Today we are going to know a little more about Julián Ochoa, a photographer from San Fernando (Cadiz- Spain).
Julián is a photographer, it is in his blood, he feels it. He has dedicated his whole life to it, with more than 100 national and international awards, jury in many competitions, teacher and lecturer. He teaches photography workshops throughout the year in different scenarios; he has publications in magazines, catalogues, press, books, and more
Julián, what do you still have to do in photography?
... I'm still starting Vicente...
And how did it all start?
It started when I met Isabel, my partner. We were both 16 years old and photography was born out of the need to preserve photographically those moments of true happiness of first love.
How is it that photography is the most democratic art?
This is just a personal reflection. With the exception of certain methods of image creation - 3-D is an example - a photographer needs reality for the creation of his work.
We do not create reality, it is simply there and the function of the photographer is to select a space from it at a given moment. In this sense, photography does not start from a blank canvas, and therefore there is a variable and democratic percentage between the creator and the photographic motif.
You always shoot in analogue and black and white, why?
I've always had the feeling that an analogue copy and the touch, the craftsmanship that goes with it takes on the DNA of its creator, as well as provides individuality, something I consider important in amateur photography. As far as B/W is concerned, it is because my photography is generally based on three formal aspects: light, form, and simplicity. That is why I don't consider it essential as it can distract the viewer's gaze from the aforementioned elements.
The darkroom has magic that digital processing doesn't have, but the difficulty, the chemicals, the time, the unpredictability of the result — doesn't it make you want to switch to digital cameras?
I take the photograph that I can print, the one that I can copy in the laboratory, and delivery in the pre-visualisation of the final result. The darkroom... I enjoy it and consider it a real laboratory of ideas. The fact of spending two minutes in solitude observing how a copy is born in the inactinic red light allows an enormously reflective act on the act of creation.
In short, it allows me to improve as a photographer.
Do your photographs always include people accompanying the composition or does the composition accompany them?
In reality, there is no such thing as composition, only the focus points in an image that balance our gaze and it is just a matter of visual education. If there was a composition, it would be the point in the centre. From this point onwards, the so-called "compositional rules" develop, which must be intelligently broken.
What do you need to do to get a good photograph?
Take time, the most valuable thing a human being has, to make it. If a photograph does not work, it is possibly because we have not had enough time to get a good image.
Explain to us that curious phrase of yours: "A photographer is good because of the pictures he doesn't take."
It would be very presumptuous of me to say that the phrase is mine because surely someone said it long before photography even existed. It is about art.
By this, I mean that a person begins to consider himself a photographer not when he takes a photograph, but when he decides not to take it because he has previewed the final result (the finished print) and knows that it will not work.
You could also say: A photographer is good because of the pictures he shows.
Do you dream of a moment when people see a photo they know it's yours?
No, I have never dreamt of that. My dream is to continue taking photographs and continue to develop personal projects. Maintain the illusion of a child.
I see two parallel worlds in photography: that of personal work or projects and that of photo by photo, which world would you bet on?
I have always liked to move in the world of sensations... so I will definitely opt for the personal project.
And for me, a great project is made with good pictures where each one of them adds up to a whole. In a single image, we see a theme. In a project, we see an author.
Why is the type of development you do so reminiscent of the classics?
Are you asking me or complimenting me? ;) The collector Lola Garrido used to say that a classic author is "that which cannot be improved".
Which of your photographs is your favourite?
I don't know. I don't think I'll ever know. There are photos that have given me great joy, but they are not necessarily the ones I would take to a desert island. In fact, I would take a photograph of a colleague to that island. I already know my photos.
Do we have to stop taking "pretty" pictures in order to take "good" pictures?
Photography is a long-distance race, not a sprint, and unless you are a genius, there is a learning curve. It is normal that at the beginning people try to take "nice and spectacular pictures", but whoever wants to grow in the photographic medium must bet on growing in the search for other types of photographic language. To make a photo "that transmits" requires dedication, effort, and more than a few tastes along the way.
In 2016 you had an idea to "bury" undeveloped photographs in their film reels for 10 years. You asked whoever wanted to take part in their film reels to make an exhibition in 2026. I thought the idea was extraordinary, and I actually took part. How many reels did you receive? How did the idea come about?
The idea was born in Morocco, during a workshop.
I thought of a method for explaining to students the importance of the documentary of a photograph in the face of the vortex of digital photography, where more photographs are erased than are kept. The approach was simple: "Any image becomes important with time" and for this, I devised a simple time capsule. The latent images of the films I received, nearly 200 from different parts of Spain and some from abroad, are "sleeping" waiting for a "revealing kiss" to awaken them.
Developing them will be an exciting moment.
Do you think young people are interested in analogue photography?
In quantitative terms, no. Rather, you may be curious.
You give several workshops a year in different places. What is their purpose?
These are workshops where I intend to "confuse" the students. My wish is that when they finish the workshop, they leave with even more questions than they had before they started, but also with a greater desire to photograph. That is my role as a teacher.
Photography is a visual response and a continuous question. Diane Arbus once remarked that photography is a secret inside a secret. So the more you know, the less you know.
I get the students confused and keep them with questions to make them think. That way the magic of photography doesn't wither away. I have given workshops in different parts of the world and my relationship with the students has always been satisfactory. Many of them have become friends. Friendship and photography. You learn a lot from teaching.
You also run a gallery: La Polaroid. How was that experience?
Rewarding, but I have never considered myself a gallery owner. The Polaroid Room is just a way of thanking photography for all that it has given me. I have never asked for any commission from the author, nor have I rented the exhibition space to any photographer, I have only offered photographers the possibility of exhibiting in my city in the modest but coquettish Sala La Polaroid, at a cost of 0 Euros.
With the next exhibition, the 100th, I will culminate this project.
Julián, I think we met at the festival of photography of author EntreFotos 2016, where we were selected. Where did photography go in the last 5 years?
Photography, good photography, has not changed that much. It is still, like all art, a feeling. The medium, the dissemination, the tools, and the proliferation of images have changed.
What would you recommend to those who are just starting out in photography?
Photographing, photographing, and photographing, and of course passion and respect for photography.
They should study the history of the medium and not only think about what photography can offer them, but also what they can give to photography... ahhhhh and be humble.