One day on the beach with our friends / Un día en la playa con nuestros amigos. Algarve, Portugal. August 2012

Pictures shot during a lovely afternoon we spent with my friend Paola and her family, in Salgados, Portugal.

Fotos tomadas durante una preciosa tarde que pasamos con mi amiga Paola y su familia, en Salgados, Portugal.

Urban spaces / Espacios urbanos. Ayamonte (2). August 20112

Second part of the series of photos I shot in Ayamonte, with the light mode overexposed.

Segunda entrega de las fotos de Ayamonte que hice con el modo luz sobreexpuesta.

© Luis Rodríguez. All rights reserved. The material of this site may not be reproduced without the author´s consent. Partial or total reproduction prohibited. 

My experience at the Tweets Awards MADRID2012

My experience as a speaker in the Tweets Awards MADRID2012 has been very positive. Although it´s more and more clear to me that I´m more gifted to taking pictures than speaking in public,  I was able yesterday to speak for 10 minutes to an audience of about 20 people about my experience on Twitter, always linking it with my experience as an Instagram user, as I told in my former post.

After my talk came the great Phil Gonzalez. Curiously, even though I've already heard several times his talk about the birth and growth of Instagramers ans its local groups worldwide, every time I listen to him, it seems a new talk to me. He always adds different nuances that make his talk seem unprecedented. The audience felt enthusiastic with his talk.

After us, there were four talks more, very interesting, talks that told very different stories on Twitter. They were the stories of @Alvaro_Sobrino, @TaniaHevia, @javig and @ClaraAvilaC. Unfortunately, after the 12:30 pm break I had to leave for family reasons. Today, I´m coming back to listen to more interesting stories about Twitter.

I would like to thank the organization for inviting me. Thanks to Juana Morales, @queenJ_itsme, Clara Montesinos, @claramontesinos and José Miguel Ruiz, @josemiruiz.

Here are some pictures of my talk, and Phil´s talk, as well as during the break.

Dark portraits with my family. August 2012

One morning last August we visited the replicas of the three ships, located at Pier La Rabida, in Palos de la Frotera, Huelva. The photos were taken inside the Santa Maria. The interior was very dark. The light entered only through the stairwell. I shot these pictures controlling light exposure and blocking the AE / AF in conditions of light and shade desired. The photos are not edited at all. The main element, besides my family, is the Light shining on their faces and bodies.

Una mañana de agosto pasado fuimos a visitar las réplicas de las tres carabelas, situadas en el Muelle de La Rábida, en Palos de la Frotera, Huelva. Las fotos están hechas en el interior de la Santa María. El interior era muy oscuro. Sólo entraba la luz por el hueco de la escalera. Controlando la exposición de luz y bloqueando el AE/AF en las condiciones de luz y sombra deseadas, disparé estas fotos, las cuales no edité en absoluto, son tal cuales se dispararon. El elemento principal, además de mi familia, es la Luz incidiendo sobre sus caras y cuerpos.

© Luis Rodríguez. All rights reserved. The material of this site may not be reproduced without the author´s consent. Partial or total reproduction prohibited. 

Invited as speaker at the Tweets Awards MADRID 2012

I will assist tomorrow to the Tweets Awards as speaker, invited by the organization, to tell in 15 minutes my experience as a user of Twitter. I was invited by the organizers in February (so long ago), and I admit that I was very surprised, because I´m not an active user of Twitter, nor have many followers on this social network.

I replied that I was delighted, but wondered why I had been invited. They said they had read the short story about me and Instagram published in the book "Socialholic", written by the brothers Juan Luis and Fernando Polo, from Territorio Creativo. The found it interesting, and invited me to tell it in public.

I'll be there tomorrow, Thursday September 27th, at 10:30 am, opening the Tweets Awards (what a big responsibility), just before the talk of the great Phil Gonzalez. I'll see Clara Montesinos and Clara Soler, whom I already know through Instagram and the First Instagramer Congress, and I will meet Juana Morales and José Miguel Ruiz, CEO of Tweets Awards. I must confess that I´m nervous, because Twitter is not a network that I dominate. Still, I'm eager to be part of this experience.Thanks to the TA team for inviting me! See you tomorrow!

Mañana acudo a los Tweets Awards invitado por la organización como "speaker", para contar en 15 minutos mi experiencia como usuario de Twitter. Fui invitado por los organizadores en febrero pasado (hace ya tanto tiempo), y reconozco que me sorprendió mucho, pues no destaco principalmente por ser usuario activo en Twitter, ni tener muchos seguidores en esa red social.

