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Guido Batista

My usual photographing area spans between my residence in Madrid and Santander in the north Atlantic coast of Spain where I have a country house. I no longer feel the need to travel searching for particular places; I have specific spots that I constantly revisit over the years and rediscover through the seasons, weather changes, and my inner moods.

This portfolio includes images of the centuries-old olive trees in the valleys of the mountain range "Serra de la Tramuntana" on the North-East coast of Palma de Mallorca. The extraordinary contorted, decaying trunk forms, along with the unstoppable emergence of myriads of leaves, convey the inseparability of life and death most admirably. The decay and the sprouting of new life in balanced harmony, and how each of these silent witnesses conveys it in its own particular fashion, trigger our imagination and awe.

The peculiar gentle color of the leaves, “olive green,” naturally accentuated the contrast between the trunk and leaves, asking for a black & white rendering which, in turn, highlighted the fine detail. Due to this, for the indispensable final step of the photographing process, a paper was chosen which would make the print stand out more, as if it were an etching. My special fondness for pencil drawings, which I self taught, pursued long ago, is evident.

An image with a sample of the final prints is included to appreciate the etching quality, which a screen cannot convey. I´m sure many nature photographers have experienced the profound satisfaction that comes in that magical moment in which you hold the freshly printed copy in your hands as you contemplate it for the first time. It is as if you have brought back to life what you had once “stolen” with your camera, most especially with images of the vegetable kingdom, which you can physically feel in the cotton- based fibers of the paper.

Only when holding the prints did I reconnect, as never before, to the long sessions I wandered through the olive groves and the serene, yet light, unique, history-laden Mediterranean atmosphere they exuded.