Sun going down behind the Tibidabo in Barcelona
The answer to this question is very clichéed: by taking the first step. It’s true, even though it’s easier said than done. For me that first step was buying my very first camera.
If you read my previous post you already know that I’ve always had this voice inside of me that wanted to express something. I just didn’t know what or how. The only thing I knew for sure was that I needed to do something about it because my levels of frustation with the life I was living were sky high.
I not always knew that I wanted to become a photographer. In fact, like many creatives out there I feel like I am good at many things. And I enjoy doing them all. So on the road to self-discovery I tried many different creative paths: dancing, writing, cooking… and of course, photography. But it wasn’t until I tried photography that I found a special connection with the medium. I bought my first camera very late in my life, at age 25. It was a digital compact camera. I took that camera everywhere I went: on trips, to parties, to family events, you name it. And people seemed to like my photos. I remember my mom would say that she only wanted me to photograph her because I was the only one who made her smile and look pretty. But at that time photography was just a hobby for me.
It wasn’t until I became 30 that I started looking at photography with different eyes. I was living in Barcelona at the time and moved into a flat with amazing views of the Tibidabo, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world. Every day at sundown I was offered amazing views of the sun going down behind the park that were simply too breathtaking not to capture in photo. Those were the views that inspired “Finestres”, an ongoing personal project in which I photograph the views from every flat in every city I live in.
For the next 5 years I basically took landscape photos, but I don’t think I was any good at it. I just loved the medium and enjoyed the experience of capturing moments. When that little compact camera turned 10 years old I changed it for a hybrid camera. I felt ready for doing more serious work and for starting photographing people. Still as a hobbyist. I hadn’t realised yet the important role that photography would play in my life later on.
I was still an ocean away from discovering my true path…
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