Hello, everyone!
This might be the worst of the times to release anything new, but this is a project that I had been working on & off
for a long time, almost 4 years
it was supposed to come out in the summer of 2018
but as you can tell, it didn't
So back in January of this year, 3 months ago, I decided that it was about time to finish this project
and to release the book
As I said, it might not be the best time to sell books or anything
but this is something I'm very excited about
This is my first serious photography book, but it's not what you might expect from me
I think of this book more as a visual autobiography than a representation of my work
Indeed, "Becoming an American" tells the story of me leaving everything behind here in Spain
selling everything I had, quitting my job and moving to the US with my wife
I didn't know anyone, I didn't know what to expect, I traveled a lot for a few years in the US
but the real journey didn't happen on the road or in the mountains, it happened within me
and this is what I'm trying to show here with this book
You might be familiar with my photography work, this is not that, these are more raw moments
I used a lot of different cameras to capture them, from a Nexus 4 and iPad air 2, full-frame and APS-C cameras
1" sensor cameras, I used film cameras like 35mm and medium format film
Most of the images here were never meant to be published, they were for me
but after so many years of sharing my more carefully composed square images
if felt really good to work on something more personal like this
Along with the images, I also share some stories that I got to experience in America
Images like this one, from the top of a volcano called "South Sister", in Oregon this was an incredible day
There are scenes from cities as well, like this cat almost jumping out of the window
this was my first time in San Francisco, 7 years ago
This one was really early in the morning, before sunrise, probably around 6am
it was in Death Valley and we got chased, literally, by a coyote
I also share some more American experiences that I had never seen before anywhere else
like a demolition derby in Indiana
Images that I hadn't shared before because they don't really fit with my other photography work
but they are images that I really connect to
America is a vast place, and you can find very different scenes like this communication tower
in the middle of nowhere in Illinois, and this one from Mt Hood
My favorite thing to do in America by far is to experience nature
like this time when Luna and I were in the Mt Hood National Forest under a big snowstorm
or this one of Rachel on a beach in La Push, Washington
Football games, gas stations...
there are a lot of pictures from Portland, of course
This is also the story of how I became a photographer, this is Luna, this is me with my camera, at Mt St Helens
This is the pier at Pacifica, in California, just south of San Francisco, and this is the Chicago skyline
this is Lake Michigan, this was captured all the way from the other side of the lake, from Indiana
This is Horseshoe Bend in Arizona, all the people there lining up to take photos and selfies
Images from all the car camping I did in the US, a lot of it, this was an incredible night at the Alvord Desert
This was at Cottonwood Canyon, in Oregon
"Becoming an American" is available for purchase on my website, starting today
you'll find a link in the description down below
I ship to a bunch of countries, but if you have any questions about the book, shipping or anything
please just leave a comment or send me an email
It really feels good when you finish a project like this and the final result is a physical book that you can share with other people
For those of you who decide to pick up a copy of "Becoming an American", thank you so much!
I really appreciate the support, it helps me keep going and making more videos
going on more trips to make more images
but even if you don't buy a copy, I also wanted to thank you for your support, for your messages, emails
for your thumbs ups on these videos, for subscribing to these videos, for following me on Instagram
and for just being there
This is all for today, thank you so much for watching, and see you in the next one!