With an upcoming book this 2021 that will surely please photo enthusiasts and society observers alike, Spanish street photographer Daniel Valledor is within a subversive wave of analogue stronghold artists who also benefit from modern-era potential to showcase their work.
“Bruce Gilden said you could swap author credits between two photographers’ work and probably no one would ever notice. When I first heard this it was so painfully true, I knew I had to make some serious changes. In the end, the secret was just being yourself. It may sound easy, but it’s hard to break free from any preconceptions and influences. Street photography is about being honest. Any gimmicks or visual tricks are going to wear the image old once the trend goes away. Timeless images require being yourself.”
But Valledor also likes to keep things pure from a technical standpoint. If you delve deeper into the his journey, you will find out he uses 400ft long Kodak Vision 3 film reels from actual motion picture productions. Valledor has been portrayed by analogue giant Leica before, paying credit to his dedicated work.
This quest doesn’t end with taking the photographs and the choice of gear. He prepares home brewed chemicals from scratch to process film in his own lab. It’s a personal lair where he develops each shot individually.
Trapping The Essence Of Life
There’s another secret to his complete magic recipe. By using his Red Dot workhorse -the Leica-, Daniel Valledor persistently works to capture candid images. He completely discards any takes with a posed reaction. True essence and reality are the goal. No gimmicks, no tricks. 99% of the images get discarded..
Tradition in a digital platform?
Of course, keeping things traditional has it’s limitations. You can’t push an analog process all the way to social media. Valledor scans all his film into a Noritsu scanner, a gateway to our era. That way images can be resized and optimized for online display.
