose. In the end, the result is almost like a painting.
As you can understand, I’m talking about different paths, two ways of creating images that have the common goal of showing something new, meaningful, unique or surprising. Something that contributes something. That’s why it’s so difficult to stand out in a world filled with an abundance of images.
I encourage you to keep looking, imagining and creating. The more photos you see, take and edit, the better your results will be: that’s the trick.
