Heart of Granada
Getting a story out of an individual varies from almost impossible, to opening an imaginary dam and letting loose a current that cannot be stopped. An example of the latter was this security guard at Granadas famed Alhambra. It took a few minutes for him to open up, and out of the sudden, he could not be stopped. My Spanish is far from perfect, but I tend to be very capable of communicating my thoughts and understanding what is being said. In this case, the stories switched so fast, jumped from one topic to the next, that there was no way I managed to keep up. It showed quickly that he lacked people to talk to. He was one of just 10 people that had access to anywhere around and inside the ancient palace and fortress. Often, he found himself being the only soul walking the gigantic perimeters at night. He called it a great privilege, guarding the heart of the city.
German mindset
He had seen all of Europe. Through his job, he had driven through Spain, France, England, Germany and many more. Hauling Fruits and vegetables from place to place for more than 30 years in his private truck. I asked him what his favorite country to drive in was. He said Germany. My first thought was that he had answered with a bias to charm me and my heritage. But he continued explaining by moving his hands around his head and saying „caveza“. The mindset. „As a truck driver, especially when transporting goods that may spoil, it is important to be punctual. And the germans always seemed to prove the stereotype to be true“
Olives & Bread
The andalusian culture is one that reflects a friendly greeting or a smile a hundred fold. One that shares whatever they are capable of sharing. When the owner of a small restaurant in the Sierra Nevadan mountain range realized she was out of bread in her kitchen, she didn’t waste a thought on hesitation before she told her only 3 guests that she would be back with some bread in a couple of minutes. She jogged across the small acres, where most of the food she sold was growing, to reach her house. Seconds later she reemerged to serve us plates filled with cheese, jamon, olives and bread. „Sorry for making you wait“ she said while smiling wholeheartedly.
Tradition
Granada lives on tourism and students. The closer you walk towards one of the mayor attractions, the less authentic the area becomes. The road making its way up the hill towards the summergarden is littered with small gift shops, people selling sunglasses. In the middle of a street like that, hidden between flashy billboards stacked with 5 different languages, one can usually find a treasure. A last breath of tradition that hasn’t been suffocated by plastic cuisine used to attract flocking tourist crowds. A shop owner that still runs his restaurant alone after 33 years. He was busy. We only shared a few words, words loaded with so much authenticity that they were enough to paint an outlining picture of the man standing behind the counter. He agreed to the portrait. Looked up for a second to glance at the camera. But not for even one moment did he put his hands down to grant himself a moment of rest.
Youth
I have never been a fan of taking pictures of friends or people I know in beforehand. The images tend to be predestined to have a certain look and feel. As a photographer, I am biased towards the person and how the photo should be perceived by the audience, Thies skews the reality of the situation. It can still turn out to be a great portrait, but rarely does it capture any larger amount of authenticity.
Happenstance
Most of the portraits I have collected over the years, I take because I see an individual that seems to have a story. Someone that shines with charisma. Rarely the focus is on the location, or in the lighting. In this case it was. I took a step into the small side wing of a larger cathedral to catch a moment of peace and cold air. Something I tend to do a lot whole traveling. Right away, a high round window caught my eyes. Not the large one every church has, or one made up of colorful glass shards coming together to form a picture story. Its was a small window, being only two glass panels. A red one and a yellow one. It brought down a beam of orange resembling a spotlight, splitting the dark cool air. The lady in the picture was the first person to walk by. And she ended up being the perfect individual to stand I front of my lens to capture this place.