Surviving Jemaa El-Fnaa

12 de mayo de 2016 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

Jemaa el-Fnaa was probably my best and my worst experience in my last trip to Marrakech.

See, I have been to crowded places before, places where everyone is trying to sell you everything (like for example, South East Asia).

But I don’t know if it was that I hadn’t been outside of Europe (and thus, my sort of travel-comfort-zone) in almost a year or that I was too tired or too concerned about the fame that the place has for expert shoplifters… it took me a while to adapt!

Yamaa el-Fna fue probablemente mi mejor y mi peor experiencia en mi último viaje a Marruecos.

He estado en sitios llenos de gente antes, lugares donde todo el mundo te intenta vender de todo (como por ejemplo, en el Sudeste Asiático).

Realmente no se si fue porque no había estado fuera de Europa (y por lo tanto, my de alguna manera, zona de confort al viajar) hacía casi un año, o estaba demasiado cansado o demasiado alerta por la fama que tiene el sitio de carteristas expertos… me costó un buen rato adaptarme!

On the other hand, the rhythm, the people, the scents, the wonderful food, the dancing snakes and the sleeping ones and the countless places to spend few dirhams on some souvenirs… Well, they had its own magic too. 🙂

Por otro lado, el ritmo, la gente, los aromas, la comida increíble, las serpientes danzantes y las durmientes y los incontables puestos donde gastarte unos dirams en souvenirs.. Bueno, también tenían su propia magia. 🙂

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OUTDOOR EXPEDITION 001 – ESCARRILLA (HUESCA)

28 de abril de 2016 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

Captura de pantalla 2016-04-24 a les 22.35.09

Today I’m starting a new photo project. It’s called, as you can read, Outdoor Expeditions. Now, few things I should clarify before we continue:

– It’s called like this [the project] because they are outdoors exploring «photoshoots».

– So far they are in the north of Spain. This may change, or not.

– If not specified before, all the pictures taken are mine. 🙂

Hoy empiezo un nuevo proyecto fotográfico. Se llama, como puedes leer, Outdoor Expeditions (que es algo así como expediciones en la naturaleza). Antes de continuar me gustaría aclarar unas cosillas:

– Se llama así [el proyecto] porque son «sesiones de fotos» en la naturaleza.

– De momento son en el norte de España. Esto puede cambiar o no.

– Si no lo especifico antes, todas las fotos las he hecho yo. 🙂

(The picture just above these lines was taken by Gi)

In this mission, I shot with my Canon EOS 550D and used a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II lens (which basically is the cheap lens that comes with the camera). To tell the truth, I don’t think it matters that much what type of equipment you have but the vision and composition ideas you have.

Having better and more expensive material won’t make you a better photographer.

(La foto de encima de éstas líneas la hizo Gi)

En esta misión disparé con mi Canon EOS 550D y utilicé un objetivo 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II (que básicamente es el objetivo barato que te viene con la cámara). Para serte sincero, no creo que importe tanto que tipo de equipo tienes sino la visión y las ideas de composición que tengas.

Tener un material mejor y más caro no te hace un mejor fotógrafo.

Since we were spending few days in the Spanish Pyrenees we decided to go for a hike. We didn’t have proper shoes and there was loads of snow, so it wasn’t a very careful and smart idea.

We tried to follow the route to El Sardo (1,447m) but unfortunately, since we didn’t have much time and proper shoes we don’t really know if we summited or not. We think we didn’t. 🙂

Next time will be better!

Como estábamos pasando unos días en los Pirineos Españoles, decidimos ir a hacer senderismo. No teníamos el calzado apropiado y había mucha nieve, por lo que no fue una idea demasiado cuidadosa e inteligente.

Intentamos seguir la ruta a El Sardo (1.447m) pero desafortunadamente, como no teníamos demasiado tiempo y botas de montaña no sabemos si llegamos arriba del todo o no. Creemos que no. 🙂

A la próxima más y mejor!

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That time we decided to stop in Cavaion Veronese

18 de abril de 2016 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

If you are not new to this blog, you’ll probably know that few weeks ago I was visiting Italy for the second time this year. We stayed one night and one day in Milano, went to my girlfriend’s place in Brembio (really close to Lodi, which is very close to Milano), stayed one night to get our batteries fully charged again and got on the road heading to the North of Italy, to a village called Campitello di Fassa.

