Have you met Astaroth?

[Dahlia Ambrose]

This time around we learn a little more about Astaroth,  @astaroth

• Tell us a little about yourself and your photography journey.

Where do you live

I’m from Spain. I was born in the capital, Madrid, but I’ve always lived in the nearby city of Alcalá de Henares. I love this city. The Quixote author, Miguel de Cervantes, is one of the most famous ‘alcalaínos’ (born in Alcalá). There is an awesome renaissance fair in his honour every October. Close to the city, there is a natural area known as Hills of Alcalá with beautiful landscapes.

Hobbies & interests?

I have a lot of hobbies. I love photography, but I also love music, cinema, series, hiking, technology… I play keyboard a little, I even was in a little metal band in the past.

How long have you had an interest in photography?

I think I’ve always been interested in photography. When I was a child I liked to wear the family camera. I ruined a lot of film shots before the digital age. My first reflex camera (in 2005) was an important milestone for me. At that moment I began to read photography blogs and webpages like LightStalking and I tried to learn from Internet sources.

What got you interested in photography?

Flickr. It sounds a little weird, but I began to have access to a lot of photographers with Flickr. I learned a lot watching pictures posted there and with the EXIF data.

• What is the best advice you have received so far regarding photography?

Shoot a lot. I think it’s the best advice.

• How do you maintain inspiration?

I try to read a lot of blogs and web pages, or watch video tutorials and practice all I can.

• What is your favourite subject to shoot & why?

I like macro photography, landscape, urbex…

Bugs are awesome. I love to discover all these details you can’t notice with your naked eye. It’s like a world inside the actual world.

About landscapes and urbex, I like to take pictures in places with some sensation. You can capture the light but also the feelings. When you watch your own picture years later, you can recover that nice feeling walking through the woods, or that unsafe feeling of an abandoned house.

• Do you have a favourite type of photography?

I have not a well defined style, I like to jump from one to another. Macro and landscapes are probably the photography areas where I’ve spent more time.

• How would you describe your photographic journey to date?

Chaotic? I don’t like to take the things I like too seriously. I like to learn by myself at my own pace, sometimes a step in the right direction, and three in the wrong one, without thinking about large goals. For me photography is “only” a hobby and because of this, it’s especially interesting for me.

• Are you currently involved with any photography projects? If so, what?

No, I usually make short spontaneous series in single sessions, without connection between them. I usually don’t work in larger projects along the time or with other photographers.

• If you could only use one camera/lens combination for a year, which would you choose?

My favourite mix at the moment is my Nikon D810 with SAMYANG 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC. I have this combination mounted by default and if I want to experiment with another lens, I usually mount them in my other cameras.

I love the Nikon D810, it’s a powerful beast. And Samyang 14 mm is great for landscapes or indoor pictures (its barrel distortion can be very dramatic for urbex photography, for example).

• What is your favorite image right now?

Yours?

From my own pictures, my favourite is maybe ‘The Green Bridge of Poveda‘.

Someone else’s?

My favourite picture of any photographer… it’s very difficult to answer. I can’t really make up my mind about which one I like the most, but right now if I have to choose one, I would say (following with the black and white bridges topic) ‘Under the bridge‘, by Cárlos Vázquez:

• Is there a photographer that inspires you?

There are thousands! For example, the mantis pictures of Igor Siwanowicz, the ruins of Simon Marsden, the night photography of Mario Rubio, the landscapes of Ansel Adams, the jumping spiders of Thomas Shahan, etc.

• What is your biggest challenge when it comes to photography?

My biggest challenge is that my image tells something. I put my attention in the beauty, in colours, shapes… but my challenge is that all these tell a story.

• Is there anything specific you intend to learn or improve in your photography?

I would like to increase my knowledge in composition. I’ve been studying that for some time now, but I would like to have more control in the message told by my pictures.

• If people want to follow more of your work where should they go?

• I have a web page where I try to centralize all: Astaroth’s Website
• And a blog where I post the most of my sessions and thoughts about photography: Astaroth’s Blog
• I also use 500px for my best shots: Astaroth’s profile on 500px

• Provide links to 3 or 4 of your favourite images that can be displayed with the interview

Atardecer en el Ecce Homo I

Written in the Stars

Industrial Twisted Colours

Last City Lights

cc: @admin

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Here is a list of our members who were featured in the past if you would love to read. I have attached a link to their profile and their interview.

