Featured photographer, Oscar Hernandez
Oscar’s photography really caught my eye on flickr recently. Oscar uses a very interesting flash technique and has a very determined style, which is why I wanted to feature him on the site.

First of all, welcome to JCH, please tell us about yourself.

I am 38, I live in Barcelona, I work in fashion, I am a tailor and menswear in my own shop. One of my passions is photography, which every time I spend more time, it is a pleasure but also a creative challenge, I hope to improve, and in the future to make things really good.

Your project ‘The beautiful and the sinister’ is quite inspiring for its use of flash and light play. Can you tell us what it means? 

With this work I try to project an image disturbing, shocking and new. Get inside for a look, let the viewer participate and dwell on the characters.

How did you find yourself coming to this type of photography? It is quite different from your earlier work.

Doing much earlier, is to try things, make mistakes and think before shooting, I think we should be clear about what you want.

The camera is different, now I’m looking for something more artistic, more free, I play with the surprise and the uncontrolled and random. In the old style feel more rigid and many people do very well …

Would you describe yourself as a street photographer? Why? 

I want to describe myself as a street photographer, I go out into the street, I walk for miles, I run into thousands of situations and faces, the street is my field of action, where the unexpected surprises you and some may be revealed.

What is the biggest challenge you currently face with your photography? 

Find new situations within the frame images forming something new, find a development in my work, an evolution will be the hardest, I hope to get it!

How did you get started in photography? Was there a particular moment of inspiration?

For 8 years I started really interested in photography, meet photographers, styles and cameras, always interested in analog photography. I have also made copies myself with an enlarger in a laboratory at home, is truly magical and very nice that process. I took pictures with my Rolleiflex intermittently for several years.

For 1 year is that I take it more seriously and I take pictures every week, following a method of working, thinking more creatively about what I want to express.

Do you have a method to your shooting? Do you think of a project of just see where things evolve? 

First I must have enough energy to confront situations. I think before I take the picture, position the flash with one hand and with the other shot quickly. It’s simple, just about power, speed and vision.

A bit of both, I have a clear goal but then surprises or errors can make things be changing over time.

Are there any photographers that inspire you or influence your work?

Many!!! Shomei Tomatsu, Bruce Davidson, Michio Tomatsu, William Klein , Barbara Crane,Garry Winogrand, Daido Moriyama, Trent parke , Bruce Gilden, Jeff mermelstein, Philip Lorca diCorcia…

Where would you like to see your photography develop in the future?

Now just think about the next day I’m going to go outside to take pictures, I just want to think about this

Do you have any upcoming projects or new pieces that you would like to share with the readers of JCH?

I’m preparing new pieces, but the analog system is a bit slow .. hahhah so will have to wait a bit ..

If you would like to see more of Oscars’ excellent work you can see his new stuff over at flickr:
www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

A great thanks to Oscar for participating in this interview. I am very intrigued by the style and I would like to see where he takes this work in the future. There is something ghostly about these images, showing the spirit of the street.

Please remember that the images are reproduced with the kind permission of Oscar Hernandez and may not be used or reproduced without permission.