Si no eres nuevo en este blog, sabrás que hace unas semanas estuve visitando Italia por segunda vez consecutiva este año. Nos quedamos una noche y un día en Mián, después nos fuimos a casa de mi novia en Brembio (realmente cerca de Lodi, que a su vez está muy cerca de Milán), nos quedamos una noche allá para recargar nuestras baterías y nos echamos a la carretera, destino Norte de Italia, a un pueblecito llamado Campitello di Fassa.

The ride is approximately 4.5 hours, so obviously I was going to get hungry on the middle of the journey.

-I don’t really know where to stop here… -she said, looking a bit worried.

-Why don’t we just stop on the next village we find? It will be fun! -he said with his stomach very empty.

-Okay! The next village is… Cavaion Veronese!

And kids, this is how I met Cavaion Veronese.

El viaje dura aproximadamente 4.5 horas, por lo que evidentemente me iba a poner súper hambriento a mitad del camino.

-No se dónde parar aquí… -dijo ella, con cara de preocupación.

-¿Por qué no paramos en el siguiente pueblo que encontremos? Será divertido! -dijo él con su estómago bastante vacío.

-Vale! El siguiente pueblo es… Cavaion Veronese!

Y chicos, así es como conocí a Cavaion Veronese.

Cavaion Veronese is a Comune in the Province of Verona, belonging to the Italian region of Veneto. It has approximately 4,800 inhabitants and it’s only 20km away from Verona (city that I had the chance to visit when I was 16 years old and that I totally recommend you).It was such a lovely and small village that we almost explored all of it in 1.30h that we spent wandering around. The views from the top were flawless.

It was such a fun thing to do. Improvise. Explore the unexplored. Risk to meet new places. Overall, a very nice experience 🙂 .

Cavaion Veronese es una Comune en la Provincia de Verona, que pertenece a la región Italiana del Veneto. Tiene aproximadamente 4.800 habitantes y está a solo 20km de distancia de Verona (ciudad que tuve la oportunidad de visitar cuando tenía 16 años y que te recomiendo completamente).Fue un pueblo realmente pequeño y bonito, que prácticamente exploramos su totalidad en 1.30h que pasamos dando vueltas. Las vistas desde arriba eran increíbles.

Fue una cosa muy divertida. Improvisar. Explorar lo inexplorado. Arriesgar a conocer nuevos lugares. En general, una experiencia muy buena 🙂 .

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Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace

13 de abril de 2016 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

Royal Palace

Sculpture

No way

Royal Palace

Photographer

Royal Palace

His majesty

I remember it as if it had happened yesterday. On the 23rd of July 2015 my friend Miguel and I started our journey to South East Asia. The first city we put our feet on was Phnom Penh (Cambodia).

The pictures you see over these lines is the massive complex of Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace. Its construction started in 1860 and the Cambodian Royal Family has lived there ever since.

Lo recuerdo como si fuera ayer. El 23 de Julio del 2015 mi amigo Miguel y yo empezamos nuestra aventura hacia el Sudeste Asiático. La primera ciudad en la que pusimos nuestros pies fue Nom Pen (Camboya).

Las fotos que ves encima de éstas líneas son el enorme complejo que forma el Palacio Real en Camboya. Su construcción empezó en 1860 y la Familia Real Camboyana ha vivido ahí desde entonces.

Royal Palace

I don’t exactly remember how much we paid, but I think it was around $5. It’s a bit pricy if you compare it with other stuff around the city, but it’s totally worth the entry. Also, keep in mind and check when are the opening hours, because when we arrived there it was around 12am (local time) and it was closed.

That really didn’t bother us, because we went on exploring new parts of the city.

If you wish to read more information about the palace here’s a quite useful link.

🙂

No recuerdo exactamente cuánto pagamos, pero creo que fue alreadedor de 4.5€. Es un poco caro si lo comparas con otras cosas de la ciudad, pero la entrada merece la pena. Ten en cuenta y mira cuando son las horas de puertas abiertas al público, porque cuando nosotros llegamos eran alrededor de las 12 (hora local) y estaba cerrado.

Tampoco nos importó demasiado, ya que seguimos explorando nuevas partes de la ciudad.

