18.04.2020

Be Creative: Joan Vendrell x Personal Best

During these days of confinement at home, I have meditated upon Photography. I have remembered the sensations, almost magical, of seeing my first developed photos and I have remembered how many adventures I have had and people I have met under the “excuse” of photography.

Without a doubt, I have always felt it as my passion, as something that lives within me and that makes me feel happy. I have learned many things, but I feel that the road is long, and I like that feeling.

I understand Photography as a journey without a goal, a process that changes and evolves as I am living and accumulating experience. I never have the feeling of being satiated photographically speaking, in fact, the opposite happens to me, I always want to know more, to experiment more, to learn more.

Now, with more than 10 years of experience as a freelance photographer, I look back and see a succession of small steps that have taken me where I am today. Making a living as a freelancer is not an easy way, it seems that you are always swimming against the current and if you stop doing it, the current makes you go backward. It is all a matter of rhythm, small constant improvements, sometimes so small that they are not even understood as improvements, but over time they represent an unstoppable evolution.

This evolution has allowed me to understand how a camera works, I have understood the importance of light, moment and composition, and most importantly, I have understood that this evolution is not only technical, but it is artistic and personal. When I read a book, listen to music or gain a new experience, I become a better photographer.

Over time the images accumulate and some of them become switches that have the ability to activate hidden memories within our brain. Memories of which we are not only aware but which are with us. When looking at an old photograph those memories are revived, and we reconnect with sensations and experiences. These photographs are direct access to our life and therefore define us and allow us to understand ourselves better.

During these years I have taken a lot of photos around the world, I have photographed mountains, northern lights, big cities, deserts, people … but there is one category that is the most important, the photos of my loved ones.

This category of family photos transmits a feeling of longing and nostalgia.

On the other hand, I enjoy seeing and studying the work of other photographers, sometimes I find images that make me dream and allow me to visualize future plans.

Photography is the expression, the cry to heaven, the perpetual moment, the excuse, the possibility, the way of looking that will satisfy your curiosity and provide you with knowledge.