Juan Manuel Castro Prieto: a peaceful force to be reckoned with.
With his distinctive style midway between documentary and artistic photography, Castro Prieto brings a human touch to these fire-ravaged environments. This rigorous photographer works with light, employing the delicate sensitivity for which he is now renowned.
He channelled his talent, rigorous work ethic and high-impact approach into capturing images for the Yves Rocher Foundation on a trip to Portugal to highlight this natural environment struggling to survive, aided by the kind souls that this master of photography has managed to immortalise, telling their stories through his heartfelt lens.
Large-format view cameras evoke another era. Using this technique to capture these planted trees is a nod to their longevity. They will long outlive us.
Born in Madrid in 1958, as a child, Juan Manuel Castro Prieto was fascinated by the outline of his bedroom door’s keyhole as the light from the living room streamed in, casting a shadow on the wall. “I was introduced to the concept of a dark room from a very young age,” he recalls. “That’s where I found my calling. From that moment on, I was obsessed with photography, absolutely fascinated and enthralled by it.”Today, he works with a large-format view camera, a demanding technique that perfectly reflects this artist’s personality. A meticulously precise photographer, Castro Prieto does not consider himself to be a photojournalist.