Masterful Photographer Juan Baraja at PurePhoto – artmarketblog.com

Masterful Photographer Juan Baraja at PurePhoto – artmarketblog.com

If I told you that I was going to make a connection between fine art photography and those famous robots The Transformers, you might think I had gone mad.  So, today I am going to make a connection between fine art photography and those famous robots The Transformers.  Still with me?   Good, because you are about to be exposed to the work of one of the most talented photographers that I have come across in recent times.

Toledo, Spain born Juan Baraja is one awesome photographer.  Having completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Barcelona in 2001, Baraja has gone on to win multiple awards including first prize at the XXII Concurso De Fotografia-Arquitectura 2010 COACM and first prize at the VI Concurso de Reportaje Fotografico ARCO Madrid to name a few.  If he keeps up what he has been doing there are sure to be plenty more awards to come.

In the same way that The Transformers bring robots to life thus giving personalities to inanimate objects, Baraja’s photos make machines and other industrial objects appear alive and animated.  Amazingly, Baraja has been able to give life to inanimate objects AND create still scenes that evoke a sense of anticipation and progression that actually animates the images.  The perspective, lighting and environment play a big part in the drama and tension that exist in many of Baraja’s photos.  Unusual patterns of illumination from unascribable sources of light create tension and a sense of impending action from outside the viewing window.

With ‘Metamorfosis Nocturna’, an image from Baraja’s Dock series that I have been referring to, what appears to be some sort of crane or conveyor belt machine – a machine that has animal like characteristics – looms menacingly above the viewer from behind a wall in what feels like a tense standoff that could see the machine walk over the wall and give chase at any moment.

Another image titled ‘Encrucijada’ shows a number of bollards that bear an intriguing resemblance to uniformed soldiers standing guard.  A sense of tension and anticipation is created by the bright light coming from the right hand side of the image – the source of which is again unknown.  Is it friend or foe?

The theatrical and animated images that Baraja produces are the sort of images that one never tires of because of the number of different ways they can be interpreted and read.  Every time I see one of Baraja’s photos I can’t help but be drawn into the drama and intrigue that the images evoke.

To see more of Baraja’s work head to his page on the PurePhoto website:

http://baraja.purephoto.com/#/collection/241

To be part of the PurePhoto fine art photography revolution all you have to do is head to:

http://www.purephoto.com/profilelogin.do

and enter the referral code:  NF0110RP73

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications