Five minutes with Francisco Arteaga

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m forty-two. I’m a Primary English teacher and a part time photographer in Tenerife, Canary Islands where I was born and I live.

How did you get interested in photography?

Photography has trapped me around ten years ago. Thinking of showing others the world as I could see it was something that really hooked me up very deep. Since that, I’ve been a self-taught person, studying and learning from the most inspiring photographers and sharing technics and concepts with my photography colleges.

Have any artist/photographer inspired your art?

Yes, definitely… My real good inspiration comes from photographers like Vivian Maier, Cartier Bresson, Robert Dosnieau, Anna Delany, Tom Ryaboi, Eric Kim… but I do not miss the chance of learning from any other that catches my attention. I think life is continuously offering opportunities to learn from others and this is a great thing because it allows you to improve and get better in every discipline and also in life itself.

Could you please tell us anything about your technique and creating process?

Well, I really like spending my free time with my camera in my hands and watching street life. I take pictures of people I don´t know and I will never meet but once they are in my frame, they are part of me, they come home with me and they show me who they are, how and what they feel, what they dream… it makes me happy and I love it. I always shoot B&W because it shows people’s souls and dreams…it’s like taking the skin off and seeing inside.

Describe your ideal photographic situation

There’s no ideal situation in street photography, there are always thousands of them in the streets. It’s up to you to see it and capture it. It’s not about being lucky; it’s about being patient, analyzing and seeing. Most of the times you go home with nothing and sometimes you just can´t believe you captured that moment, that feeling, that situation.

How much preparation do you put into taking a photograph?

I just focus on the subject, the situation and try to frame following technic and personal criteria.

What it really takes is time… in street photography you have to wait, that is something you have to take with you when walking the streets.

What’s your useable-to-unusable ratio when you review images from a shoot?

Well, sometimes I get home and when I download my pics there’s nothing worth and I get really mad and frustrated because I just lost the moment which won´t be ever repeated. Many others, I´m feeling great of what I am just looking at… As I said, everything depends on you out there but never stop shooting.

What quick advice do you have for someone who wants to improve his or her photography skills?

The best thing someone can do to improve his or her photography skills is to shoot. The more you shoot, the more you learn, realize of mistakes, progress and develop yourself. But shoot, shoot, shoot…

From time to time many photographers find themselves in a creative rut or uninspired to shoot. Does this ever happen to you and if so how do you overcome these phases?

Truly true… right now, I’m having one of them…it’s hard how to tell the way you may overcome these periods where you are not doing right. In my case, my job absorbs most of the time and sometimes not having a break to focus on makes me feel a bit down. What I do is to read the best photographers in History ever…that kicks my enthusiasm out of me and helps me to go out in the streets.

What future plans do you have? What projects would you like to accomplish?

Well, one of my projects is having more time to photograph, to be able to publish more often and my own street photography exhibition. The rest, to improve and get better as a self-challenge…just keep growing. [Official Website]