Jaime Gutiérrez with the Petzval 58 Bokeh Control

Jaime Gutiérrez is a young photographer from Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid, who shoots portraits that are both striking and intimate. We sent him a Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art Lens, which he used to carry out an urban shoot with two models.

What's your personal story with photography - when did you start taking photographs?

Well, let's say that I have always liked photography. I used to take my dad´s camera and take photos of anything, when we were on holidays, at home ... But maybe my first serious photograph was when they bought me my first reflex camera. That's when I started to devote more time than usual to photography; since then it has become something more than a pastime until today - now I contact models, other photographers, and I am trying to get into it more and more so I can be a professional photographer.

Tell us more about what inspires you at the moment of taking pictures.

What inspires me most is usually the model, I usually take photographs of girls. Hair in motion, the interaction of the person with their surroundings, and the gaze are what inspire me; an intense gaze that is well shot is one of the most inspiring things for me. Without a doubt, portraits are my passion and inspiration at the same time.

What did you shoot with the Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art Lens?

I shot two people, one is my friend and muse Patricia, in a simple style, in a park, to be able to create a more marked bokeh effect with the leaves of the trees. The second one was Sara, an amazing and dynamic model, with whom I really love working with; with Sara, we took photos which were a bit different from each other, both with buildings and nature. I was quite happy with the result of both shoots.

How was your experience shooting with the Art Lens?

Above all, it was surprising; it's a lens that is completely different from others. It could be that I felt a little bit clumsy when it came to the focusing because I am used to automatic focusing, but it was definitely a different experience and it can't hurt to renew yourself once in a while by working with different tools.

What was your first impression of the lens?

The first thing that came to my mind was that the lens itself was quite beautiful - in my case, golden. It has that handcrafted touch that is innovative, without a doubt, and that attracts attention - people were stopping to look at it on the street. The system of lens apertures, just like the way of focusing which was so manual annoyed me at the start, but it's an original and different way of working, though personally, I think it's a bit burdensome. The lens is a tad heavy, but then again the kit I work with is very light. However, it's worth it because of the effect and the quality that is achieved in the photographs.

Any upcoming projects?

At the moment I don't have any projects for the future. I have the idea of swapping to a more professional camera and to carry on working with models and other photographers; I would like to work for a fashion brand or a photography studio, but right now I am focusing on my studies and I´m not thinking too much about professional projects, but if they do come up, I will gladly accept!

Explore Jaime's fantastic portraits on his website and follow him on Instagram.

written by rafaelcabral on 2017-11-03 #gear #people #art-lens #petzval #lomography-art-lenses #petzval-58-art-lens