Si quieres leer más información sobre el palacio aquí tienes un enlace muy útil.

🙂

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ROLL #4. COLD PHOTOS.

7 de abril de 2016 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

(Pictures taken in Lithuania)

These photos were shot with a Zenit E (1975) with an Industar-50-2 3.5/50 lens and Fujifilm Superia 200 film. Developed at my old and local film lab back in Kaunas (Lithuania) as the previous rolls I’ve already developed.

I shot this film in December 2015 between Lithuania, Estonia and Finland.

(Fotos hechas en Lituania)

Estas fotos fueron tomadas con una Zenit E (1975) con un objetivo Industar-50-2 3.5/50 y un carrete Fujifilm Superia 200. Lo revelé en el laboratorio fotográfico donde he llevado mis anteriores carretes en Kaunas (Lituania).

Disparé estas fotos en Diciembre del 2015 entre Lituania, Estonia y Finlandia.

(These pictures were taken in Estonia)

Little by little and shot after shot I’m getting more used to the analogue photography. Still is a whole different world. You need to have in mind everything. Is like shooting on manual mode with a digital camera but you can’t see what’s the result just after you shot it.

You have to trust your instinct. Also, I think that by shooting more with analogue and a bit less with digital I am becoming a better photographer. I think more the shots. I just don’t shoot like crazy, instead I take my time to look for what exactly I’d like to capture.

(Éstas fotos fueron tomadas en Estonia)

Poco a poco y disparo tras disparo me voy acostumbrando cada vez más a la fotografía analógica. Aún y así, es un mundo completamente diferente. Tienes que tener en mente todo. Es como disparar en modo manual con una cámara digital pero que no puedes ver el resultado justo despues de hacer la foto.

Tienes que confiar en tu instinto. También, creo que al hacer más fotos analógicas y un poco menos con la cámara digital me estoy convirtiendo en mejor fotógrafo. Pienso más en la foto. No hago fotos a lo loco, en cambio me tomo mi tiempo para ver qué es lo que realmente quiero capturar.

(These pictures were taken in Finland)
I am really happy about how these pictures turned out. You need to have in mind that when shooting in Finland we had temperatures of -15ºC, and I was quite worried that the Zenit E couldn’t stand such low temperatures. But once again I had to remember that it’s a Soviet Camera, and where it was built it was really really nasty cold. So it all went good.

(Éstas fotos fueron hechas en Finlandia)
Realmente estoy contento de como han salido las fotos. Ten en mente que cuando estuve haciendo fotos en FInlandia teníamos temperaturas de -15ºC y estuve bastante mosca con la idea de que la Zenit E no pudiera soportar temperaturas tan bajas. Pero, claro, tuve que recordar que es una Cámara Soviética, y donde fue construida hace mucho mucho frío. Así que todo fue genial.

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POSTCARDS FROM MEXICO

19 de febrero de 2016 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

Even though it was 4 years ago, I still can remember it like if that happened yesterday. It was the very first time for me outside of Europe and the very first time traveling so far. An outstanding experience. The resort we stayed in was very similar to the one we stayed in the Dominican Republic.

Aunque fue hace 4 años, aún puedo recordarlo como si fuera ayer. Fue la pirmera vez que salía de Europa y sin lugar a dudas la primera vez que viajaba tan lejos. Una experiencia increíble. El resort en el que estuvimos fue muy similar al que estuvimos 4 años después en la República Dominicana.

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Roll #3. Burnt.

20 de enero de 2016 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

I will remember this roll for a long long time. I gave my camera to Ginevra so that she could photograph her journey in Stockholm and Copenhagen. One day into her journey I get a message telling that the camera got stuck and there are no more pictures to be taken. «That’s weird – I told her. I only took 6 pictures with that roll, so, theoretically you should have 30 more shots.»

After she got back to Kaunas (where I lived at that time, I don’t live there anymore) I saw that there were still some pictures to be taken. So we did so.

Things got weird after I shot 50 times with a 36 shots roll. And worst of all, I couldn’t rewind it. I decided to open the camera (with the film still inside) to understand what was going on inside. Are you crazy?! (you might think), well, I had no other option. ~~Unfortunately~~ Fortunately there was still some film inside. So it got burnt.

