Joxe Inazio Kuesta ; Just a simple glance trapped in an image?

Normally, when we photograph we look for a point of view, a personal way of approaching or seeing a certain reality.

This reality can be a landscape for some, a portrait for others, a building for others, etc. … In my case, the type of photography I do is street photography and documentary, and the main goal of almost all of them is the human being, and more specifically their glances. One might think the glances displayed in my photos are simple looks trapped in images: looks that die when captured. But that is not my goal.

When I travel, which is practically when I take pictures, I like to see and feel people of different races, religions and customs. I try to approach them with the intention of establishing, if possible, a relationship, which most of the time consists of a shared smile or a greeting. If I can get a picture I feel doubly happy. It doesn’t matter whether you are photographing a girl, a man, an old woman, a street or any situation; I always look for their eyes, and these tell me what they do, what they feel, I want to see in them admitting me as a transmitter of their feelings and realities. I seek people’s complicity to photograph for a simple reason of respect. I want the person knowing he is being photographed, I want the person expressing what he feels, I want him saying what he has to say about his life and the environment around him. I look for and I want them to look at the camera´s lens, to me, to all the people who are going to see the photo. This is not achieved with a single shot, sometimes yes, but the normal thing is to have to wait, take many shots. The experience tells you how to act at each moment: if I have to wait, to go away, etc. …

In the edition I interact again with the person photographed, with his eyes. I try to choose the right shot, the one I think best reflects the information to be transmitted; It can be a happy, sad, bitter scene, etc. … And when I process all the information obtained, when I understand what the photo tells me, then I analyze and see what kind of editing will better reflect that situation; If it has to be black and white, color, etc. … Although I have to recognize I don’t always achieve it.

Then there is the presentation of the result obtained, and the consequently people’s opinion. It is interesting to see the different reactions to the representation of those feelings the person photographed. There are people who express admiration as soon as they see the photograph, others only see the beauty of a look; some people feel uncomfortable to see the environment in which those people who look at us live, because the interior is removed from what is represented in the photo and also some who are indifferent. I mean, if I can awaken those feelings we usually have so much difficulty admitting and expressing, then I do feel that I have fulfilled my work of transmitting; yes I can say that those glances captured are not dead; yes I can say that they transmit the reality surrounding them, that they are alive; and definitely yes I can say they no longer turn out to be a simple glance trapped in an image.