Leo Marino – Gran Buenos Aires

Leo Marino lives in the southern suburbs of Buenos Aires and drives around taking pictures of the conurbano [full disclosure: we both attend the same workshop]. The pictures of his GBA Series have a sub-tropical placelessness. They could be Buenos Aires or they could be Iraq. The photos also underscore the point that perhaps the most important accessory a photographer can have is a car.

© Leo Marino

© Leo Marino

© Leo Marino

© Leo Marino

© Leo Marino

Claudia Presentado

Thinking about Holgas with respect to the last post on Gustavo Lozano, I remembered liking the work of Claudia Presentado, also done with a Holga. I met Claudia while participating in the portfolio reviews at the Festival de la Luz last August. At the time she didn’t have a website but I just googled her and discovered that she’s uploaded a couple of series to her flickr account.

The first series, Conurbano, deals with the suburbs of Buenos Aires [you will have probably noticed that I will link to just about any work about the suburbs of Buenos Aires]. Using a $20 camera makes sense in dangerous areas. I like the whimsical things Presentado finds.

© Claudia Presentado from series 'Conurbano'

© Claudia Presentado from series 'Conurbano'

© Claudia Presentado from series 'Conurbano'

Also viewable is another series, Flores Verdes, which depicts trees and flowers.

© Claudia Presentado from series 'Flores Verdes'

© Claudia Presentado from series 'Flores Verdes'

I really like how the Holga renders leaves and branches. I’m a huge fan, for instance of Joseph Zorn’s work on Flickr. It’s springtime in Buenos Aires and the Jacaranda trees are in full-flower. Looking at Presentado’s foliage photos makes me want to stop writing blog posts and go out and take pictures.

Buenos Aires Conurbano on Flickr

I’m an enthusiastic user of Flickr [and other social media]. I use it to scout locations, research destinations, and just in general be inspired by others’ work. Here’s a few photographs from the outskirts of Buenos Aires (ie. the Conurbano) that I’ve found recently in my browsing:

Aerial view of neighborhood in La Matanza, © Andres D'Elia

San Martin from set Conurbano 2008, © German Adrasti

© Flickr user +toli

For a region with a population of 10 million, there’s hardly any photographs of the conurbano. A search on Flickr reveals a less than 400 photos. I’m interested in the place precisely because no one thinks it worthy to photograph. Also worth checking out is the group sud-sub-urb which describes itself as latinamerican suburban aesthetic.