I thought that everything got ruined but anyways I decided to give it a chance and bring it to my lab in Kaunas (which, if I can be honest, I miss a lot). Anyways, it was going to be 2€ to develop the film so, why not?

To my surprise many pictures came out. And with a wonderful burnt effect.

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Instax mini 70 REVIEW.

18 de enero de 2016 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

Few weeks ago, I contacted the guys at @instaxEs asking for a collaboration. They were so nice and responsive and through Wonder Photo Shop Barcelona (the very first one in Europe) they sent me the brand new Instax Mini 70. Well, they also sent me an album and so many refills so that I could use it as much as I wanted.

I have to say that I had some previous experience with instant cameras. Last year I bought for myself (using the excuse that it was my birthday) an Instax 210. The older and bigger sister. Nothing to do one with the other. While the 210 is big and heavy to carry around, the new Mini 70 is probably the most versatile and easy to use instant camera in the market right now. In fact, when I was traveling around South East Asia during this last summer (2015) I carried it around (the 210) and it was most of the time a pain in the ass to have and way too bulky to travel on a minimal way (they way I love to do it so). I wish I would have had then my Instax Mini 70.

At the very beginning of this 2016 I had the chance to spend a 26 hours in Barcelona and I thought that it was the best destination to try out my brand new camera. Or that was the original plan. Since there was a girl that took it from my hands and was using it almost more than me!

The photographer photographed! #Barcelona #Catalonia #vsco

Una foto publicada por Pau Mateo (@fateuser) el 2 de Ene de 2016 a la(s) 9:17 PST

I remember the look on her eyes when we took the first selfie. She was amazed! And to tell the truth it’s a quite fun camera. Her favourite part was when you took the picture and a couple of minutes after you can see the result on paper and live!

If you are looking for a perfect and flawless picture perhaps you shouldn’t buy these type of instant cameras, since it is a bit harder to focus (but they are getting this way easier with the automatic mode on their new model) and to achieve a big quality photograph. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a camera to have fun, a device that you can use to make other people happy and something small and easy to carry around, well, that’s definitely your camera.

That was my best try on making the Review of the Instax Mini 70. If you still have doubts about this camera and you would like to read more «techy» stuff, I found this quite awesome and complete review that you should definitely check out.

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The Aurora

9 de diciembre de 2015 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

Just imagine this for a second. We were driving through the middle of Finland after our bus’ tire broke (and later was repaired) and suddenly we noticed something out there in the sky. Someone started screaming it’s the Aurora! it’s the Aurora! so we begged-yelled the bus driver to stop the bus so that we could go outside and experience it with our own eyes.

That was one of the most (or better said, the most) majestic thing I’ve ever experienced nature-wise. On the bad side of this awesome experience is that I didn’t have my tripod with me (I had it in the big luggage) so basically I needed to find the way to be as stable as humanly possible, with freezing cold outside (and thus shaking a bit) and try to get a long exposure picture.

As you see the pictures are a bit shaky and not so good focused. I was way too excited. And it’s quite hard to focus on something when it’s quite dark outside. Nevertheless I’m very happy with the result.

When we saw the Aurora again, I had my tripod with me so everything went smoother. It was a pity that this time it wasn’t so spectacular. It’s important to note that what you get to see with your eyes isn’t as full of colour as it shows the photograph but in any case, I’d love to see it again. Or better said, I’ll see it again 🙂 .

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Roll #2. Overexposed.

29 de noviembre de 2015 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

Remember how not long time ago I told you that I was Going Analogue? Well, since then I have shot few rolls and I’m sort of getting more experienced.

See, I started taking pictures almost 10 years ago but I’ve always shot digital. Even though for the last 2-3 years I was trying to shoot as much manual as I could, there were so many times that I was taking pictures on automatic mode (shame on me, but when you are doing street photography or action and you just get one chance… well, I want the picture to be perfect 🙂 ).

Few weeks ago my friend Carl, who, by the way, is a photography expert, medical student and has this awesome blog, gave me a Kodak 400 film. It was my first time shooting at ISO 400 which was a completely new challenge I was more than happy to face.

The problem came when I still had «my chip» in the ISO 200. I forgot to adjust the shutter speed to the proper ISO and many pictures came way too over exposed.

I managed to get some nice shots, even there’s one I’m really glad about, that I took on low light conditions and the film reacted very very good.