We interviewed Sebastiàn, after he has presented his last photo essay and received an extremely positive feedback. We feel there is no need to add more, apart the information about the next appointment where he will exhibit his photographs:

"Hijos del agua" begins on July 28
Galeria FEDRO, Ciudad de Buenos Aires.




-Riccardo: Hello Sebastiàn, can you tell us how it started and developed your passion for photography as well, consequently, you started your career?

-Sebastiàn: Hello, First I would like to express my gratitude for this interview, it is a pleasure.

My passion began when I was a child. My first camera was donated to me by my father when I was twelve years old, it was the cheapest there was. Just after, there was a fire near my house and I rushed to take some shoots of that event. A friend of my father asked me for the film and then, the next day, I saw a photo in my local paper with my name. This really was love at first sight.
The years passed, I went to the university, where I studied political science and worked with socio-political subjects. Photography was just a hobby dirng these years, until, six years ago I decided to be faithful to my passion and to this form of expression and communication, that photography is.

My career is the result of both hard work and luck. In some ways, photography itself looked for me. My friends helped and encouraged me to invest on that. Later, things began to run smoother. The truth is that I never forcibly tried anything, everything was done in a harmonized way. I always kept this feeling of satisfaction when taking a picture. Today I can't imagine living without a camera in my hands.

-R.: Many photographers have started as assistants or by attending high level courses, which usually are expensive. You have independently learned the technique and developed a form of expression, as a self-taught. Did this fact helped to get jobs or was it a hindrance to your professional credibility?

-S.: I honestly never asked to myself. Some newspapers and publishers need time to trust you but I always try to highlight in the foreground my photos rather than the training that I could have had. I believe this is the benefit of the photograph, the picture have their own strength.

-R.: Which were your main sources of inspiration? Which authors and teachers of photography, art or literature attracted you the most, both during your learning period, and now, during the your every-day work?

-S.: During the first years I had no great references. Music and literature were my inspiration. Until now, writers such as Eduardo Galeano, Julio Cortázar, the Argentine and Latin American music accompanied my moments of creativity. The feeling of rebellion, liberation and transformation moves me. I try to transmit a different sensibility. These are the emotions that guide me, to reveal things, to help through a vision of the world around us more sensitive and therefore better.

In recent years I have studied the works of Sebastiao Salgado and many photographers of the Magnum agency. I like uncovering and documentary photography. I'm also interested to interpret different forms of seeing and transmit. As mentioned above, the art has this capacity of transformation, it helps to look at each every human being with more sensitivity. That is why it is so important to spread the art and to give support to it.

-R.: What equipment did you started with? Which kind of importnce and weight has the equipment in your work?

-S.: As I said before, my first camera was a compact, one of the cheaper. Later I obtained a 55mm SLR "Ricoh" from my father until, four years ago, I bought my first digital SLR. The economic situation in my country is not really confortable to buy good equipment. There is not a suppoting system or grants for artists. With the winning of a number of contests I could buy some lenses and a pair of last generation Nikon DSLR. That is the equipment I use now.

At this moment I am looking forward to the medium format, but the economic opportunities are not the most favorable.
I would like to give more weight to the photographic equipment in my work, however, economy imposes limits. This imposes to use all available imagination to make quality pictures. And, for better or worse, will not entail a change in your photography vision.

-R.: You shoot in color and in black and white with a precise and flawless technique. There is no work of retouching on your photos. And, if present, it is reduced to minimum and essential levels, not visible and not used as a form of expression. In a period where always more we can see great authors yield to the benefits of retouching as a form of personal expression, your photographs are still very realistic and straightforward. Can you tell us about your choice?

-S.: It's a combination of things. What I like most is just the act of photographing, to hear the "click" of the camera. I do not have the patience to work too much time on a photo. On the other hand, a direct and realistic image pefectly express and identify my own style. I feel more at home that way. All in all the art is a matter of subjective choices.

-R.: You are Argentinian, from Buenos Aires and your work is focused mainly on local topics. That seems to confirm that it is not necessary to travel the world to be a complete photographer. What are the themes of your land that attract more your attention?

-S.: There are many. Argentina is a country with many social and geographical nuances. Every corner of the country has a story to tell. The difficult part is to arrive and, once one gets a story, to find the medium to spread it. The pre-Columbian origin villages, the traditions of the country, the areas with fewer economic resources and all those places where there is less social uniformity: these are the most interesting subjects. In the same way I like themes characterized by greater intimacy. These days I'm beginning to develop a theme on children who were the adults of today.

-R.: How is the professional publishers environment (magazines and newspapers) in Argentina? you find it an easy world or something that, in some way, can limit your creativity?

-S.: It's a complex environment. The answer you likely get is: "we do not have the needed funds". Many photographers end up working for free or for a very low fee. On the other hand, publishers do not always evaluate the artistic quality and choose the most objective interpretationof a certain new. This trend leads a photographer to slowly slip towards a devaluation of photography: cell phones snapshots and video footages are now flooding the Internet much more than quality photography.

Another issue today is the theft of images. A few days ago I found that one of the major newspapers of the country has stolen a picture from my blog. It's not the first time, and is a pretty common behavior, at least in our country.

(That is a really annoying fact and unfortunately it can happen anywhere, especially if the work is good. New media distribution requires nowadays a change and an effort of flexibility from authors, however unfortunately this effort scarcely corresponds to a cultural and economical responsible change by those who already enjoy free access to the artistic or informational content. Recently we read an article in the NY times which covered the subject in a misleading way. The disappointment is great, especially if you consider that in the US can be generally found a higher sensitivity and respect for intellectual work compared to other places. NDR)

This scenario is not very encouraging, but looking ahead, I believe that creativity depends on other factors such as passion, attention, luck and emotions. I do photography and for me is a mean of economic support, and, at the same time, a way of life and being faithful to this instinct makes me happy.

-R.: Each author has a few secrets realted to his art. Some may think that revealing them could not be a threat to theyr originality, on the onther hand, others think it's better to keep them hidden. What is your attitude?

-S.: I believe in art freedom and solidarity. Taking it in mind, I managed photography workshops where I exposed many of these little secrets. I think every photographer, over time, develops a personal vision, beyond the possible influences.

-R.: What is the most important thing when you prepare or exhibits a new work? Do you like to contribute to the setting up of the exhibition or do you prefer to focus exclusively on your photos? What printing technique do you use to exhibit color and black and white photographs?

-S.: I focus mainly on the photos, I care them, trying to found the right communication in the context of the exhibition. I work with a developing and printing company, which, in my opinion, is one of the best in the country. It greatly helps. For me result is king and, with it, the feeling with the enlarged photos on paper, in my hands. This is the moment of greatest satisfaction.
Not long ago, I prepared a photo for the scanning. It measured a meter and it was framed. It was so perfect to my eyes, that I did'nt want to leave it: it was like a son. In every picture I leave something of me.

Wishing that the next show "Hijos del Agua" will have the best possible success, we thank Sebastiàn very much for his valuable collaboration.