Honorable Mention
Bloom
DESCRIPTION
"Bloom" (2023) People are made to flourish, not to fit into relationships that hurt or into the molds that society defines. And this is what this photo session is about, the ability we have to expand our potential , decide freely and allow our branches and roots to grow without anything limiting us."Bloom" defines a very specific and rewarding emotional and mental state. It is a perfect combination in which the feeling of hope, kindness, growth and also resistance are intermingled. It defines an attitude towards life by which one refuses to be trapped by suffering and also by those social determinisms that sometimes hold back our human potential.
AUTHOR
David Rodríguez was born and grew up on the island of La Palma. To many people, this may sound exotic, but to him, it has always been "normal." Although he admits that living surrounded by water can be unique, it can also determine the way you think, act and create.After studying Psychology at the University of La Laguna (Tenerife), he moved to Valencia where he lived and worked for 10 years. It was there that he discovered the world of photography. Although he had always been attracted to the art world in general, it was not until 2013 that he began to train in this artistic discipline.
Meticulous to the point of exhaustion, David Rodríguez does not like to improvise or leave anything to chance. “I plan each of my sessions meticulously, taking care of every last detail. I start my creative process from an idea, which can be a concept, the verse of a song, the sequence of a movie or a photograph that I have seen. This initial idea matures until it takes shape”.
He loves surreal and fashion photography. His main influences are Guy Bourdin, Wille Christie, Man Ray and Joe Gaffney. One day he discovered a photo of Guy Bourdin that fascinated him enormously. In the image, there was a girl underwater with her eyes and mouth open. David was instantly captivated by this image and used it as inspiration for his early work.
He currently combines his work as a psychologist with photography.
Through photography, we can evoke past and present stories, showing a new vision in the fashion world that gives each portrait a mysterious character. We are facing a fantasy of female empowerment that combines theatricality, drama and avant-garde sensuality where the models enjoy simplicity and elegance somewhat unusual in current fashion