The photograph in Chichihualco, Guerrero

I was there for an editorial assignment and I made this shot.

Chichihualco is anything but a tourist destination. In fact... a full-blown war broke out there a few years ago between drug cartels. I went there on behalf of L'Équipe, and the report on the master craftsmen who make soccer balls can be found in an issue of the magazine.

The publisher asked me to photograph the landscape as well, to provide context for the story. Out of this situation emerges a photograph that is quintessentially a landscape photograph. The shot captures a scene revealing the untamed nature of the place, where the countryside is everywhere. The human figure is represented as tiny in comparison to everything else. Yet, it still gives us an idea of ​​the human presence in that environment.

In the space between representation and reality, I gave an unshowy appearance to the image, which was intended solely to convey an idea of ​​the place. In my own constant search for "any-ness," I adopted an approach that respects the silence of the place.

I composed the photograph with a landscape-style approach, making use of the stones in the foreground; the descending road draws us toward the figure, becoming, as a specific stretch of space—the focal point that allows the entire image to breathe. The third layer consists of the dwellings at the top, where we can finally appreciate the sky.

I like to think of this photograph as representing a place that evoked conflicting feelings in me. On the first day, we were escorted by a massive police vehicle, complete with men armed to the teeth. The second day - when I took the picture - we were finally freer to move around and somewhat more at ease, though that sense of calm must be viewed in the context of where we were operating. By the way, I had some extraordinary picadas in Chichihualco.

In this post, I want to share how working under particular mental conditions can nonetheless lead to a serenity that emerges from within the golden dimension of the image, leaving the observer completely unaware of the circumstances.