Fernando Prats: “A mobile phone doesn't make us photographers. It does make us snapshot takers”

Since the appearance of the first mobile phone with a camera in 2000, technology has continued to evolve to offer us devices that incorporate high-resolution cameras with countless features very close to professional equipment. A fact that, along with the wide range of applications available today that allow editing, retouching, and ultimately improving an image to one's liking, turns each user into a potential artist. But only potential, because to truly create it takes that magic that transforms an image into a story, the sensitivity that brings it to life and gives it meaning. And this is a field that is perfectly mastered by the art director and photographer, audiovisual artist and communicator, Fernando Prats, who for 30 years has been sharing his teachings on imagery, and is the creator in Spain of the first mobile video and photography workshop. We had the opportunity to chat with him in one of the cozy corners offered by Seventy Barcelona, the new guest house of Núñez i Navarro, where he explained more about his true passion: researching from photography, design, video, poetry, music, and other disciplines, the intersection of the word and some of its representations.

Fernando Prats, nació en Morón, Buenos Aires, aunque se trasladó a Barcelona, hace casi 20 años, en busca del gran relato europeo que percibía a través del cine, la música y especialmente la literatura. Y se encontró con una ciudad que él mismo define como “estimulante” de la que le atrapó su clima, la coexistencia de culturas y la gran cantidad de propuestas que ofrece a solo 15 minutos de distancia: “Me provoca ganas, deseos e ideas para producir cosas. Tengo mar y montaña. Me gusta mucho para vivir y es posible hacerlo con cierta inquietud. En ella conviven lugares con contraste moderno y lo que queda de otra época: Caixaforum, Parc del Forum, el 22@; también sus pasajes, como el pasaje Batlló”.

Currently teaches at the Institut d’Estudis Fotogràfics de Catalunya and collaborates with artists, cultural companies, and brands with an interest in the visual. Among his many publications, we find titles such as “Short and Sharp”, “How to Go Home, But Not”, “One a Day”, “Immadencity”, “The Sorrows of the Tearless” or “V__ICE”. When asked about his work, he emphatically clarifies: “I consider myself more of a communicator than a conventional photographer.. And he confesses: “Photography for me was not a very early love. I am a creator. I have always been interested in different artistic disciplines. Writing, making music in a group and with computers, poetry, design. And I have also made magazines. I like to play with the image, typography... I took some photos with my grandmother's Kodak Instamatic and some compact cameras. But I delved into photography about 15 years ago.”

However, once immersed in photography, his interest in images captured from the mobile phone did not take long to emerge: "I am interested in provocation with intention. To question rather than to describe. To dig into what lies between A and B, in the interstices, as the French poststructuralists would say. That's why my interest in mobile photography arose early. The mobile is a tool within everyone's reach. In 8-9 years it has taken a big turn. Even the big brands are focusing on it. It's about a tool that democratizes because it assimilates what can be done with a large equipment. Now there is a vast culture available to everyone if you are a person with many interests. And within reach of schools, of education."

For Fernando Prats, educating people is an important part of his profession: "I've been teaching for 30 years, to all kinds of people and ages. I like to listen to what their needs are. And to challenge, with the poetic mechanism. I understand that this work without full dedication is not always possible. But when it is, it yields great results". And he is clear about it: "Learning should awaken the curiosity that is today stiffened. Leisure time today is often automation, and routine: for example, browsing social networks... Roland Barthes spoke of the Punctum in a work: that which, besides looking and seeing, I can penetrate. I cross the wound (because it causes a 'prick') and move away from the nominal field that only vision provides. We also see today that there is a craving to be popular or recognized. Juan Carlos Onetti might have asked, 'What's the goal? For what?' But the answer is not known. Perhaps it is what Roberto Arlt suggested: to feel less miserable.

Currently teaches at the Institut d’Estudis Fotogràfics de Catalunya and collaborates with artists, cultural companies, and brands with an interest in the visual. Among his many publications, we find titles such as “Short and Sharp”, “How to Go Home, But Not”, “One a Day”, “Immadencity”, “The Sorrows of the Tearless” or “V__ICE”. When asked about his work, he emphatically clarifies: “I consider myself more of a communicator than a conventional photographer.. And he confesses: “Photography was not a very early love for me. I am a creator. I have always been interested in different artistic disciplines. Writing, making music in a group and with computers, poetry, design. And I have also made magazines. I like to play with the image, typography... I took some photos with my grandmother's Kodak Instamatic and some compact cameras. But I delved into photography about 15 years ago.

However, once immersed in photography, his interest in images captured from the mobile phone did not take long to emerge: "I am interested in provocation with intention. To question rather than to describe. To dig into what lies between A and B, in the interstices, as the French poststructuralists would say. That's why my interest in mobile photography arose early. The mobile is a tool within everyone's reach. In 8-9 years it has taken a big turn. Even the big brands are focusing on it. It's about a tool that democratizes because it assimilates what can be done with great equipment. Now there is a vast culture available to everyone if you are a person with many interests. And within the reach of schools, of education."

For Fernando Prats, educating people is an important part of his profession: "I've been teaching for 30 years, to all kinds of people and ages. I like to listen to what their needs are. And to question, with the poetic mechanism. I understand that this work without full dedication is not always possible. But when it is, it yields great results". And he is clear about it: "Learning should awaken the curiosity that is today stiffened. Leisure time today is automation, often, and routine: for example, checking social networks... Roland Barthes spoke of the Punctum in a work: that which, besides looking and seeing, I can penetrate. I cross the wound (because it causes a 'prick') and move away from the nominal field that only sight provides me. We also see today that there is a craving to be popular or recognized. Juan Carlos Onetti might have asked, 'What's the goal? For what?' But the answer is not known. Perhaps it is what Roberto Arlt suggested: to feel less miserable."

Because it is very clear that having good tools makes the work easier, but it does not guarantee success, for that you need some discourse that gives meaning to the whole set: “I have recorded a professional music video with 2 mobile phones and two cameras. In my opinion, the outcome depends more on how you articulate the discourse than on the tool. Today there are apps that simplify the process and the experience of creating a video, like for example NIZO, an app for iOS, which prioritizes the poetic experience and does not make professional editing with Final Cut, Premiere Pro, or Davinci Resolve essential. In my opinion, this mix of languages and devices will be used more and more. And it is more effective because it can offer an immediacy that was unthinkable until very recently. Likewise, more and more professionals are joining the design of apps and are providing professionalism to these tools, which are also very economical.

Talking with Fernando is fascinating, both for his vast knowledge about imagery and for his sensitive yet daring perspective. After two cups of tea, it's time to say goodbye, but not without first asking him about the secret to taking good photos with a smartphone. Contrary to what we might imagine, the answer has more to do with intuition than with the features of our cameras: “It used to be said that the first 1,000 pictures were the worst. Today, it's more like the first 10,000 are the worst. I find intuitive practice important because it goes beyond what the developer has anticipated. In photography, children, who are getting smartphones earlier and earlier, are used to experimenting. The risk is that behavioral models depend on the situation, and today the models are 'celebrities, from YouTube or reality TV, and influencers' with a certain projection and marketing interests that can cause frustration at a certain age. Intuitive experimenting is very positive. Tutorials are useful, one must be curious and internalize the processes. And relate them to our own worldview.”

We may not become the new image gurus, but by attending one of their workshops, advertised on their website and social networks, perhaps we'll understand a bit more about that Ansel Adams quote: “Photography is more than a medium for effective communication of ideas. It is a creative art”.