Exclusive interview with Dear Yhabril

Dear Yhabril, Congratulations, your picture has won second place and you are the winner of the Nature category in the BIKE Magazine Photography Contest 2022.

Thank you very much, I am very proud of this double recognition in a magazine as prestigious as BIKE Magazine.

Firstly, can you tell me a couple of things about yourself?

As a person, I consider myself someone complicated, an instruction manual would be needed to understand me well… As a photographer, someone who is passionate and hard-working, eager to continue investigating, growing, and learning in this fascinating world that photography is.

Please describe the winning picture.

I had been after a photo like this for a long time, but I knew that it would be difficult for me to find the location because of the place that we live, Villanúa, a small Pyrenean village surrounded by mountains where you have to climb very high to see the moon in time. I spent a month or so searching until I decided on this place at an altitude of about 2,500m, with the possibility of reaching it by car along a mountain track up to about 1,700m, that meant that the boys were going to have to carry the bikes about 800 meters of difference. I told them and they said yes.

It was also not an easy task to get to the point where I had to be, to get the relative size of the moon needed to have the four riders inside the moon with the proper space between them to get the right composition, I got that it had to be a km away and the place was the opposite mountain, quite steep and difficult to access.

The good thing about being at that distance is that it allowed me to focus at the hyperfocal distance that, closing the diaphragm at f11, left me practically at 1km, which is good news for these types of photos since it offers you the possibility of having acceptably focused the subjects and the moon.

I also took care to plan for it to happen during the blue hour, so that I could capture that contrast between the sky and the earth and the moon with that special light. The day of the photo was very cold and very windy, we went up with time to prepare everything well and the guys did a great job despite the extreme conditions at that height. It took us several attempts in which I also had to move to correct the rise of the moon, while they pushed the bike

up to downhill again and get the desired composition, but we were very happy with the result and we got this photo and many others to remember.

As for editing, the most remarkable thing is the cut to reframe the action, everything that is left out is irrelevant. I already knew that the distance at which I was was going to force me to make a moderate cut but it was the only way to get the relative size you were looking for. In addition to that, I have worked on the sharpness, clarity, and color of the moon and a little better defined the contrast between sky and ground.

Please describe the category winning picture

This photo was taken in quite an inaccessible place, where there are no MTB routes, but we had dreamt of this photo with the waterfall in the background, so we carried the bike and my gear for two hours. When we reached the waterfall, the rider crossed the river and I went too far to frame as I wanted with a fairly long focal length.

We waited until spring so that the rains and the melting ice would fill the riverbed with water and the waterfall would have that wild aspect.

Can you tell me about your achievements?

I have a lot of international awards but I think that the biggest achievement of a photographer is his own portfolio, so anyone who wants to know about my work can check out my website or my Instagram account. I also consider it an amazing achievement that I managed to make a living off of my passion for outdoor photography.

How would you describe your style?

I´d say that I work hard to make my photos look different from the rest and at the same time they should follow the same line.

I’ve always said that the greatest compliment a photographer can receive is something like:

“The other day I saw a photo on the internet and I knew it was yours “

That is when you can feel proud because that means that you have managed to develop a unique and personal style that stands out among many profiles that, regardless of their quality, are cut from the same pattern.

I think it’s really important to look for the special moments of light, this is how the difference is made in terms of the impact of the image, you can be very good at composing, framing, managing the parameters, but if all your photos are at 12 pm, you’re going to have a heap portfolio.

Why did you choose this contest?

A good friend told me about the contest. When I started entering contests I went in for almost anything I saw, but now

I’m very selective. I had a look into this contest and I found it challenging so I decided to go for it.

Do you have a project that you would like to share?

My main project is to keep on improving my portfolio, I have a lot of ideas, many of them almost impossible to develop, but that is what keeps me excited and always ready to go out there and create. I’d like to travel around the world looking for unique locations and shooting with the best local riders. And of course, the biggest project that life has given me, is to see my daughter

What is your goal with this art form?

I have it very clear, my line to follow is to work day by day, that is, doing what I like and continue doing it, for me, for the riders that appear in my photos, for the people who buy them, and for the brands that support my work, that is what is drawing my path. And also to keep on taking different shots. A photo is different when either it has not been seen before, something that today is almost impossible, or when the author has managed to give it that different point that makes the photo bear his signature, whether it’s the composition, framing, photographic technique or edition.

I only hope that photography continues to test me every day to continue my learning, that it continues to make me dream and motivates me to find new magical places and new friends and colleagues, and that it continues forcing me to be self-critical and always try to go one step further.

What is the best advice you received?

The best advice I ever received is the same that I give now when people ask me, just try to find your own style and make sure you do things for yourself and not for others. This is what will make you enjoy photography and keep on learning.

More information here: yhabril.com instagram.com/yhabril/ yhabril@gmail.com