A perfect job and a dream life – two commonly used yet rarely experienced concepts. Rightly so. There’s no recipe or a set list of ingredients to follow. The world we live in is vibrant, volatile, even violent at times. Instead, there are moments of perfection, achievements to look forward to. For instance, unexpected opportunities to see a new city when going on a work conference.
The first time such an opportunity presented itself I forced myself not to take photos concerned about how unprofessional that might look. The trip was filled with guilt and worry which is not a way to get to know new city or give your best performance. When on a work trip, you’re supposed to work 24/7, right? Wrong and if anyone tells you otherwise it’s a sign to make some changes. Especially if that requires suppressing a part of you that brings joy.
Speaking of joy, photography is the medium that helps me to capture it. Some photographers work their magic by carefully curating sets, and swiftly adjusting lights whilst maintaining control over the item placements. What makes the most sense to me is working with reality as it is, discovering beauty hidden in everyday life.
Madrid showed me a third way, something about learning to lose control and then reflecting back on it. The following images were taken in a split second for memories, with no intention of ever sharing them on the internet. Someone asked me to edit a couple of pictures for them, and when creating a filter to us, one thing led to another… and a story of chance moments connected through the same chromatic overlay was born. It’s one of my favorite compilations of photos to date, precisely for this reason.
A controlled chaos, just like life can be in those fleeting perfect moments.
Let me introduce you. This is Madrid.
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through the looking glass 