EM: Yes, on one hand, when I was a kid, I grew up in the hills of Córdoba, and I received a bit more European culture from my grandparents and my father. Many images and stories of the mountains of Europe, the forests… and when I went to live in San Martín de los Andes (Argentina), the landscape connected me to all these stories, moved me, seemed quite idyllic, and I wanted to tell them. Then I began discovering the rest of Patagonia, which has its own identity. It took me to another place, discovering what Patagonia is and, at a global level, what it means. Because there are no places in the world like Patagonia. Perhaps Mongolia has something similar, but in other places, I haven’t seen those conditions: it’s so sparsely populated because of the wind. And seeing the history of the pioneers who went there, taking that into account, which moves me a lot, I wanted to convey that, which is not easy to convey. The easy thing is to photograph the stunning landscape, and I wanted to go a bit further and tell these stories from what one feels when getting to know Patagonia. All of that led me to be comfortable in this rural life, which I’ve always been very close to, and it has attracted me much more than city life. All of this is a combination for which one becomes very passionate, and there’s not much more explanation than that.

 

EM: When I go to a place, beyond preparing the equipment and everything, I like to know more about the place: to know a bit of the history, the geography. I even use Google Earth a lot to study the topography, to see the angles and the light. I also use apps to see the sun and the stars. I prepare all of that to anticipate situations. Many times it’s about that, anticipating. And there are always so many variables that one can’t cover them all, but at least the ones that are at hand, it’s good to study a bit and go prepared.

 

Of course, you also have to be physically prepared; you have to be in good condition to climb a mountain quickly, go down, hurry, and run. I always chase the light, and sometimes they’re very short moments, so physically too. Mobility depends on the place: it can be a vehicle, horseback, trekking, kayaking, or any other means that allow me to reach the place I’m looking for. There are several aspects I consider, especially having time. Not being so limited by time is fundamental.

EM: What I find most difficult to photograph are productions, especially with people. When it comes to generating situations artificially, that's where I get stuck, and I find it hard to make them look natural.

EM: What I recommend to anyone who aspires to be a photographer is that they don’t stop photographing, that they take photos of everything, not just what they like. This will then be applied to everything that’s photographed. For example, studio photography perhaps wasn’t what I liked most, but it gave me a tremendous amount of knowledge about how light works, which I apply permanently in landscape photography and everything I do. That’s why it’s important to explore all types of photography before focusing on a specific branch.

 

Second, don’t waste time and resources on expensive cameras; nowadays, almost all of them are good – invest more in lenses.

 

And third, I recommend photography trips. One takes advantage of the inherent travel incentive, breaking from routine and enhancing photography.

EM: Generally, my criteria are divided into three parts: the emotional as most important, the technical, and how much the photo has to do with the category or theme. I don’t consider the technical part a merit in itself; rather, I see it in terms of the emotional. It’s what will help to transmit the message more precisely. Personally, I pay close attention to light and composition.