10 Fundamental Photographers. On site. Architecture

A new edition of PhotoEspaña is taking place these days, this year's edition will focus on 'Spanish photography'. A chance to visit spaces dedicated to photography, the photographers, the realities they illustrate with their cameras or the results of their own artistic expression.

Torrent market, architect Vázquez Consuegra, 2014. Photograph © Mariela Apollonio.

Architecture books have always had a direct influence on architecture. We could recall many Spanish photographers throughout the twentieth century who had a significant influence on the transcription of the architecture of our cities, landscapes and also of its citizens.

On the international scene we all remember the tremendous transformative force of what I believe was the first graphic manifestation of the twentieth century, Amerika by Erich Mendelsohn, with some photographs taken by little-known photographers and now, thanks to people like Buckminster Fuller, books that transformed the architectural imagery on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean are being recovered. Focusing on the Spanish panorama, although less transcendent and not looking at these works as manifestos, they are without doubts exceptional. Just like the the images you will be able to see in the exhibition opening next week at ICO Museum, where you can have a close look at 250 shots by exceptional photographers such as Català-Roca, Pando, Kindel, Paco Gómez, Schommer, Muller, Férriz, Luis Lladó or Margaret Michaelis.

So, what is going on in photography lately? Who are its authors? How are they building our photographic imagery? Who are they? How do they work? Just like most professionals nowadays, photographers have also suffered or experienced a profound change in the way they work. Starting with the transformation of their cameras and the disappearance of most of the photo developing laboratories, but also in their relationship with their customers and the scene in which they work.

METALOCUS has a permanent section on photography, but we wanted to focus this series on photographers linked to architecture and architects' daily work, and get to know the emerging (young and not so young) Spanish and international photographers. We wanted to start with the closest ones (we will talk about those from "outside" later) making a first selection of those who are regular METALOCUS collaborators or not so much, but are of interest to us. Photographers play an essential part in spreading architecture and culture. We wanted to pay our tribute, on occasion of PhotoEspaña 2014, to a selection of 10 photographers, of whom we will offer you a particular profile during the following days in individual articles.

Today we present our selection of ten outstanding photographers, without detracting from the rest, "los diez de METALOCUS " and since we are at the gates of "Fundamentals", the XIV Biennale of Architecture in Venice. Their work is an essential piece for architecture diffusion, "Fundamentals METALOCUS". These are the selected photographers, in alphabetical order:

We present today their work in only three images. Two of the pictures show us their work and the third one identifies the author (each of them has chosen the way he or she wants to be portrayed) so you can get to know them a little better through this first approach.

During the following days you will have the chance to get to know their work in detail. Enjoy!