Name: Juan Ahumada
Picture title: Hero
Category: Nature art
Nationality: Spain
Occupation: Officer
Technical information
Camera: Canon EOS R6
Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
EXIF: 6 sec at f/9 . ISO 100
Accessories: Tripod, two flashlights
RUNNER-UP CATEGORY NATURE ART
Juan Ahumada | Hero
Name: Juan Ahumada
Picture title: Hero
Category: Natural art
Nationality: Spain
Occupation: Officer
Technical information
Camera: Canon EOS R6
Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
EXIF: 6 sec at f/9 . ISO 100
Accessories: Tripod, two flashlights.
Juan Ahumada says:
The agave is a plant native in North America, but was naturalized and perfectly adapted to the Mediterranean environment. This species has a peculiar life cycle, after 10 or 12 years of growth it blooms only once in its life, developing a huge flowery stem with arboreal bearing and after flowering the plant dies. During growth, the leaves bend downwards and sometimes cause a crack in the leaf with a characteristic texture.
I found this wound on one of the leaves and the pattern it presented caught my attention. It reminded me of a slanted eye, but it was not potentially photogenic, something was missing. I returned to the area at dusk and tested with my flashlight, finally with a specific side lighting, taking advantage of the shadows and reliefs and illuminating the back with warm light, so that we gave life to my imaginary Hero. I chose a cold color temperature in the camera parameters and used a red light illumination for the background vegetation, which created that color contrast.
About Juan Ahumada:
Spain
I am in love with nature, passionate about photography and I love to travel. I have been photographing the natural world for more than 25 years. I have visited many countries and I have photographed numerous species that, however insignificant they may seem, deserve my attention because they all play an important role on this planet. Every photograph taken with passion is like a beat of light that I can immortalize with my camera to remember. With the certainty that it is not the last photo, what is really important in the path that is traveled to reach it, it is everything you have felt and lived, the effort and satisfaction that you treasure with each one of them.
I like documentary photography, but every time I find more inspiration in creative photography. My restless mind is always looking for alternative patterns and I try to create new and suggestive photographs. My images are published in books, magazines and are recognized in numerous international competitions. In 2017 I published my first book: “Pulsations”. I continue to learn about the natural world and photography every day.