Aitor del Arco
1. Can you introduce yourself and talk about how you got into photography?
Hello! My name is Aitor, I am a visual artist from Calpe, a small town on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. My life has always been related to art, since I was little I went to painting classes where I was able to acquire a lot of knowledge in terms of color and shape. There was a time when I withdrew a little from the entire artistic world, when I began my studies in computer science, after spending some time working on it and seeing that it did not convince me, that I needed something more creative, I reintroduced myself to art and began my studies in design and 3D animation around 2016. It was through film classes that I became completely fascinated with photography and what led me to buy my first second-hand professional camera, since then I haven't stopped taking photos.
2. Where did you study photography?
I started with small nuances in photography through my studies in Design and 3D Animation in Valencia. Later I did Audiovisual Communication at the University of Burgos and a Bachelor of Science in Communication and Culture at the New University of Lisbon.
3. Do you remember your first shot? What was it?
My first photo was with an analog camera, I was very young and it was on the safari so that day I spent the film taking pictures of the animals, but the first photo was of an elephant that shortly after stole a woman's bag and ate it, unfortunately I didn't capture that moment.
4. What equipment do you use?
I currently use a Sony A7IV, I usually shoot with a 24-70mm 2.8f lens as it is quite versatile and bright.
5. What do you hope to achieve?
Being able to work and live from photography and the visual arts, that is my goal and in some way try to contribute something to the world of art.
6. What compliment inspired/touched you the most?
The biggest compliment to me is when people tell me that my work has inspired them.
7. What inspires your unique storytelling?
It would be impossible to say a single thing; music, movies, books, everyday life... I believe that anything can be inspiring. In the end, creativity is connecting things that at first glance are not connected. Creativity is a state of mind.
8. What THREE (3) words describe your photography style?
Conceptual, fantasy and existentialism.
9. Congratulations! As the winner of the New York Photography Awards, what does it mean for you and your team to receive this distinction?
It is a great honor for me to have been selected among the winners. In the end it means that your work has been awarded and that a group of expert people have seen something good in it.
10. Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2022 New York Photography Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?
Ad Caelestis is a series where I shape different stars of the celestial vault and mix them with popular culture, whether recent or past, conceptualizing them in some way.
This has been my last year of studies, because I was in the finals I have not had time to carry out projects for several months, so this series is the one with which I have resumed my passion.
11. How has winning an award developed your career?
Winning an award helps give prestige to your work. It is a proof that guarantees a good project.
12. Name 1-3 photographers who have inspired you.
Definitely Alex Stoddard, Kyle Thompson and Cho Gi-Seok.
13. What was the best piece of advice you were given starting out, by a mentor or your role model?
Never stop doing what you really love.
14. What advice would you give someone who would like to become a photographer today?
Start now and never stop.
15. What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?
Although I think luck plays a bit in the key to success, it is true that there is a HUGE component of perseverance. Perseverance is essential.
16. How do you stay in that space of being receptive to new information and knowledge?
I have a kind of ritual. I always spend a little time each day reading something that interests me, a little time reading something that doesn't interest me at all, and I end up rereading something I've already read.
Reading something I'm interested in increases my mental library of references, reading something I'm not interested in helps me create connections to other realms, and rereading something helps strengthen connections.
