Rioja
Thursday May 16th, 2013 09:23 AM
We live in an age where we’re encouraged to think newer is better. This year’s camera / computer / car (insert your preference here) is better than last year’s, they tell us. So, once in a while, it’s nice to spend some time photographing a very traditional activity.
A team of loggers have been thinning a 40-year-old pine forest near Ezcaray, La Rioja. By taking down some of the trees, those left behind have more room to grow. But rather than dragging down the trunks with tractors they use mules. Using animals means they don’t have to carve new paths through the forest; mules’ hooves damage the mountain environment less than mechanical tracks.
The animals are trained to obey the voice commands of their handlers and watching them work as a team was a real privilege.
Tags: bosque, fotógrafo, fotoperiodismo, La Rioja, mulas, naturaleza, photographer, Rioja, Spain
Posted in La Rioja, Press | No Comments
Wednesday April 11th, 2012 12:09 PM
When Tom Puyaubert asked me to photograph Bodegas Exopto, I wanted to show something of his passion for wine. Here is a man who swapped France for La Rioja and who loves it so much that he founded his own winery. Tom’s grapes come from one of the most picturesque parts of the region: The slopes around Ábalos. The scenery and the early morning light made for beautiful photos without need for much intervention by me.
But Tom’s winery is in a unit on an industrial estate in Laguardia. How could I show the soul of the enterprise and quality of the product in such a sterile place? The answer is through the clever use of light. In the above picture the backlighting gives a richness and purity to the grape juice. In the first photo below I wanted to cast Tom as a magician at his cauldron so I put a flash inside the vat. The white flash light turned purple when it bounced off the grapes and illuminated Tom’s face.
I also wanted to give a sense that wonderful wine can be made in the most unlikely of places and that is why I like the photo taken outside the open door showing just a hint of what goes on inside. The old wooden vats are wonderfully photogenic. I added to the warmth of the scene by using remote flashes covered in orange gel.
Light and composition are key to good photography but the value of thinking and planning shots beforehand should never be underestimated.
Tags: Alava, Alavesa, Basque Country, bodega, fotografía, fotos, Laguardia, Rioja, vino, wine
Posted in Commercial, País Vasco, Portraits | No Comments
Friday October 28th, 2011 04:01 PM
One of the first rules of photography that I learned as a child was to shoot with the sun behind your back. But what do you do when the scene you want to capture is into the sun? Well, it’s time to break the rule.
It happened last week while out photographing the harvest at Bodega Remelluri on the border between La Rioja and the Basque Country. The vineyard sits beneath the sheer cliffs of the Sierra de Cantabria to the north. In every other direction there are spectacular views over the river Ebro valley, across a large chunk of La Rioja and to the distant mountains of Sierra de la Demanda.
And that scene was into the sun. I couldn’t wait for it to move as so too would have the pickers and with them the photo. So into the sun it is then. The trick is to decide the bit of the photo you want properly exposed and set the camera accordingly – in my case, that’s normally someone’s face. The background, being brighter, is at risk of burning out. However, so long as the bit that’s properly exposed holds the viewer’s attention and you can at least suggest the surroundings, the chances are the photo will work. Fingers crossed.
Tags: Alava, bodega, España, fotografia comercial pais vasco, fotografia de bodegas, fotoperiodismo, Labastida, photographer, Rioja, wine photographer la rioja
Posted in Commercial, Events, La Rioja, News, País Vasco | No Comments
Saturday March 5th, 2011 06:23 PM
Logroño’s meat and veg market, el Mercado de Abastos, was full to the rafters on Thursday night but, generally speaking, it wasn’t the usual fare on people’s shopping list. Though a few customers were doing the daily shop, most had come to sample new wines from last year’s harvest which are just going on sale.
More than 20 family wineries from La Rioja were taking part in the XIV Cata Presentación, organised by Bodegas Familiares de Rioja, on the building’s top floor. Once you’d forgotten the background smell of raw meat, sampling the delights from table to table was a wonderful experience.
I was taken aback by the sheer number of young people there. One did admit that the offer of as much wine as you could drink after paying the €5 entrance fee was a key attraction. Others brought along bread and chorizo in plastic bags and dined out as well.
In a country where wineries are in constant battle with the breweries, some bodegas are targeting younger drinkers as a potential growth area and pushing their younger and less-expensive wines accordingly. They’d have been happy with last night’s crowd.
Tags: bodega, fotógrafo, fotos, La Rioja, Logroño, Periodismo, photos, Rioja, Spain, vino, wine
Posted in Events, La Rioja, News | No Comments
Monday February 14th, 2011 05:40 PM
A regular treat during the winter have been the monthly Buscón del Vino “catas” or wine tastings at the Echaurren hotel in Ezcaray.
At each meeting Chefe Paniego, the hotel’s sommelier, invites a Rioja wine maker to come and show off the creations of which they are proudest, or just about to release on the market, to an audience chiefly made up of local restaurant and bar owners.
Though I’ve nothing to do with the catering trade Chefe, in the spirit of glasnost, has been kind enough to invite me along. Bit by bit I’m learning the difference between viura and garnacha grapes, what separates American and French oak barrels and other facts indispensible for survival in La Rioja. Chefe particularly searches out the bodegas which are doing something interesting, like revitalising old varieties of grape or traditional methods.
Last week, Rafa Usoz , from the Sonsierra wine co-operative, brought along six wines. I particularly liked the fragrant 2010 white which is due to go on sale next month. As an aside, there does seem to be a bit of a white wine revival at the moment driven, apparently, by weight-watchers turning away from beer.
Intriguing too were the more complex reds which came in delightfully shaped bottles, one in a perfume jar and the other in a medicine bottle. I wasn’t sure whether I should be drinking the latter with a spoon.
Tags: bodega, cata, Echaurren, España, Ezcaray, fotografía, fotógrafo, fotos, La Rioja, photographer, photos, Reportaje, Rioja, San Vincente de la Sonsierra, Spain, vino, wine, wine-tasting
Posted in Events, La Rioja, News | No Comments
