((INTRO))
In an increasingly digital world, a Bolivian decided to recover the history and art of ancient photography with centuries-old cameras obtained in different parts of the world. Fabiola Chambi visited him and tells us his story.
((TEXT))
Diego Echevers’s passion is trapped in time and in a studio in his home where he has cameras over 120 years old in perfect condition, with which he creates photographs that, he considers, are “poetry”.
((Diego Echevers, Photographer and researcher 0:31 – 0:44))
“This photograph is made with time, it is made with the hands, it is made with the body and I think that is something that has been lost from sight in the world of digitization.”
This way of portraying history is given under the concept of “imperfect photography” or “anti-photography” …
((Diego Echevers, Photographer and researcher 0:31 – 0:44))
“It is imperfect because it is made with the hands and because being made under this idea there are no two alike, indeed there are risks (…) they can fail and in fact many of these failures give the result a unique character”.
Each of its chambers has a name and a story. Diego says that they are travelers because they have traveled thousands of kilometers to reach his hands, like Candelaria, his favorite, which dates back to 1905. It was made in Switzerland and arrived in Bolivia from Valparaíso, Chile.
Or Luz, a track camera that was purchased at a garage sale in America and dates back to the 1980s.
((Diego Echevers, Photographer and researcher 0:31 – 0:44))
“We do old-fashioned photography, my interest is to learn from the past, bring it to life and keep knowledge and memory alive.”
His work is sold mostly in Europe to a collector’s market through the Albumen Print Art Gallery and reaches countries such as Germany, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands.
But Diego’s talent goes further because he created his own camera to market at an affordable cost of $ 50. It is made of oak and carefully worked by hand. His goal is that more passionate about photography understand the value of the imperfect.
((FABIOLA CHAMBI, VOICE OF AMERICA, BOLIVIA))
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