Interview with María Tudela | MONOVISIONS - Black & White Photography Magazine

MonoVisions Black & White Photo Contest 2025

– How and when did you become interested in photography?

A little over a decade ago I began to photograph what caught my attention. But when I discovered that I could turn a thought into photography, that’s when I really became captivated by photography.

– Is there an artist/photographer that has inspired your art?

Not really. I have many male and female photographers who love their work, and especially how they see photography. I confess that Pictorialism is a movement with which I share many characteristics, but I discovered it many years after doing my job.

– Why do you work in black and white instead of color?

From the beginning I was much more attracted by the absence of color. Black and white photography is a real world to explore, it brings us closer to the world of cinema, staging and of course, to art.
Personally, it allows me to express more than color, it allows me to be able to eliminate from the scene those details that I consider superfluous or of little importance. I use desaturated to add strength, but also drama, and nostalgia. Make timeless and mysterious images, but above all, provoke the viewer.

– How much preparation do you put into taking a photograph/series of photographs?

I don’t have a specific time when I take a picture and then edit it. Although I follow some work guidelines in the post-editing, I am unable to take the same photo twice. My work scheme is always the same: Selective blurs, high contrasts, separation between dark and light tones, absence of color, and sharpness, use of textures or any tool that allows me to separate myself from reality as it is.

– Where is your photography going? What projects would you like to do?

Well, at this moment I confess to being captivated by photobooks. Since I began to know a little more in depth its greatness, I confess to being trapped by that world. So I have several projects and demos, and one of them is about to be released, it’s called “Oscuro”.

For me it is going back to paper, manipulating the images, smelling them and, above all, in short, it is a lot of photos within a story, where you let your imagination run wild. With all these images you establish a visual narrative, either to tell, present a reflection, ramble on a topic, or simply, and not least, refer to a sensation or feeling. It’s like an exhibition, with the difference that when it closes or ends, it doesn’t disappear. I think that of all the artistic disciplines, a photobook is where the author undresses the most.

Website: www.mariatudela.net