Impulse

Juan’s excellent sense of graphic design is clear and has become more refined over time. Back in that Paris portfolio, the graphic element that was captivating, but seemed to dominate over the subjects. The design in Juan’s recent work is just as strong, but now he integrates the design into the photo so that it supports the subject almost invisibly. Geometric shapes are everywhere - triangles formed by faces (similar to Doisneau’s technique of composing using the shapes of letters), lines of outstretched arms and slanting corridors - all creating an energy that draws out the subject as it draws me to the photo. It is as if the graphic elements draw my attention unconsciously to the photo so that the subject can introduce itself to me. It’s an element that I aspire to add to my own photos which often have only one subject, located about a third of the way from an edge, with the horizon resolutely level.

Time is another element. It’s easy to take a picture that looks like time has stopped - that’s how cameras work after all. It’s another thing to take a picture that feels like time has stopped: traffic noises stop, you can hear the silence between seconds. Emotions are clear and unmuffled by movement. All that remains is a moment in life. This is the ultimate goal of those of us who do street photography, and I think Juan captures it well. I can feel time freeze and wait for me to take in the scene. Sometimes the effect is dramatic - a stillness in a bustling city - and sometimes it’s a rest on a quiet day.

Stopping time like this magnifies the emotional immediacy of the moment. Juan uses this to his advantage in capturing intimate moments between people, particularly lovers or children.

Now, it may be the Latin blood that flows through his veins, but I find that Juan also is excellent at photographing attractive women. I don’t know if he’s conscious of it or not, but they’re everywhere in his photos (as are couples in love, children playing, and men conversing).

On a technical note, I really enjoy the tonal palette Juan uses in presenting his work. He prints his images a just a little dark which gives them a rich, thick texture. He then prints the subjects of the photo a little lighter with more contrast than the rest. This is a common technique, but Juan manages to take it to an extreme without being distracting. Look at the photo below - it’s a great photo of a boy. Now look at the boy. He’s much lighter than any of the other people in the scene - dramatically more than I do in my own work. Yet, it’s not glaring. It feels appropriate, even natural. It’s a style that, to me, is uniquely Juan’s.

Personally, I see Juan in each of these pictures. He’s right there in the crowd. I once saw a short film that showed Henri Cartier-Bresson photographing a scene in a crowd. He moved swiftly in and around people, confidently taking photos. When I look at Juan’s photos, I see Juan quietly snapping photos like that.

(photo by Rob McKaughan)

Links

• Water Molotov - Juan’s photoblog. There’s lots of good stuff here. Go. Now.


• Synecdoche - Juan’s blog


• Juan’s new employer - congratulations Juan!


• Update: Juan on flickr