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David Garrido
@photo_garrido
Landscape and travel photographer based in Spain
When I look back, an interest in photography has accompanied me since I was a kid, although I wasn’t really conscious of that before. The first memories I have from me having fun with a camera are from the summer camps I went to. Fifteen days away from my family, doing different activities with many other children and always carrying around one of those disposable cameras. I remember the excitement of going to the store to pick up the results, seeing the photos that reflected what I had experienced and where I had told my parents about.
"That’s what I still like most about photography; being able to bring alive to others and to yourself again what you have seen or experienced. To transmit what you felt."
Another key point in my interest for photography was when my parents announced to my sister and me that we would make a family trip to Tenerife. We had always traveled throughout Spain, but Tenerife felt like another level for me. I gathered all my savings and bought a digital camera, which were just entering the market that time. I remember that I wanted it to be Kodak, because I understood that this brand was infallible, and so it was: a Kodak Z650. I entered another world because of this camera; I remember spending the whole trip trying to take pictures similar to those I had seen in magazines or internet galleries, experimenting with those parameters which I did not understand very well but what seemed to have a lot of impact on how the image appeared in the viewfinder.
"At that time I was sure that visual content creation was going to be my passion."
The main problem was the very little information about this profession and the few formal training options. The little that was known came from National Geographic and all that I saw there looked like an illusion. Just then, the first 3D design schools began to appear in Spain and for me, that was the solution to what I had always wanted to do. As I could not travel to exotic sites or have professional equipment to capture these type of ‘National Geographic images’ myself, I decided that I could maybe create them digitally. That’s how I ended up studying 3d design and dedicating myself to being a 3D artist, which I do for more than 10 years now. While I was studying 3D, I met lots of other artists that were inspiring and enriching. With one of them, I got into photography again and it reawakened my passion. Again, I combined my savings to buy a camera, a reflex this time. I began to explore different types of photography and came to the conclusion that my preferred domain was the outdoors. During all this time, the curiosity for traveling and portraying different places has always lived within me but I never saw the way to realize it. There was always some kind of impediment. Or so I thought there was.
"It was in 2012, when I met the one who would later become the mother of my son, who taught me that it was feasible if I really wanted to."
She is Italian and opened a new world to me in many ways. I started traveling with her, discovering sites that until then I had only seen in images – New York, Rome, Venice, Florence, Lisbon, Japan… That was a tremendous change of mind for me.
She is Italian and opened a new world to me in many ways. I started traveling with her, discovering sites that until then I had only seen in images – New York, Rome, Venice, Florence, Lisbon, Japan… That was a tremendous change of mind for me. I completely got back the desire to show through my images what it felt like to be in those places. I gradually bought better equipment and started portraying everything I perceived during my travels. I just encountered one issue, an insecurity: I didn’t think I was capable of creating images that were conveying and transmitting what I wanted and what I felt. For that reason, I never shared my photos and they were just memories for myself. Sometimes they say that the worst critic you can have is yourself, and in my case that goes to the extreme.
"It was only in November 2019 that I finally found the strength and courage to open an Instagram account to start showing my photos to others, little by little."
I was not sure about what kind of style I should apply; I was thinking a lot about what would be most appealing to others and how my photos would be perceived. Though I still wanted to convey what I wanted to tell and stay close to myself. It has been trial and error, it still is, but I think I am getting closer to a style I am comfortable with. So uploading photos generated nervosity and uncertainty, but at the same time I knew I had to do it if I wanted to get somewhere and learn more. The ones who followed me and saw my photos encouraged me to continue sharing new photos and taking into consideration the short period I am doing this, the feedback I received so far has been very positive.
I started to enjoy more and more the concept of traveling alone, so I could do whatever I wanted and needed to get the images I wanted to get, without the feeling I had to adjust myself to my companions. Out of all the places I have been since then, I definitely have some favorites. Locally, the fight would be between Asturias and Cantabria. Internationally speaking, it’s definitely Japan. I am totally fascinated by the country since I visited it in 2014. For some people, visiting the same destination more often is hard to understand, but I have already been four times and I will go again without hesitation. It’s a place where I always find inspiration.
"Wherever I am, I often think ‘if people saw this, they would love it’, and that is what I try to convey in my photographs."
I like to arouse curiosity for destinations that people may have a wrong or stereotyped perception about. For that reason too, I like to keep my images real, showing the essence of a place, or at least the essence that I perceived. I think that today that are so many images of places that we would like to travel to, but many of them are very artistic, having a greater emphasis on aesthetics. I don’t quite like the idea that someone may go to a place expecting to find what they have seen on one of these kind of photos on Instagram, but they don’t and may be disappointed.
Also, recently I discovered the joy of editing photographs even though I did not take them myself. This interest emerged as a result of some Instagram editing contests I participated in; the opportunity to start from an idea captured by another person, applying your own style or vision, imagining what you would have felt being at the destination of the photo and what you would want to convey seems very interesting. Then the other fun part of it is when the photographer congratulates you or tells you that he or she likes how you edited the photo and you end up sharing different perspectives with other editors. I think it’s something that enriches a lot; you realize how many options are possible, how many different perceptions and ideas there are.
"The options that the photographic edition opens today is incredible; you can have the same image transmitting very different moods and emotions only by changing any of the parameters."
"Another aspect I'm passionate about concerning photography is the community around it. I see a lot of positivity, encouragement and cooperation among photographers."
There are many people willing to help you as soon as you throw a doubt or a question into the air. I think there is very little ego – contrary to what one might think from the outside. I have always liked to guide and to teach and that is something I would like to gradually return to the community while getting better myself too. I would love to help people who are starting out as I know how overwhelming it can be in the beginning. Many of my years as a 3d artist I have been a Lead Artist and a major part of my duties was to empower and guide artists to give as much of themselves as possible, to grow and to improve every day while enjoying the process of trial and error. This is something that I would somehow like to apply to the world of music and photography too.
Over time, photography occupies more space in my life and I feel more and more comfortable with both creating and sharing my photos. I know how complex it is to live from this art, but I don’t lose my hope and I combine it with my job as a 3d artist to gradually find a balance. I noticed that I am mixing up both worlds to enhance the ideas I would like to convey and I think this nothing but positive.
"I believe that whatever you do, everyone has a specific aspect in their life that they can incorporate into their photography to make it a unique and personal piece of art. Use it!"
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