f8 magazine (spain) interview and portfolio of photographer robert leon

8/6/2019 F8 Magazine (Spain) interview and portfolio of photographer Robert Leon

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9-year old Lacandon Maya boy Pancho at Cascadas Lacanja in Montes Azules (Biosphere Reserve), Lacandon Jungle, Chiapas State, Mexico# 1 JANUAR


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Who is Robert Leon?

Im originally rom MontrealCanada and Ive been a

pro essional photographer orthe past 30-years. I started in

photography as an advertising andcorporate photographer and in 1987moved to Milan, Italy where I livedand worked or 9-years as a ashionand advertising photographer.

While in Italy I rediscovered mylove o travel and documentaryphotography, which is what Imnow doing. Im now based out o Vancouver which is a beauti ul place

to live, because its surrounded bymountains and the ocean.

I think that the NationalGeographic and LIFE magazineshave had something to do withyour decision to be a documentaryphotographer

When I was a young child the world o images I saw in my parents collectiono National Geographic and Li emagazines ascinated me and Id dreamo going to those places because I was

ascinated by the Worlds cultures andexotic places.

How would you describe yourphotography?

Im a travel and documentaryphotographer and photography is myway o contributing to other peoplesappreciation and understanding o diverse cultures and their traditions.I photograph people in theirenvironment, especially traditionaland indigenous people or people withlots o character who have interestingstories.

You lived in Italy for nine years.You worked there as a fashionphotographer. What are yourpersonal opinions about that stagein your life?

Living and working in Italy was agreat experience. Art is everywhereand living immersed in it evolved myphotographys aesthetic characteristics.Italy is a big creative center withhistoric and contemporary artisticenvironments or creative people, sothe creative vibration o the arts getsabsorbed into your being along withItalys passionate way-o -li e.

At that time, ashion photographywas a good creative outlet or methat expanded my abilities to workwith people and convey moods or

eelings that transcend photographysat 2D-plane so that images can go

beyond the photographs at physicaldimension and express emotions or

eelings o people and places.

In other words, getting the equipmentand technique out o my way somy heart and soul come out toplay visually and poetically withoutgimmickry so imagery can transcendphotographys at 2D-plane andcommunicate a mood, or convey asense o person and place so whilelooking at a 2d image they are

transported to another World andget a sense the energy o the imagewhether its a person or a place.

A ter awhile, the context o ashion photography became very

meaningless in terms o ul lling mydesire to photograph reality and placesaround the world. Since the contento the work wasnt providing me withthe satis action that my true calling asa photographer would give me - whichis to show authentic people, placesand nature around the world with apositive viewpoint.

I had the opportunity to shoot,travel and work on documentaryassignments or Italian magazines andeventually le t the ashion industryto work on what really interests me;experiencing li e while seeing theworld with interesting people and >

When I was a youngchild the world of images I saw in my

parents collection of National Geographicand Life magazines

fascinated me and Id dream of going tothose places because

was fascinated by theWorlds cultures andexotic places.

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Sadhu Yogi Baba Ramaeshuranand, Pushkar L ake, Rajasthan, India

Greek woman laughing, Therassia Island, Cyclades Islands, Greece


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My way-o -being has evolved bylearning many things in manyplaces about people and mysel . Mycuriosity about the Earth and peoplehas progressed into a mission as aresponsible observer showing truthand beauty around us. My passion

or photography has evolved intobeing a visual voice or all cultures andmaking a contribution to society, whileevolving mysel as a person with theexperiences I have and expanding outto others sharing and learning romtheir experiences.

Te curiosity to see and go placesevolved into enthusiasm to do

something good, which gives meenergy to continue doing what I dI consider us all indigenous peopEarth so we are all responsible Earth; my photography o indigcultures has no boundaries andincludes everyone.

When you live with indigenouspeople for a period of time, howdo you feel personally? How do ysee the modern society in whichwe usually live?

Ive elt connected in some proways, in terms o eeling at homwith authentic people who have

> making a contribution or positiveevolution by showing the beauty wehave on Earth.

You are passionate about people,travel and indigenous cultures.Is photography your excuse fortravelling and satisfying yourcuriosity?

No, it pays the bills. Just joking! Itsnot an excuse, its a way-o -li e Ichoose and make happen because Impassionate about the World and myli e in it. I love photography becauseits my way o creative expression - Ima right-brained visually inclined person.

