APL-fotografía
@anapl_fotografia
Landscape photographer based in Spain
I am Ana, I’m 25 years old and live in Granada, Spain. When I was 18, I began to show interest in photography, but I needed the trigger to awake this passion within me. For me, that was my Erasmus+ adventure in Switzerland. There, photography converted into what is now an essential part of my life. It inspired me to go venturing out rather than being waiting to what the world brings me. It made me discover new places that in turn helped me to discover and connect with myself. During this period I realized that although we cannot control our lives, we can choose what we do with it and travel helps us becoming aware of things that otherwise wouldn’t arrive in our consciousness.
“We travel, not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”
Photography has become fundamental for me. It’s essential for my vision of the world, for creating, developing and letting go: “… And I fall if I don’t construct”. It enables me to listen to myself and see myself when I need it most. In addition, photography and its community is a great way to socialize with people that share the same passion and it enables a wonderful artistic exchange. I got to know many people and along the way learnt how to combine different forms of art.
"Learning about those different forms of art and styles allowed me to get more creative, see more possibilities while creating, and create with even more passion."
Meraki: “To do something with soul, creativity, or love; to put something of yourself into your work.” My way of editing is based on my belief that the more natural and the less I touch it, the more realistic is. I truly love the sun and its natural light that changes continuously depending on the hour and the place. I aim my photos to have a touch of a sunshine, using its perfect natural light and color. I try to do the most I can with my camera and I most of the time only edit the contrast and the brightness. My objective is to do justice to the reality, because the reality is magical as it is.
We are always influenced by what happens around us or what we experience, and so is my photography style. What marked my style in the first place is my Erasmus+ experience in Switzerland, which awoke my passion for photography and helped me grow a lot in the very early stage of my photography. Then my experience in sports photography, which allowed me to meet incredible people who do impossible stunts and explore abandoned and natural places that have a very special energy. I guess that’s why I love to hunt for this kind of places myself now.
"Finally, my trip to Iceland in 2018 has had a strong impact."
Seeing nature in its maximum splendor, its purity and majesty can only take your breath away and inspire you. I am sure that besides these, there have been, and there will be, many more situations that will either consciously or subconsciously influence my photography style, both in terms of composition and post processing.
When I feel like I’m missing something in order to get the photographic result I am looking for, I just go out with my camera without any fixed destination or objective, just letting me be surprised by what I encounter. Or I meet with my friends and ask them if they have some suggestions or to talk about ideas. What also helps, is to go out and look for places I have never been so my curiosity and desire to explore are stimulated which in turn activates my motivation and creativity. The type of spots that particularly wake up the explorer within me are abandoned places and picturesque and green zones.
“When inspiration does not come to me, I go halfway to meet it” (S. Freud).
It’s normal that we do not always feel inspired, creative or even motivated, but we can choose to look for it. Most of the time, I already obtain new energy when seeing the powerful light and colors of the sunset, and the clouds playing with the position of the sunl, taking on a dreamy mood. However, there are still situations that I go out and that I don’t even take my camera out of its case because I don’t feel it.
"Only if my intuition tells me to shoot, I shoot."
I believe it’s good to look for inspiration and creativity, but if it doesn’t come or if I don’t feel it, I don’t force it. What I often do is keeping the images I took for later. Because sometimes, after a little bit of time, I can see something in the images that I wasn’t able to see before as a result of the lack of inspiration at the moment of taking the photos itself.
Although I love to inspire and be inspired by visuals, I also love to connect poetry to my artistic expressions. I have always been attracted to thoughts and phrases that illuminate or reflect on an aspect of life. To me it’s fascinating to find coincidences in certain thoughts of past authors that at some point reach and touch you personally.
"It’s about recognition and reflection."
"Illustrating these reflections is a challenge for me, it helps me know myself better and makes me not forget that listening and thinking is essential in these times when everyone is racing."
That is why I love to accompany the photographs with a brief reflection that helps the viewer to connect to the image and to a personal aspect of their life, stopping them for an instant. “Breathe, Inspire yourself.” Personally, photography has helped me put a face, voice and words to emotions and feelings, as well as it made me realize how important it is to pause and enjoy the present moment. To get out of the daily grind and let myself be amazed by the simple ray of sunlight that slips through a branch.
"It makes me feel energized, feeling the desire to explore, to get to know my environment and the most hidden and natural places that are at my fingertips."
Destinations I dream of exploring one day are Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands, which, as I learnt from the work of other photographers, have enough natural areas to get lost in and to find at the same time. “Our view of the world is truly shaped by what we decide to hear” (William James). My main objective with photography is to show how I see the world around me, inspire others, and to continue discovering places – even better if it is in good company. I would also love to be able to sell my photographs and that my work is being seen by as many people as possible to, little by little, make a place for myself in the photographic world.
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how” (F. Nietzsche).
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