I started in the Photography when I was very young, inspired by the images that my father used to drink when he worked as a publicist. When I was 17 years old, my mother gave me a beautiful Minolta X700 and a world that she had never experienced opened up before me, from placing the film in the camera, understanding the mechanics and the measurement of light until I understood that in front of me there was a new way of expressing my ideas and my passions.
I remember that I damaged many rolls until I got my first photo and it was of a deer who appeared in front of me in the forest. Maybe that was a sign to me that I would be connected to the nature forever.
At the age of 20 I started visiting the moutains. As a child he saw these beings with respect and even with fear; he thought they were mysterious and wild places. He walked through his we stopped y vegetations and constantly in those places he received lessons and apprenticeships.
The first mountain that I was able to climb was the Cayambe volcano. I remember those long night walks and looking at the stars. I was amazed and excited to be treading new territory for me. It was almost like walking on another planet, like a child in an amusement park. And, at the same time, I felt many fears about the possibility of not reaching the summits nor have the fitness To get over me
As dawn broke, the minutes passed slowly and in the horizonte the sun gave us welcomealmost like telling us “I’m here, don’t worry, I’m going to give you warmth and shelter”.
Magically it went up and I was able with my own eyes appreciate the mountain from another perspective, closer, more human and more respectful. He saw his glaciers and felt a beautiful sensation when stepping on the ice with my crampons. As we ascended, step by step, I could make out the summit that was getting closer to us.
After 6 hours of ascent, the tired body, the heavy breathing y tears in the eyes, we reach the summit. It was something that I can never forget in my life; I felt euphoric, I cried, laughed and screamed with emotion like a child. We all hug and silence we just looked at the scenery and how lucky we felt to be in that place.
So I decided to unite my passion for Photography with the passion By the mountain.
From that moment on, my constant search in my work has been to pay homage to the moutains As if they were magical beingsbeings of respect and beings of protection; a constant search to capture its beauty through movement, capturing time and danza with the light. Using various photographic styles, such as long exposures, astrophotography and HDR, I manage to capture Ecuador and the Andes through my lens.
The landscape photography It is approached from different perspectives, as a means of artistic and cultural expression and also a documentation of how the landscape transforms, lives, dies and transforms again next to the jungle known as civilization.
My work is a project in continuous growth, born from my inspiration to find the link that we human beings have with nature. Mother Earth. A tribute to the mountains, moors, flora and fauna of Ecuador.
Ecuador is in the Pacific Ring of Fireis an alignment of terrestrial and submarine volcanoes and also oceanic faults.
This alignment of volcanoes it borders the Pacific for most of its circumference, or about 40,000 miles. This is the area called the Ring of Fire.
In Ecuador, the Andes are divided into two parallel chainseach with several volcanoes 5,000 meters and more. The highest point in the country is in the Western Cordillera, it is Chimborazo (6,268 meters) considered the highest volcano on Earth from its center.
In the Cordillera Oriental is the highest active volcano in the world, Cotopaxi (5,897 meters high).
I capture them with the intention of the project as elements -sculptural and fragile- that generate awareness about the care and admiration of these beautiful natural monuments.
Mi objective is to encourage the generation of awareness about the natural resourcesthe climate change and the importance for the life of the glaciers and rivers.
We are beings of the natureit is our obligation to respect and take care of what surrounds us, one step at a time, being aware that a small change can have a great impact on the planet In which we live.
biophotographer
Juan Sebastian Rodriguez IG:@sebas_foto
Nature photographer specialized in astrophotography, night landscape, cityscape, high definition panoramas and mountaineering.
Photography teacher for 15 years at Foto Club Quito and Open Photography Laboratory. She has held photographic exhibitions in Spain, France, Mexico and Ecuador on the country’s volcanoes and mountains.
On Wednesday, May 11, the exhibition ‘In the heart of the Andes’ opens in Marcando Camino (Tamayo and Veintimilla).
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