Thanks to Filmmaker and writer/poet David Martinez Romero, I’m privileged to introduce many of you to another talent from Spain, photographer Juan David Cortes. As with any artist, their words inevitably are echoed best and loudest within their body of work, but attached is a brief Q&A to get to know the man behind the camera. What binds us all, is the element of ‘story’, and as the saying goes “a picture says a thousand words”, mainly because every image communicates a different message to each new set of eyes. A common theme among photographers is that their work is simply a perception and interpretation of life, and within this dynamic we find different meanings to lend more resonance to our existence. One could look at it this deeply, or you could peruse the photos just to find something beautiful and interesting, because what would the world be like without these elements and finer details? I chose to display this first image, because I lived it just last week... Enjoy! Q & A with Juan David - [Darkened text are Juan David's words] 1. What model camera do you use/what would you like to use in future? I use several cameras. A digital slr (5D mark II) for assignments and some specific personal work, for all the rest I use film cameras: 35mm reflex Olympus OM-1 and eos 5, 35mm rangefinder Canon 7, and medium format Bronica. I´ve never thought what camera I would like to use, I think each work needs it´s own tools, so one that I feel comfortable with. 2. It's different with every artist, but if there is one, then what is the most striking/vivid/favourite photo you've ever taken? And partnered with that, what is your favourite subject - some photographers, like landscapes, nature, movement...? I can´t choose a favourite photo, every photo has it´s particular mood, moves some feelings and doesn´t move others. I mean that the pictures among my own that strike me today are not the same that will do tomorrow. I like the fact that there´s always some discreet and subtle photos that eventually become “chosen” and some striking and powerful ones that you get eventually tired of. 3. When did you realize you wanted to be a photographer? One day, when I was 23 or 24, watching the photos that a friend has taken in a travel. I felt as if I was watching photos for the first time. Looking at his pictures (Marcos Bauza great and inspiring photographer) I felt something hard to explain, but that could be said that life will be much more interesting with photography in it. Later on, I realised that while I have photography I will never feel alone or meaningless, It provides me a place in the world. Later on I discovered that It´s like living with a highlighter pen used to express your opinion in an metaphoric way, more instinctive and at the same time more open and more accurate. 4. How has photography changed the way you see the world? I don´t think that it has changed my way of seeing the world, beyond that now I pay attention all the time to light and composition, even when I don’t have a camera with me. I think that photography is used from inside to outside, to express more that to see. 5. If you were not a photographer, then what would you be (also, what was your ambition when you were a little boy, since I believe photography could not always have been your passion)? When I was a little boy I wanted to be a sea biologist, I was a sea life freak. When I was six or seven my dad bought me a five-volume sea world encyclopaedia and practically memorized it. As an adult I think I would like to be a carpenter. I think a good phrase is very similar to a good photo... “God is among pots” “It´s not the mountain ahead that wears you out, It´s the pebble in your shoe.” - A Chinese proverb that I first heard from Muhammad Ali. Regarding the photos… I´m not going to pick any [favourites], just tell you that the most personal works in my web are “rhetoric”, “summer is almost gone”, “przewalskii” and “yerma” which is a work in progress... *** [All images are Juan David's and are used by his permission. The captions refer to the name of the respective series'. The one image without a caption is from Tumblr] Muchos Gracias Juan David!
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Artist Feature "Eldorado. Actually, it is 8 years old. But it did not become an independent brand until the second year, so you could say Eldorado Entertainment started 6 years ago. Eldorado Entertainment was my first project as an entrepreneur/ producer/ director. I am not sure what will come of it in the future: I believe I will make only fiction out of it, I mean, if I am lucky: tv series and movies. On the other hand, The Homo Artifex Project is the main project, very soon my new company, and I will base its business model on two directions: one, tv spots, virals, commercials and other stuff for clients; two, Homo Artifex, an internet video channel in which I will publish videos about artistic processes and many other things related to arts, science and philosophy. But The Homo Artifex Project is still developing into a proper company. My objective: launch the channel before the New Year and make it a profitable company this very year, Already working on projects on demand by new clients. You will see some of them very soon." - statement by David M. Romero Showreel 2010 from Eldorado Entertainment on Vimeo. And speaking of Homo Artifex, here's the latest video "Glede" Introduced as such -- While the official presentation of Homo Artifex presents the theme of 'in the distance', we had the opportunity to participate in a particularly interesting project, and put it to video; a gathering of musicians of Norwegian and Spanish jazz, we have called "Glede" (joy ">, in Norwegian). I hope you enjoy it, as it also serves as an incentive, for the expectation of the arrival of our next work. Glede from Eldorado Entertainment on Vimeo. Another recommended video by David Martinez Romero, showcasing his directorial work... ***ANNOUNCEMENT***: Steven Benjamin will be away for the month of August, so there'll be no Blog updates till September. God Bless! Story of remoteness, 8. Voice in the Distance Poem by David Martinez Romero I always return from the far land to where I always head for. And each time, my hands, delicately hardened by