Gonzalo Contreras del Solar

I am a passionate photographer, blessed with curious eyes that are constantly amazed by the forms and designs produced by water, and the combination of its temperature and light. No matter how many pictures I take of the same shot, every time I witness a very different expression.My camera and I have been traveling around the world since 1977, registering its shapes and essence, which I have been sharing through large prints, as an homage to its abundance, fragility, and essential existence; trying to convey the feeling I had at the time of the capture, registering most of the time in color and sometimes in monochrome.

It was late 1955 when my eyes peeped at the city of La Paz near the high Andes. Since then, they have learned by capturing sparkles of light. Started at the age of 10 with oil painting and playing in darkroom (full equipment I discovered in my home basement), later taking pictures of what my eyes noticed. Took as much photography courses as I could. Still continue learning and testing/using new digital tools.The influence of Ansel Adams and Vincent Van Gogh work has forged my technique to pursue the chase of “Water” and capture its beauty, creating a large portfolio during my visits to more than 40 countries. Living in 10 of them and settled at the small town of Calera de Tango in Chile. My work was done using medium format film cameras, and currently using digital cameras. I try to capture the beauty of water in all its forms; denouncing many times the little interest that our civilized world invests in its conservation and preservation. Printing mainly on large size fine art and photographic paper, in Color as well as Black & White.The passion of portraying water was funded by me, as well as most of the exhibits I made, except for a few that Sony Chile provided equipment and funding for printing and framing.Water, an important resource, source of life, and protagonist of my exhibitions around the world, that converge between the look of the paused movement, preserving it for future generations, as is the case of certain images that I took at a glacier that has disappeared in less than 20 years.My eyes remain constantly vigilant of nature’s canvas design created with water.