28 Mar 2023

1 Mar 2023

Artificial intelligence. It was the word of the year 2022, although in reality there are two, according to the FundéuRAE (Fundación del Español Urgente). And there is no shortage of reasons because, over the past year, AI has ceased to be just another of those words that come in one ear and end up going out the other with no further consequences, and has become the name of something sufficiently relevant to start to stick in our heads. Artificial intelligence in photography is no longer science fiction.

Let’s say that something similar has happened with AI to what happened with another syntagma, climate change, two words that have also been part of our vocabulary for decades, which, despite the warnings, we interpreted as something alien to our lives until, in the midst of the energy crisis, the hottest summer in history arrives, precisely the summer of 2022, and more than one begins to become aware of its meaning and the consequences of ignoring it. Welcome, then, even if it is already a little late…

Origami Sneakers. Nat Gutiérrez 2022. Midjourney+Photoshop+Topaz Gigapixel AI.

5 Jan 2023

There is a debate on the Internet about the authorship of the first “selfie in history” (inverted commas, please) and the time frame in which it was taken. The debate, beyond breaking some millennial’s mind by placing the first action attributable to the Anglo-Saxon term selfie outside the 21st century and without an upload option on Instagram, involves another secondary debate (or perhaps it is the main one) about the correct definition of what a selfie is supposed to be.

1 Nov 2022

If you want to become a professional photographer and make a living out of it, it’s important to study the greats and these 8 photography catalogues helped me a lot in my early days.

6 Oct 2022

In many cases the profession of photographer is not valued. At Arcadina we are in direct contact with many colleagues and every day we receive comments such as: “Why do I have to offer my photo shoots for free? Why should I lower the prices of my photo sessions?

And we know that many of you are wondering why the profession of photography is not valued, “What are we doing wrong? And when will the rest of society really appreciate our work?”

These and many others are the questions that many fellow photographers ask themselves when they see that they are questioned on a daily basis and that they try to haggle over their work, or are even asked to do a photo shoot for free. Something inconceivable in any other profession.

20 Jul 2020

Vice

When I started to earn my living with my first photographic assignments, more than 25 years ago, I had two clear “vices”, music and photographic catalogues. At that time I had not yet set up my first studio and therefore was not yet aware of the meaning of “living to pay”. My only investments were records and books, and I wasn’t really planning to do much more either. I was happy with so little or… so much, depending on how you look at it. In fact, when I recall in my mind some passages from my previous youth, I can still clearly relive that almost orgasmic feeling of tearing off the plastic wrapping and discovering the interior design of a CD by Mike Oldfield or Wim Mertens, or the photographs in a catalogue by Duane Michals, Jan Saudek or Helmut Newton. Usually this scene used to take place on a train, back home, after liquidating much of my income in music shops and bookstores in the capital, and I think my ecstasy was more than evident because when I looked around it was not uncommon to come across someone watching me as if I was the same Gollum engrossed in his “treasure”.