Joan Pla: “the photographer is someone who always looks and occasionally sees”

That age is more an attitude than a limiting number when it comes to living is best exemplified by Joan Pla (Barcelona, 1941), a self-taught photographer who, after sailing the seven seas (literally), took up a passion for photography in his fifties that he had set aside four decades earlier to immerse himself in the business world. And as 20 years is nothing and life is but a breath, with his temples silvered by the snows of time, he decided to return, because as Gardel sang, one always returns to their first love.

Since then, he has focused on artistic photography intended for collecting and for decoration and interior design. Now, in his 'veteran youth,' he debuts as an urban portraitist with Suite Barcelona, a reportage turned into a book in which the artist graphically records the changes the city has undergone in the last 60 years, thus taking over from what Xavier Miserachs or Leopoldo Pomés did in the 50s-60s, who were the main references in his career, as well as great friends. The presentation of this book took place on January 22nd, at the Laie bookstore-cafe, where we had the opportunity to chat with him and gain a better understanding of his vision on the art of photography.

Dinos, Joan, when and how was your first approach to photography?

At the age of 16, I set up a makeshift home laboratory in my mother's laundry room. Then I started working. I gave up photography and dedicated myself to sailing. I am a sailor as well as a photographer, and when I stopped working, I embarked on a new direction in the world of photography about 25 years ago.

As a photographer from another generation, do you have a preference for analog photography?

No, what happens is that in analog there is less and less paper production. It's sometimes hard to find the one that suits your preferences. So you encounter a series of handicaps compared to digital photography. I still do both but increasingly digital, much to my regret.

Over all these years, we have been able to see various photographic genres in your work. Is there any you would like to highlight?

No, no. I take two kinds of photos. The one I see and the studio one which I prepare. One technique has nothing to do with the other. You really appreciate the photo that was hard to take, and this doesn't mean it's the good one, but you tend to value it more because it was more challenging.

What is the most important thing when taking a photograph? (Light, composition, framing...)

Leave. If you don't see it, don't shoot. In a book, I have a phrase that says the photographer is someone who always looks and occasionally sees. If you shoot without seeing, it might turn out well, but that photo isn't yours.

At what point do you decide if the photograph will be in black and white? Is it something you already have in mind or do you decide in post-production?

At first, I shot quite a bit in color, but as digitization has progressed, techniques have improved, and printers have advanced, there's a very fine line between a photograph and a postcard. If the photo doesn't have much strength on its own, it's a postcard. That made me gradually lose my enthusiasm for color, unless I found a subject that was very powerful on its own. Currently, 90% of my work is in black and white.

As is the case with your new book “Suite Barcelona”, about which we would like you to tell us a little bit

Let's see, in Barcelona there are memorable books by Miserachs, Pomés, Català Roca, etc. And all of them are from the 50s-60s. So one day I started looking for books on present-day Barcelona and there aren't any.

I was here in Laie with them and nothing. I was also at La Central bookstore, I searched online, I searched on Amazon, everywhere and there are no photography books, about what you find on the streets in Barcelona. That's when I started working on this project. It's been five years now and well, I've made this photography book with what people find on the street. It's the current Barcelona.

What has been the result?

I found it interesting because, without the need for words, if you compare the books of Miserachs or Pomés with this one, you can see the entire transformation of the city of Barcelona. Both urbanistically, socially, and in terms of customs, without the need for any words. There is a very stark contrast between the Barcelona of the 50s-60s and the present.

How do you feel knowing that, now, Barcelona has an updated portrait of what the city is like?

Certainly, a great satisfaction and joy. I must thank many people for this work, because without their help it would not have been possible. I would like to specifically thank the collaboration of Silvia Omedes (Photographic Social Vision), Arianna Rinaldo, Ana Belén Jarrín, and Oriol Segón, because they have managed to transform my photographs into a book.

I also want to make a very important acknowledgment to Leopoldo Pomés, because about three years ago I showed him what was the first mock-up of the project. He looked at it and told me: 'I don't like it at all' and indeed, it has been the best advice I've ever received. I discarded it and started from scratch. It opened my eyes. Often, enthusiasm doesn't let you see things clearly, but rather the opposite, and Leopoldo's friendship and honesty have been a great help in moving this project forward.