A mirror trick.

Have you you ever tried doing anything through a mirror?

 Leonardo did. All the time.






But, let's face it, I'm no Leonardo

What I am though, is very careful in the preparation of my shoots. 






So I prepare my brain to work backwards so to speak. 




Specially when everything is going to be where you least expect it




















And you build mock-ups on your desk and your computer.











Pre-light is essential. You need as much preparation as you can get.









And you go through the choreography that you have rehearsed in your head.

Adding to the mix a personality, who happens to be also the client because the spot is for his fragrance.











Rafa Márquez a star on and off the pitch

From the first moment we worked together I realized he gets totally involved  and wants to understand  what we are doing.

And then you just have fun. 

Salmorejo:
I'm writing this post during the summer in NY. And I discovered a great cold soup for the hot weather. It's called "salmorejo" and it's a rich version of the most popular gazpacho.
Salmorejo basically has a lot more olive oil and it's done in the blender whih is how you achieve the creamy texture.
6 to 8 pear tomatoes, half garlic, half a green pepper, some drops of vinegar, salt to your taste and at least half a cup of good olive oil.
Put it all in the blender and then store in the fridge.

The wine: This one is from France. A white Vouvray. A real fresh summer wine. 

Shooting with 2 of the most famous soccer stars in the world.

Soccer is slowly but surely gaining popularity in the USA. If anything, the FIFA World Cup in South Africa proved that. But when you are in Spain, Soccer runs in your veins. And, the status of soccer players is very close to god-like.

So I shot with two of the most famous soccer players in the world: David Villa the leader scorer of Spain the now World Champions,  and LIonel Messi who was voted "the best player in the world". 

And when you are shooting with two demigods you better not keep them waiting. Which is why we had three cameras and three sets running simultaneous. Love it!

Middle of winter in Barcelona. It really gets cold on the pitch as you can tell  from David Villa's "costume".

Keeping me honest. The Creative Team under the leadership of Manu Diez. 

Simple food for a complicated shoot:

I discovered this in Barcelona. Pan amb tomat. (Bread with tomate)

And please do not confuse it with bruschetta.

Pan amb tomat is now part of my diet (if you can call it that).

The fact is that it is extremely easy to prepare.

All you need is bread, preferably ciabbata or baguette, plum tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and salt.

Toast the bread and immediately cut the tip of the garlic so that you can spread a little bit on the hot bread, squeeze the tomate evenly on the bread, add olive oil and salt and it's ready.

All you need now is the jabugo ham, which unfortunately you can't get in the USA due to restrictions but I can live with prosciutto.

And a perfect wine to go with it:

Conde de Valdemar from RIoja in Spain.

 I'm not going to try to describe it for you because I'm no sommelier. I just drink and like or not like. I like this one.

And I can tell you this: it has to be one of the best value for money red wines from Spain.