Back to the street

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When I think about “the moment” and “Street photography”, even when I am in those cold streets in London, I can’t stop wondering myself about what I am doing. I am in the most crowded stations in London: Victoria, King’s Cross and Waterloo. Very early in the morning when people just arrived to London to start a new day of work. Hundred of people walking together like rapids, avoiding me because I am in the middle of the crowd. One’s drinking Costa cafe rapidly, the other runs to catch de bus while the third looks at me scared. Why is this guy taking photos of me at 8am?

Sometimes when I carry my camera I feel like an alien, it’s just because for a while I am not part of the mass. I’m stopping at the corners, for minutes, looking the people on their way, observing and analysing a possible shot. But I still don’t know what I am looking for, maybe a “photographic moment” or even better a “photographically interesting subject”. In those ocasions I have to be aware, find a good place and be patient. I’ve realised that what I was looking for was people faces, gestures and movements in the early morning so I started photographing people in the street. With my 35mm lenses, manual focus and also manual exposure, even the changing sunlight, I lost a lot of time setting the scene.

But then, after many unfriendly looks, I started wondering myself about if what I was doing was ethic. Do I think is correct to take pictures of people without permision? Yes, they’re in the street which is public, but would I have to ask to each one if I can take a photo of them? That means that then the photos won’t be spontaneous and I’ve lost “the moment”. So what can we do? I my opinion you have to be concious about what do you want and why. If you are convinced you look convinced, then people will see that you’re not another lost voyeur but a photographer. If finally they get upset you can approach them and explain what are you doing even remove the picture in their presence. However, it’s essential to start questioning your acts.

Hello WorldWW. It’s Lluís again.

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Felanitx-Barcelona-London

After years taking photos and documenting I’ve decided to build my first photo-blog. A logbook that I’m using specially to fixe my ideas, share my reflections and write about documentary photography. Writing is essential for a photographer, in my case any photo makes sense without a text or a narrative.

For those ones who don’t know me I am Lluís Andreu Oliver, from Mallorca, a photographer/web-designer based in Barcelona and London, actually studying a MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography in the London College of Communication. Firstly I need to say that I am not used to write in English (Catalan is my mother language) so the grammar and vocabulary of my firsts articles in this blog will be terribly easy to understand. Even, excuse me if some sentences are quite illogical.

After studying a postgraduate in Photography in Barcelona where I entered into the world of photography, I decided to move to London. Not only to deepen in photography but also to escape from Spain, where young unemployment is increasing every day and the atmosphere is full of pessimism and depresion. Since now I’ve been working in few projects, in Catalunya and Mallorca, focusing on social issues and human habits, trying to document the evidences of an unhappy society. Few months ago I edited my first book, “Be Happy: El llibre de la felicitat” (the book of happiness), a comic self-help book of 70 pages where I wanted to show the best way to get ‘happiness’.

Millions of self-help books are being bought every day to “help” a society that every day is more unhappy.

This book was exhibited in two galleries, The Private Space in Barcelona and Pedralbes Centre also in barcelona.

What am I doing now?

Living in London right now, trying to adapt to this new vibrant and expensive city, improving my english and looking for a job. Despite of this I’m actually working in a documentary project related to tourism “An Island of Life and Emptiness” in which I try to document the empty and melancholic touristic areas in Mallorca in winter.

Where am I going?

At the same time I am studying in the LCC I want to continue observing and documenting the changing society with the same ideas, but firstly I need to familiarize with the bristish society and their habits. I’d like to start a new project here but it does mean time to observe and take notes. Recently some ideas came to my mind, future projects, one in Catalunya and the other in Spain, that could be very interesting.

And Here I am, ready to write, discuss and share information about documentary photography.

An Island of Life and Emptiness

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Statement Draft
Work in progress

For those tourists who want to travel to Mallorca in winter should be prepared for the melancholy. They would not be scared if they cannot find any human presence wandering the touristic areas. Any apocalyptic bomb has blown up yet and any epidemic has forced to close hotels, souvenirs and stores. It is just the winter season and the island needs to hibernate for the following summer.

From the boom of tourism in Spain in the 60′s those coastal countries such as Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia have become the paradise of cheap tourism for the Spanish rising middle class. German and English tourists subsequently discovered that paradise and Mallorca became a tourist destination. At the same time a powerful building industry, which has been surviving until now, was born and those touristic places changed their appearance. New towns born from nothing and the old ones adapted to tourism.

The problem with tourism in Mallorca is clear. Those tourists who discovered Mallorca only wanted to go to the island in summer looking for the sun and beach. Consequently, Mallorca adapted to this kind of tourism and, as a disposable thing, in summer season it was full of live and then, in winter, became empty. Life and Emptiness. Native people learned to live between these worlds trying to benefit from it or just leaving it. We have seen how our majestic island has been filled with cement to build seasonal emplacements for foreign people that at the end of summer leave. Some of us had to get used to it, other people just tried to avoid those places because there is nothing to do there.

But no one can walk around those touristic areas in winter without feeling melancholic even so unhappy. Maybe for some artist could be interesting to wander around those tourist residences and see the high hotels closed with their swimming pools plenty of moss and their thatched umbrellas piled in a corner where street cats can find shelter. Even the cheap and common souvenirs that in summer sell all kind of “kitsch” objects are now sealed and some sort of grass grows in front of it. Some mini-golfs seem like jungles and Chinese restaurants cover their signs with rubbish bag.

Through this unfinished project that I call temporary Island of Life and Emptiness I pretend to document these places that make me feel melancholic.