Diane Wehr   @albirder : Introducing Diane Wehr

Tobie   @tobiepsg : Introducing Tobie

Rob Eyers  @reyers   : Introducing Rob Eyers

Duncan Stewart  @falxy : Introducing the Falx

John Thompson  @nikon-nut : Introducing Nikon nut 

Valery  @valeryp  : Introducing Valery

Tom Dinning  @tomdinning : Introducing Tom Dinning

Christina Brown  @Chrissiebee : Introducing Chrissie Bee

Bobbie  @bobbie : Introducing Bobbie

Gordon James  @gordonjames : Introducing Gordon James

Chris Pook  @chrispook  : Have you met Chris Pook?

Erik Fransman  @erik-fransman : Have you met Erik Fransman?

Gary Zerbst  @garyzerbst  : Have you met Gary Zerbst?

Allen Furst  @3pco : Have you met Allen Furst?

Jim  @Mistyisle : Have you met Jim?

Frogdaily  @frogdaily : Have you met Frogdaily?

Robert Apple  @robertapple : Have you met Robert Apple?

Steve Matten  @stevematten : Have you met Steve Matten?

Cornelia Acorn  @corneliaacorn : Have you met Cornelia Acorn?

Gray B  @grayb : Have you met Gray B?

Dahlia Ambrose  @dahliaambrose : Have you met Dahlia Ambrose?

Patrick @patrickw : Have you met Patrick?

Dave  @pentaxfan : Have you met Dave?

Peter  @peternowak : Have you met Peter?

Beaky @ozride : Have you met Beaky?

Graham Hart @diripics : Have you met Graham?

Daniel Krueger @drkrueger22: Have you met Daniel?

Jasenka @jasenkag : Have you met Jasenka?

 

[Federico Alegria]

Oh my! It would have been awesome to know this while living in Spain last year! I’m really glad to find someone I could speak Spanish with :)! And thanks again @dahliaambrose for making things slow for us and actually getting to know our members a bit better.

[Astaroth]

Jaja, muchas gracias @federicoalegria ! Maybe we were taking pictures in the same streets!

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Thank you Federico 🙂

[Patrick]

Great to know a little more about you mate , lots of lovely photos you have shared here thank you for sharing some of your world with us 🙂

Thank you very much Dahlia another great read 🙂

[Astaroth]

Thanks @patrickw :)! Yes, “have you met” section is a great idea to share a little more about us :)!

[Dahlia Ambrose]

You’re welcome Patrick 🙂

[Astaroth]

Thanks a lot, @dahliaambrose :)! It’s an honour for me to be considered for the “have you met” section :)!

[Dahlia Ambrose]

You’re welcome and thank you for taking part Astaroth 🙂

[JasenkaG]

Thank you Dahlia and Astaroth for this great interview!

[Dahlia Ambrose]

You’re welcome Jasenka 🙂

[Astaroth]

Thanks to you, @jasenkag , for read it :)!

[Rob Wood (Admin)]

Good to still have one of our oldest members still using the site too! 🙂

[Astaroth]

Of course :)! LS forums are a compulsory visit for any photography lover! I’m glad to see that they are always very active, with nice people you can learn a lot of things from!

[Rob Wood (Admin)]

Yeah I think it’s one of the best around, but I am biassed. 😉

[LeanneC]

I love your bridge image, Astaroth. It’s great to learn a bit more about you. I can relate to your comment about jumping around to different types of photography. I think that is what keeps it fresh for me. You never run out of inspiration!

[Astaroth]

Thanks @leannecleaveley :)! Exactly! Different kinds of photography, different possibilities that increase the inspiration :)!

[Peter Nowak]

Great interview. I went through your photos and your blog. Wide coverage of photo genres. Great images. Amazing pieces like night traffic – car lights, industrial thick columns and others. Interesting reading at your blog. I should find more time to went through that blog. It’s very refreshing to see other photographers experience/points of view.
Very very nice to know more about you.

And thanks Dahlia for your “interview work”.

[Author]

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