Streets Talk | Rubén Garrido Garcia
Streets Talk
Rubén Garrido Garcia
"My name is Ruben Garrido Garcia, also known as ‘btsa’ in Instagram and VSCO social platforms. I come from a coastal city located in South Spain called Malaga. I am currently living in Jinan, Shandong Province (China) together with my lovely girlfriend Sara. I am working as a Spanish teacher at Shandong Youth University of Applied Sciences. I love traveling, meeting new cultures and people from all over the globe and taking pictures mostly with my iPhone SE."
When and how did your journey as a photographer begin?
My journey as a photographer began when I turned seven years old and my aunt gave me an instant Polaroid camera. I was so happy with it because I was getting pictures of everything that I liked just in a couple of minutes. Later on, I bought my first reflex camera and I started at the same time to travel around Europe with it. I’ve been traveling a lot lately and anywhere I have visited, my camera was always with me. I think photography is something more than push a simple button. It’s the closest way to recall past moments in our lives. Photography, it’s the present continuous of verb tenses!
What camera(s) do you prefer to use?
I am using at this moment my iPhone SE to take most of the pictures here in China. It’s awesome how good it can be a phone camera if you use it properly. I always edit most of my pictures with VSCO. VSCO is a great platform, not only to edit pictures. It’s a good place to meet other people with same tastes. Quality of the camera is not the important thing when you take pictures in my opinion, it’s the way you see things through your eyes. I feel very comfortable shooting with VSCO camera but I also use analog cameras. My favourite one’s the canon prima. I also have an extensive collection of Yashica cameras that I inherited from my grandfather. The problem with analog cameras is that I just can’t find a camera shop here in China that develops films! I have to keep looking for one!
What is your greatest source of inspiration?
Streets. Streets talk, they say. Whether if it’s a façade or people walking randomly somewhere. I always find something nice to shoot. I love shooting buildings, façades, people, textures, monuments…everything that could happen or exist in the streets! It’s a very difficult question to answer, to be honest!
Are there any photography projects you are currently pursuing or would like to pursue?
Yes. I would like to create my very first fanzine. I am always thinking where my photos will be in the future. I don’t want to lose any of them! I am thinking of making a physical fanzine of China for the end of the year. I just need some free time, I’ve already got all the attitude!