Respondí que estaba encantado, pero pregunté el porqué de la invitación. Me respondieron que habían leído la pequeña historia que el libro "Socialholic", escrito por los hermanos Juan Luis y Fernando Polo de Territorio Creativo, publicaba sobre mí e Instagram. La consideraron interesante, y me invitaban a que la contara en público.

Allí estaré mañana jueves 27 de septiembre, a las 10:30h, abriendo los Tweets Awards (¡vaya responsabilidad!), justo antes de la intervención del gran Phil González. Veré a Clara Montesionos y Clara Soler, a quienes ya conozco de IG y el Congreso Instagramers, y conoceré a Juana Morales y José Miguel Ruiz, CEO de los Tweets Awards. Confieso que estoy nervioso, pues Twitter no es una red que domine. Aún así, estoy impaciente por formar parte de esta experiencia. ¡Gracias al equipo de los TA por invitarme! ¡Nos vemos mañana!

Lights & Shadows / Luces y Sombras. August 2012

© Luis Rodríguez. All rights reserved. The material of this site may not be reproduced without the author´s consent. Partial or total reproduction prohibited. 

Highlighted by Xakata Foto as a Popular Photographer on IG / Destacado por Xakata Foto como Fotógrafo Popular de IG

I was disconnected last Friday from internet almost the whole morning. Upon returning home, I received great news through comments on IG, and through the open chat on WhatApp with the rest of FIE members. Xakata Photo, one of the leading blogs about Photography in Spain, had written an article about  Popular Photographers on Instagram, which included me. The article mentions seven worldwide igers, of which four are Spanish, and all personal friends of mine. One in Phil Gonzalez, @philgonzalez, father and creator of instagramers.com, and the others are Gabriel Samper, @kainxs, and Luis Torres, @elwood, two of my companions in F.I.E.

From here I would like to express my most sincere congratulations to my colleagues and friends, and my thanks to Xakata Photo for mention me in its article.

El viernes pasado estuve desconectado de internet gran parte de la mañana. Al volver a casa, recibí una gran noticia a través de comentarios en IG, y del WhatApp que tenemos abiertos los miembros de F.I.E. Xakata Foto, uno de los blogs sobre fotografía líderes en España había redactado un artículo sobre Fotógrafos Populares en Instagram en el que me incluía a mí. El artículo menciona a siete igers del mundo, de los cuales, cuatro somos españoles, y todos amigos personales míos. Uno de ellos en Phil González, padre y creador de instagramers.com, Gabriel Samper, @kainxs, y Luis Torres, @elwood, estos dos últimos compañeros míos de F.I.E.

Desde aquí mi más sincera felicitación para mis compañeros y amigos, y mi agradecimiento a Xakata Foto por mencionarme en su artículo.

Tiny men on the beach / Joselines en la playa. August 2012

Photos shot on the beach, in Isla Canela, Ayamonte, soon before sunset. The main elements are always people in the distances, always in a very small size, and the line of the horizon.

Fotos hechas en la playa, en Isla Canela, Ayamonte, poco antes de la puesta del sol. Los elementos principales son siempre las personas en la lejanía, de pequeño tamaño, y la línea del horizonte.

Backlightings on the beach / Contraluces en la playa. August 2012

© Luis Rodríguez. All rights reserved. The material of this site may not be reproduced without the author´s consent. Partial or total reproduction prohibited. 

Kitesurf on the beach. Isla Canela, Ayamonte. August 2012

One windy day on the beach, I left my princesses laying on the sand, sunbathing, and went along the shore in search of good photos to shoot. When I reached the area where people were kitesurfing, I found it so beautiful that I went back in search of my daughters, because they couldn´t miss such a beautiful spectacle. I was right, they loved it and had a great time watching kitesurf.

Un día de viento en la playa, dejé a mis princesas tomando el sol en la arena, y me alejé por la orilla, buscando fotos para hacer. Cuando llegué a la zona donde se estaba haciendo kitesurf, me pareció tan hermoso que volví a buscar a mis hijas, para que no se lo perdieran. No me equivoqué, les encantó y se lo pasaron genial viendo el kite surf.

Reflections on buses / Reflejos en autobuses. August 2012

Faved on Flickr IPhoneography Showcase, 16th Semptember 2012

Life in Lofi is one of the leading blogs dedicated entirely to iPhoneography. I´m subscribed to its newsletter for a log time, but it´s not until a few weeks ago that I discovered that it hasa group on Flickr, where one can upload 6 pics maximum per day. Then, at the end of the week, it always highlights what it considers the best ones.

