"Ultimately, the reward is the process - the process of photographing and discovering and trying to understand why and what am I photographing."
Alex Webb
On February 22, I did not publish the photo of the day; even though I had the assignment ready, a 24 hour blackout left the entire western part of the country without electricity. It was frustrating to think that I'd be disqualified for something that was totally out of my control, sadly in Venezuela these experiences are common. I tried not get discouraged and I went out to make photos. To my surprise the next day the organizers made a statement encouraging the participants to post their photos to continue the competition.
The theme "A breaking the fourth wall" is about a scenic resource used in the theater, happens when a character observes or speaks directly with the public, making them "accomplice" of the plot. It was a very interesting topic, with these idea I tried to capture the moment when the illusion of the fourth wall breakes and the barrier between the observer and the photo falls down.
The assignment "A personal franchise" brought back the idea of the informal businesses that are seen every day on the streets of my city. I looked for a photo that showed the effort that people put into their ventures, seeing them as street entrepreneurs.
"A lost status" allowed me to show the state of deterioration in which the streets of my country are, the abandonment and the loneliness with which one walks through the city. This was the idea behind the photo.
This image was pure chance, it's all about being in the right place and the right time. It seemed to me that I was fits perfectly the topic of the day "An advice not requested". Just by interpreting the looks and gestures one can imagine some history behind.
Rooftops are pretty cool places to take photos, several of this week's photographs were taken that way. The topic of the 27th day was "A π", although it was a difficult subject to interpret, I wanted to portray how this number is implicit in our daily life. And this was the result, one of my favorite photos of the competition.
"A fallen horizon" was the ending theme of the 28 day's challenge. For this last assignment I walked all over the city looking for fallen horizons' ideas to potray. And as it often happens, on my way back home I took this shot. It seemed to me that on that horizon many of the ideas I was seeking to capture were condensed in that scene: the deteriorated city, the disorder, the loneliness, the calm, the hope. This was the last photo I needed to complete the series, I was very happy to have found it.
This final image was the official closing of the contest and each participant had to publish it on March 1st, 2018. The hashtag: #YoLogreLas28Fotos translates to "I achieved the 28 photos" and represents the shared effort and achievement of those who participated in the challenge in 2018. I hope you enjoyed the photo-tour.
As Alex Webb says, the reward was the process and the experience. During February I create new photographs every day, I improve my photography skills and was able to portray my city. I managed to keep a visual discurse throughtout the whole process creating a photo collection that I really liked. I am very happy the experience.