time, quiver just with the presence of the sparse memory of a past that never was, that only happened because we dreamed, and inside our dreams the lies also disappear, already lost the right to cling onto what we know is not true. That’s why I speak from remoteness, because lying down here, beside you, I prefer to remain in silence, I choose not to take the floor, but your hands in mine. I choose to die in the quietness and to be reborn in the sense of touch, into the inhospitable region of the very lamenting creatures which sinuously crawl into the chrysalis, the future, the enormous wall, made of sky and music, that descends over the sea and generates horizons, frontiers, distances. The remoteness amongst one and another man: behold the Eternity. Read more at David Martinez Romero's blogspot... "I brought you another poem by David Martinez Romero, included here because despite its humble length, he and I did wrestle a bit with it, such that it may have taken on new or added meaning in the translation from Spanish to English. But, such is the nature of poetry and writing, when even the poet himself sees that his creation may speak its own language. Personally, I see it as quite a vague piece, that communicates the same message as reflected in the title, because it feels wispy, faint and subtle, even in the actions, which are sleight; the voice, a voice, the echoes of small gestures. Ultimately, I also needed something a little lighter compared to heavy content I've shared recently, so in effect it feels rather relevant that the poem communicates a soft message of purity, something which one needs to remember, especially in these chaotic times..." [Image credits: devpolicy.org, photosof.org, dejavouz.files.wordpress.org, deviantart.net, media.massal.net] Story of remoteness, 7. Who will the poet fight for? Poem by David Martinez Romero Who shall fight, if not the poet. Those who do not sing, perhaps? Or maybe those who do not laugh, those who do not dance? No. Not them. But the poet has returned to fight for us, for all of us who feel the tide rising from within, for all of us who make a gift out of happiness and, with balanced patience, retire ourselves always into a hidden palace, into a woman, a landscape, a book. The poet came back in the name of love for the few, at last detached from the eternal hatred that flows too fast, and in the slowness of these words, words reborn into the cup of the New Hope, he shall gently reveal to anyone what is theirs. He will give to each what belongs to each one as he will take away from the void what was never his to have. With the same love that only the afternoon understands in its warm light he will bathe our hands tainted in ash, he will clean our neglected memories, he will grant time to what demands reproduction and needs of the future. The poet came to stay, he came like the sea, like the resting death, valiantly struggling to introduce Poetry into the city, into the lighted night, the last chance for men to exit from between two worlds. He shall fight, he will – he is already fighting –, for those who do not lament the infinite sound of the birds, for those who love without fear, without limit, and shout their love beyond the black corners and the deep moorlands. For the light when slowly softens, for the sheer pleasure of recreating the word, for the sole reason of blurring destinies, for the love and only the love to all that shimmers, for everything that drifts into its own light. And the day will come when everyone knows they live because someone fought for them. The day will come, I can feel it, when no one, not even the stones, are entitled to doubt the meaning of his existence. And all of them will also posses the proper words. >>> For more from David M.R., this poem and many others, including short films and scripts, visit his website HERE. [Image credits: Warrior4ancientzoanphotos.blogspot.com, digitalartgallery.com] Images added simply for symbolism - for the valor and fortitude of the ancient and old times are seemingly no longer required, but there are many ways to fight... The warrior and the poet have always entertained an entwined existence through the ages, and though warriors, as we know and remember them, have long since passed from time, their echoes of strength are felt and heard through the derivative voice and writings of these souls who see beyond the natural, both past, future and present... the soldier dies, but their spirit remains with the poet. So, this is how I roll... My roll of honour, those whom I have selected, I dabbed my sword upon their proverbial shoulders in a virtual knighthood of blogging, sort of... in a much smaller way, and without the sword. I must just say that I had 11 people, but quite a few of them reneged on my proposal - so its not my fault that there were full calendars, schedules etc etc... Here though, are the eleven questions I asked them: 1 What sort of books do you like to read? 2 Do you believe in a higher power, (I’m thinking spiritual here)? 3 What fascinates you most about humanity? 4 If you were a colour, what colour would you be? 5 What’s your favourite scene from a film? 6 What are your three favourite foods (desserts are also food)? 7 What is your favourite song or lyric? 8 What is your passion and what inspired it? 9 If you could do one wild and extreme thing, what would it be and why? 10 If you could have lunch with a comedian, who would you choose? 