I´ve started posting pictures just a few weeks ago. I must admit I was a little bit discoureged because the pics faved are normally by famous iphonographers, or else pics highly edited (which is something I personally don´t like at all). To my surprise, on this week´s showcase there´s one of my BW pics of Metropol Parasol in Sevilla. You can see it here.

It´s an honour for me to be highlighted by Life in Lofi. This encourages me to keep on posting my pics on its Flickr group and continue with my work. Thank you so much, Life in Lofi!!

Reflections on puddles / Reflejos en charcos. August 2012

© Luis Rodríguez. All rights reserved. The material of this site may not be reproduced without the author´s consent. Partial or total reproduction prohibited. 

Madrid MeetUp, EyeEm / Encuento EyeEm en Madrid. 15th Semptember 2012

EyeEm´s team asked me last July if I would be willing to organize an Meetup with EyeEm´s users in Madrid, as there was already an important and active community here. I said I would. My task was to decide the route for a photowalk and find a cool place to have some drinks afterwards.

At the same time, they asked Carol de Britos, @sushidetortilla, to organizea the MeetUp on Barcelona. Carol proposed to me to organize bothe for the same day and the same time and, at the end of the photowalk, to make a sort of challenge between both cities. Peolple form Madrid would hoose the best photo uploaded from the people of Barcelona to a common album named "Puete aéreo", due to the link that has existed between both cities for decades by airplane.

We finally met 12 peolple in Madrid (and 12 in Barcelona): @Luishankara (Luis), @picto (Isabel), @fotosensible (Marisa), @Jorgerodriguezplaza (Jorge), @cbas28 (Carmen), @filmatu (Álvaro, who had come this weekend to Madrid from Bilbao), @robertomomax (Rob, mexican living in Madrid for the past 9 years), @gonzalolarragueita, @maxadam (Max, from Berlin), @robtop (Ricardo), and @grokel (Eli Kröll, from Berlin). Thank you so much for coming, guys!!

Once we met, we split and each one took its way around Lavapiés, the aera I had chosen for the photowalk because it´s very colorful and multi ethnical. Once the `photos were shot, we gathered again and went to Café alma to have some beers, upload the photos and have a video conference via Skype with Barcelona to choose the winners.

We had a real great time and I´m looking forward to having a new EyeEm MeetUp in Madrid. Here are some pictures that my friends Marisa and Luis took of me during the photowalk.

Testing my waterproof case / Probando mi funda acuática. August 2012

Last august I bought online a waterproof case. It´s rather a waterproof plastic bag, rather than an rigid case, which only costed me 15,95€. I was very excited at first, and willing to try it as soon as possible. But I found myself dissapointed, because I did not reach the desired results. Under the water, the screen didn´t response to the touch of my fingers (probably because of the water´s temperature). I had to use the volume button to shoot, but I could not focus properly, because of the impossibility to use the screen under the water. The result? About a hundred pics, all of them out of focus, except these two.... I think I´ll buy a better and more expensive case next summer!

El pasado agosto me compré por internet una funda estanca. Es más una bolsa de plástico que una carcasa rígida, que sólo me costó 15,95€. Al principio estaba muy excitado, deseando probarla lo antes posible. Pero en seguida me desilusioné, porque no conseguía los resultados deseados. La pantalla no me respondía al contacto de los dedos (probablemente debido a la temperatura del agua). Tenía que usar el botón del volumen para disparar, pero no era capaz de enfocar, debido a la imposibilidad de usar la pantalla bajo el agua. El resultado? Unas cien fotos, todas ellas desenfocadas, excepto éstas dos... ¡Creo que el próximo año me compraré una funda más cara!

Sunset over Ayamonte / Atardecer en Ayamonte. August 2012

Photos shot during a lovely sunset over Ayamonte. The sky was just like this, burning, because there was a fire in the nearby, in Algarve, Portugal. The pics aren´t edited, they did not need it to be.

Fotos hechas durante un precioso atardecer en Ayamonte. El cielo estaba así, ardiendo, porque había un incendio próximo en el Algarve, Portugal. Las fotos no están editadas, no lo necesitaban.

Urban spaces / Espacios urbanos. Ayamonte. August 2012

Reflections on cars / Reflejos en coches. July 2012

© Luis Rodríguez. All rights reserved. The material of this site may not be reproduced without the author´s consent. Partial or total reproduction prohibited.