If you have seen Edition 1 of the TDL magazine you may have noticed Mireia Vilaplana was one of our most featured artists. Originally from Barcelona, Mireia is now based in Dubai after some periodic stints in Amsterdam and London. She speaks English, Catalan, Italian and Spanish and describes herself as a "perpetual life observer and an obsessive story catcher." We loved the creativity and meaning behind her Masquerade Project and we're so delighted to be able to publish one of her other projects here - The Bathtub Series featuring her 9 year old twins:
One of the silver linings of the Covid-19 lockdown has been, undoubtedly, the slower pace of life most of us have welcomed. The Bathtub Series started on a weekly Instagram loop that I am part of with other ClickPro Masters that are also mothers of twins. Our aim is to capture the special bond of our children and get them both in the same frame regularly. It is a very unique pledge that is very close to my heart. My favourite images are the ones that show this connection between the siblings.
Getting the children's cooperation in my projects can be quite unpredictable. It really depends on the moment and their mood. Luckily, they are generally quite receptive, especially my daughter. She loves coming up with ideas for the themes I suggest to her and we make moodboards together. I always try to choose moments when I know they will be responsive but it doesn’t always work that way. That is when I know I need to put my camera down and wait for a better moment. I don’t know how much longer their collaboration will last, so I try to make the most of it now!
I enjoy different genres of photography but I am mostly drawn to black and white creative portraiture. Bringing out emotion in my photography is the main goal when shooting and I find that the lack of colour helps me focus on the emotion and avoid distractions.
Photography is an artistic and creative outlet for me and my biggest joy is to have the freedom to play around with lenses, materials, settings - anything that can add a bit of mystery and glow to my story. That being said, I am also a simple girl, so I like natural light and clean simple backgrounds.
This ongoing project, which I have been continuing after lockdown, has brought me more joy and inspiration than I could have ever imagined. My children and I greatly enjoy this time together. We laugh, we play, we brainstorm, and it has given us an opportunity to connect with each other to a different level.
Saying that, most of my photo series are ongoing projects and it's always difficult to consider them complete. l keep adding images to the series and I tend to build bodies of work that can expand for months.
I am often reminded of Leonardo Da Vinci’s words ‘Art is never finished, only abandoned’. Putting an end to a photo series is hard. As hard as putting an end to a single image. I try to not revisit edited images too often because I always find things to tweak. It’s the never ending process!
Overall, this particular series has helped me to slow down, reconnect and be mindful of the moment. It have regained joy over a daily routine that I used to rush through and I have consciously turn it into a pleasant relaxing time.
Mireia's Gear:
Mireira has a Canon 5D Mark IV. She has lots of different lenses that I alternate but this series was shot mostly with the 24-70mm f/2.8 and the Lensbaby Composer Pro with Sweet 35 optic.
You can find Mireia here:
www.theportraitcollective/blog
@twoblinksphotograpy