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Mohawk man Albert Stalk ying like an eagle in the sky

Mohawk Peacemaker, Kanentakeron (Mike Phillips)


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> wisdom and good sense o valiving harmoniously with Earth aeach other. But in other ways I alienated rom them because Im

rom the Western World where ao people are very destructive toEarth. It looks like Indigenous phave a very large amount o disdtowards modern society - they the huge amount o damage beindone to the Earth who they (anconsider Mother Earth - and so thtake the raping o the Earth or resources very personally.

So bridging that gap between mebeing a Westerner, and the indigepeople takes patience and gainintheir trust. Its a bridge with a hugap between the two sides; on onside o the bridge is the modernworlds immense population withunsustainable consumerism and othe other side are people living asustaining themselves in harmoneach other and Mother Earth.

But the side with most power - thmodern world - has the mostdamaging efects in terms o theenvironment, nature and social wbeing. Te discrepancy seems reaenormous, like a battle between Dand Goliath. It seems the only wabalance will be reestablished on is by an enormous shi t in peoplconsciousness and evolving hum- or a Divine phenomenon like anAvatar coming to Earth to reset thbalance and restore harmony.

On two occasions in the mid-nineties you were with theLacandones, a Mayan indigenousgroup, in the Lacandona Jungle, iChiapas, Mexico. What can you tus about this experience?

Its one o the most amazingexperiences o my li e. I was th>

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Mohawk Warrior, Kanentakeron (Mike Phillips)


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# 1 JANUARYucateca Maya man at the Chichen Itza ruins, Yucatan, Mexico

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jungle hiding behind bushes and treesas I crept along photographing the cuttrees and nobody saw me.

When I returned to Naha village theLacandons knew I wasnt there toexploit them - I was there to tell theirstory. Tey accepted me into theirvillage and let me photograph theirleader, Chan KIn Viejo, and rituals that

ew outsiders have ever seen at thattime.

When you stay for long periods of time in places which lack certaininfrastructures such as electricity,what photographic equipment doyou tend to take with you?

Im shooting digital now but stillhave my lm cameras and could takethose in a situation where theres noelectricity or Ill use solar poweredchargers or the digital cameras in thatsituation. I try not to be too reliant onin rastructure and like to travel withonly essential gear so Im basically sel -reliant.

Cuba, Greece, Guatemala, India,Mexico, Israel Which of theseplaces would you go back to withyour camera?

Right now, Indias vibrant culture drawsme there to continue photographingmore o the incredible culture thattheir country has to ofer. Its a countrywith so much going on and the storiesare never ending. Plus, I really loveIndian ood!

And what new places would youlike to visit? What new projects doyou have in mind?

As I mentioned Ill be going tonew places in India and also Bali tophotograph the culture and spirituality

or a book project Im working on.

> only non-Lacandon person thereand had an authentic immersioninto their culture. It was a greatopportunity to serve a greatercause doing my li ework and being

a voice or Indigenous people andEarth, because when I arrived at theLacandon village called Naha it wasbeing threatened by people invadingtheir land and illegally cutting trees.

Te trees where being cut in theMontes Azules Biosphere Reservewhich is part o the Selva Lacandonaregion, the Lacandon Maya home thatis protected by the Lacandons. Teywhere in a state o crisis and told methe people cutting down the treeswould kill anyone getting near themand who tried to stop them.

With two Lacandon guides I hikedthrough the jungle and when we gotclose to the area - about 1 kilometer

rom where the trees were being cut- the Lacandon guides told me I wason my own. As I tried to be brave in

ront o them - as i I did this everyday- I tried to stop thinking I was insaneand thought to mysel Great, theresno toilet around here to change myunderwear! So I continued into the

Its one of the most amazingexperiences of my life. I

was the only non-Lacandon person there and had anauthentic immersion intotheir culture. It was a

great opportunity to servea greater cause doing mylifework and being a voice

for Indigenous people and Earth, because when I arrived at the Lacandon

village called Naha it wasbeing threatened by peopleinvading their land andillegally cutting trees.

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Tzutujil Maya women wash in Lago Atitlan near Santiago Atitlan village, Guatemala

Portovenere Village at night (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Riviera Di Levante, Liguria, Italy

A Tzutujil Maya fsherman man paddles a hoku canoe on Lago Atitlan at the base o San Pedro Volcano. Santiago Atitlan Village, Guatemala

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and Albert Stalk, the iron workerwho climbed the Eifel ower on theoutside without a sa ety rope. We hada great collaboration which helpedkeep the eeling o the Mohawk

people and authentic meaning o theMohawk symbology.

Do you recall any photographwhich is particularly special foryou and, if so, the moment inwhich you took it?

