Making a Moment: Corte Perfecto by Agustín N. Calcagno

In our article series, Making a Moment, we’re asking photographers to share one of their favorite photos that they’ve taken. We want to know the story behind the final image and everything that went into making it.

We’re delighted to feature Agustín N. Calcagno (@agustinnunezc), a 22-year-old student and photographer from Chile. Augustin first got into analogue photography about seven years ago after his mom gifted him her old film camera and since then his relationship with film photography has been constantly evolving and deepening. Now he even edits a fanzine that publishes all kinds of art, and tries to connect it to photography as much as possible.

He tells us that at the beginning of his journey with film photography he was always “shooting from the hip - as the original Lomographers would say”, but his style has since evolved into a more detailed, sensitive and slow process. “I always try to catch the atmosphere of what I'm capturing, and get ahead of how the light, shapes and texture will blend with the specific roll of film I'm using.”

Today Agustín shares with us one of his favorite photos, a colorful and cinematic shot from a trip to Spain.

Agustín: This photograph “Corte perfecto” (perfect cut) shows a hair salon in downtown Madrid. I shot it during a solo trip I made to Spain in 2020 right before the pandemic, and I think it can have as many stories as the possible paths that the conversation the three ladies are having could take. They could be talking about their problems, their families, their stories, or simply arguing about ordinary things. The many faces in the picture are also very interesting to me. We can see the faces of two of the women in the picture, but also the inert visages of the mannequins.

The photograph has a cinematic feel to me that I just love. I took this picture about four years ago, and it still comes to my mind from time to time. The many levels of depth that this photo has I think is very interesting, and the colors that pop from it make me keep looking at it over and over.

I'm a very big fan of Pedro Almodovar, the colors of his films and the subjectivities he creates through his characters are a big inspiration for me. And I think his aesthetic is very well replicated in this picture, although involuntarily because at the time I had not watched any of his films. I used a Canon EOS 1000f and Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 400 film.

The woman reminds me of my grandmother, always so attentive about how her hair looks, how it feels; and with lots of desire to go back to the hair salon, talk to her friends and leave with a new look, always looking so beautiful.

To see more of Agustín's photography be sure to follow him at his LomoHome.

In this series of articles we're asking you to share the story behind your favorite photo. Interested in being featured? Email alex.gray@lomography.com with the subject line - Making a Moment.

written by alexgray on 2023-09-17 #making-a-moment #travel #spain #street-photography #community #madrid #making-a-moment