11 Could you think of three things that your close friends would say that would describe you the best? And now, for the honour roll: Kelly Brown - Spark Change ("think of it as something between Pay it forward & Chicken Soup for the soul" - my words) Claudia Jones - It's a me thing(s) - yes, lots of 'things'. Claudia is a creative human and self professed Bubblegum enthusiast. Joachim Wilbers - JoachimArtist - following on from my post "The Future of Art" (don't be lazy, scroll down, way down) - visit his site and follow the many links into this fantastical world of digital art. Special Mentions: Although not participating in the challenge, the following blogs were on my provisional list of recruits - so see it as a small list of cool blogs to check out... (I included them with their Twitter profile pics; everyone on the post is worth a follow - its what I've done) Marysia's travel blog "MyTravelAffairs" - visit and find out more on Marysia's travels around the world. Cassie Patton's blog called "WittyTitleHere" - she's a professional writer, part time photographer and 'passable' dog whisperer. Blog of author and psychiatrist Olga Nunez Miret (posts in Spanish & English) visit her page here Darlene Craviotto: Screenwriter, playwright and author (and Mom). Her blog is titled "Can you all hear me in the back" Story of Remoteness, 2. "Words" by David Martinez Romero Sometimes, I do fall into long monologues, and words move me as if they were good, good mothers, unconditional friends, comrades. Just talking I sometimes heal from every evil that boils in the dead city, it cures me of all the sickness and all the sadness. Sometimes a talk is like letting the music play, and a voice that imposes with its brief strings is also peace, love, every thing that is worthy and comes back to claim its name allowing itself to be named by the same voice that unties it. Happiness could very well be just a word but it is mine in any case, it is in any case my truth, my ardent breath that happily becomes verb and resets my pain, my suffering and my agony shaping a tremendous smile that compares the moon with its beauty and in the end is mine, and only mine, and I give it away to those who have an ear for music. To talk, talking about anything, just saying beautiful things, not being afraid of the vacuum nor the sea of futility, loosing talk, saying yes, no, sometimes, saying that I love you, I’m out of here, so long, and then shutting up at the right time, walking and redecorating words when indiscriminately giving away phrases, texts, strokes, smiling to the stranger, to the walking woman, to the child that’s always playing. And just listening with unusual care to what they say. If they’re happy, the words are not only words. They are bridges lying between two shadows, they are lights in the starless night, they are huge windows through which the air passes and sometimes so do the spirits. Saying yes, when everybody else denies, is a cardinal virtue. To those who affirm with their voice, with their gesture, with their elegance should be granted the rank of Prince since their gallantry means highness. And talking with your own life, saying pretty things by just living, with the only air that you breathe, setting the example of laughing… that also justifies our existence. Because being is a problem and the very solution, just a word. Whether it has meaning or not, whether it is new or made up, the word, said in the appropriate space and time, lasts. It is stronger than stone. Children are always learning to speak: and so am I, for I am a child born of the heart of speech. And like a newborn to language I’m always looking for happy findings, I jump from complexity to simplicity, I lie, discover, celebrate, certify, extend grubby checks and introduce documents sealed with a carmine kiss that I always steal from a beautiful woman. I speak as well, for not only does the poet, other men speak too when they do not fear the nothingness, those happy flukes that take joyfulness as their own. Many believe they are talking, but they should just keep quiet. We, the happy, even in silence say tricks. Happiness: believe me, it is not only a word, but well spoken, it could also be true. -- Following on from last years "Artist Feature" spot on David Romero, he and I have since sparked something of a collaboration. Here's a new poem from him, translated into from Spanish to English - My role involved assisting with the latter part, that of streamlining the English version. This will not be the last of David's poems to feature on this site. For more on the poet, click on the link in the Blogroll to connect to his personal site. -- On our journey of progression, and for many of us, discovery, we focus on David Romero, filmmaker, writer, novelist, poet... A creative at heart, David is a man on the move with great insights as well as goals and surely someone to look out for in the future. It gives me great pleasure to feature this artist, whom I hope to work with someday: Poetry: Story of remoteness, 47. By David Martinez Romero The soul of an artist Gently silence falls as white bird eating holes in the clouds, where broken glitter beams cross needles in ice flowing, slow death of magma yesterday on our hands clasped, now lost underground. Because the dust has eaten the paintings in the library: those books, on which dreaming we once promised immense love and pleasure and caresses, have been lost, such as dust, as white bird that rises. Pages and pages of gray images, fragmentary, I remember the futility of all the roses and I know that beauty dies that woman is beautiful and her beauty shines, the time ineluctable push intensifies and a wave comes and goes like foam. Slowly, from a tear magnificent the whole philosophy springs, all the knowledge of the truth, the night, the sugar, all that is worthy of being known or kissed, glazed moons with lids wide open as if an albino animal had crossed the room at the speed of a smile: perhaps an angel ... perhaps the soul of an artist. * Videos by Eldorado Entertainment "Motorway" - Anni B Sweet. Directed by David Martinez Romero Movida Corona 2010 - Executive Producer: David Martinez Romero Mini Biography: Born in Madrid in 1976. Journalist, writer, video producer and on his way to make a filmmaker out of himself. Founder of Eldorado Entertainment, production company in which he has produced and directed from TV commercials to music videos and his first short film, The Offer. As a writer, he has published one Poetry book, El mundo cuando sueña, yet he has written several collections of poems, two novels and one autobiographical essay. He publish a blog under his own name in which he shares poems and other writings every week. Right now, looking for financial support for a documentary film. Q & A:
Zahara de los Atunes (a little town in Cadiz) La Judería, Córdoba For more, contact and follow David: Juanda Cortes Photography Referenced earlier: visit Juanda Cortes photography, another contributor at Eldorado Entertainment. |
[Banner illustration by Joel Kanar]
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