Yes, one o my avorite images is o aSadhu in Rajasthan India. A disheveledman was putting symbols on peoples

oreheads as a blessing. He comesto me and makes a symbol on my

orehead, but seeing Im a Westernerhe blesses me saying cheer ully: MerryChristmas!!! but Christmas is notnear. We start laughing hysterically.When we straighten ourselves outhe says his name is Sadhu Yogi BabaRamaeshuranand and eagerly invitesme to his temple.

In his eight-by-eight oot cinder blocktemple he did a spiritual practice andstarted raising his hands up in the airand laughed with joy. At that momenta beam o sunlight came through a >

In the series North AmericanLegends you present a fewmythological images of theMohawk culture. How did this ideacome about?

With Te North American Legendsassignment I had creative reedomto photograph a 24-page ashioneditorial. I was in a transitional stagedoing more travel/documentaryphotography and wanted to dosomething diferent rather than atypical ashion editorial.

So I combined ashion with theMohawks cultural story and traditionalsymbolism. I researched theirmythological and cultural symbolism,got input rom the Mohawk peopleand then created images that re ectedtheir culture. Rather than being just

ashion photographs the images tella story about Mohawk culture, theirsymbology and mythology.

I was ortunate to photograph acouple o great Mohawk elders;Kanentakeron or Mike Phillips whoportrayed the Huron native eldernamed Sachem in Te Last O TeMohicans staring Daniel Day-Lewis;

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Cuban children, Santiago De Cuba, Cuba

Sgra. Rosa Alisa Fraga sitting in her home praying with Rosary beadsand Statue o Santa Barbara, Trinidad, Cuba


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> doorway lighting-up his hand. I laterasked him what he was doing and hesaid: Im sending joy and happiness upto the Universe so it alls back to Earthas a rain o joy and happiness ontopeople.

I thought about what he said andrealized thats a summary o what Iwanted my photography and li e to beabout. I want to show people aroundthe world in a positive way by sendingimages into the World and hope ully itwill have a positive efect. Sure, theresa time to show hard World issues butI also like to show more positivityand beauty because I believe showingpositivity will create positive change.

Do you think that photographyhelps us to get to know our rootsbetter both as individuals and as asociety?

I think photography helps gain insightonto our roots, but not just culturalroots. Documentary photographyshows who we are and what weredoing on Earth in an essential way.It shows where we where, where weare and where were potentially going.Its a track record showing our rootsand our probable uture direction.

Photography is a mirror re ectinghumanity back at people tocontemplate themselves. It raisesour consciousness individually andsocietically by revealing our true natureand our relationship with Earth andinspires evolving in positive proactiveways. When needed, photography

can show adversity on Earth to makea comparison between what we dontwant and what we want; showingchoices between positive and negative,light and dark, good and bad whatwe want or dont want to have as ourroots.

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Rajasthani tribal woman grinding our inside a camel dung, dirt and sand hut in a desert village without electricity or running water. Nimb Ki Dhani Village, Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India


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Rajasthani boy running across newly dyed textiles drying in the sun, near Jaipur, Rajasthan, India


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I hope photography will somehowoster greater compassion and love or

people and the Earth, or maybe helppeople see and appreciate the beautyin all cultures and Earth.Photography has the ability to stripall o the acades away, the clothes,the environment and you see in thepersons eyes and the true essence o their soul is shown.

Images can speak beyond atwo-dimensional plane intomultidimensional planes whereemotions are experienced and apersons roots can be revealed in avery clear manner. Photography has amagical energy that can change manythings or the better and I believe thatunderstanding our roots can be veryhealing or our planet.

Seeing we all have souls we can lookat each other very diferently than justlooking at another person as a materialsubject or personal gaintherestoo much o that going on now andpeople are sick o it.

Where would you like to seeyourself in ten years time?

Id like to see mysel still in reallygood health with my li ework owingsmoothly doing what I love to doand have books or projects out thathave a positive efect on people. Idlike to see my photography making acontribution to society and the Earth -this would be the most grati ying thing

or me regarding my photography.

Tank you, Robert, for sharing your thoughts and your photoswith us.

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Indian girl climbing stairs at Jantar Mantar astronomical observatory. Jaipur City, India

Semana Santa (Holy Week) procession. Antigua, Guatemala


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www.robertleon.com

OBERT e o n r l

# 1 JANUARRobert Leon (Center) and riends, Pushkar Lake, Rajasthan, India
http://www.robertleon.com/http://www.robertleon.com/

f8 magazine (spain) interview and portfolio of photographer robert leon

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