I remember that I loved my father’s camera, but the best thing was when my parents gave me a camera of my own when I was seven or eight years old. That was when I started to take photos, and I still do so today.
When I was on summer vacation in 1997, Reuters called me for the first time to cover an assignment 1000 km away. The assignment was the inauguration of a new mosque in Gibraltar, and they didn’t know I was so far away. I thought it could be my big chance to join Reuters, so I took the first plane out and postponed my vacation.
Over the last few months, I’ve been working on a project about the Spanish crisis. I've shot photo stories about some really nice, strong and interesting people that I met. Now some of them are my friends.
I especially love taking people’s portraits with ambient lighting, but not in the studio. I also love street photography.
I want people to like my pictures and my shooting style, no matter who they are. But I have to admit that I see myself as the most critical and demanding member of my own audience. I take care not to bore myself, or other people, with my pictures.
With hard work, patience and tenacity you can take great pictures. But you can also take them without hard work, patience and tenacity, because in many cases it comes down to luck.
I respect all photographers who don’t need to manipulate anything to create a great picture.
You have to believe in yourself and not focus too much on others in order to create your own style.
