Architects. Storytellers. Photographers. World explorers. Meet creative content duo Daniel Rueda and Anna Devís. Recognized for their humorous imagery, hand-made props, perfectly executed poses, and interaction with architecture, Daniel and Anna took the X1D-50c along on their adventures, using building façades as their creative canvases.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
First things first – sitting down together and planning a new image. With a pencil in her hand, Anna is the one sketching out the concept. Then the location is decided. And lastly, the scale of the objects and subjects. Using different props and outfits, the team has to plan out exactly what is needed, along with the colour and style of the outfits necessary. Working with solely natural light, there are few hours in the day that the two have to execute the image without having any contrasts. Everything has to be prepared and ready before going out on a shoot, including buying clothing, painting objects if necessary, building structures, or cutting out paper shapes. "Most of the time, it’s not about taking the picture. It’s about building the props and perfecting the composition of the image," says the duo.
Eyeronic
We love seeing things where they are not supposed to be, and we couldn’t help but see the resemblance between someone in a hat chilling on a float in the middle of the pool and the iris and the pupil of a blue hand-drawn eye. Once we drew out our idea, we just needed a black swimsuit and a huge pool float. It had a bunch of text and pictures on it, so we painted over them with blue. We wanted a white background, so we had to buy huge wooden panels and create a white canvas on the ground. Close to Anna’s house, we found a high staircase that looked down at the ground below, giving us the perfect angle.
APERTURE: F/4
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/180 SEC
FOCAL LENGTH: 45MM (XCD 3,5/45)
Out of Office
It was the middle of summer and we were still working, so we played with the idea of wanting to be on vacation while stuck at work. To differentiate the sea and the sky, we used paper with two different shades of blue. We found a float that was the right size but not the right colour so we spray painted it. We had to buy the suit in a particular navy blue and the perfect bathing suit colour. And we needed to make sure the two shades of blue on the wall matched the outfit.
APERTURE: F/3,5
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/90 SEC
FOCAL LENGTH: 45MM (XCD 3,5/45)
Pride and Pridejudice
This image was pretty easy. The concept was about trying to express yourself and be who you want to be. We set up a bucket with tiny pieces of paper taped on, imitating drops of paint. The paint roller was very beautiful; we wanted to create the illusion that she painted the stroke on the wall. All the colours ‘painted’ on the wall are also made of multi-coloured paper. We just needed a grey wall and a white dress, which was simple to find.
APERTURE: F/3,5
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/90 SEC
FOCAL LENGTH: 45MM (XCD 3,5/45)
Happytecture
For us, location is as important as the subject of the picture. That’s why we are always looking for colorful and interesting scenarios for our shoots. We like to think about the backgrounds of our images as another character of our stories. As a matter of fact, this photography would not make a lot of sense if you got rid of the architectural element. You wouldn’t see a smile on the façade without those two big browns windows.
APERTURE: F/4
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/125 SEC
FOCAL LENGTH: 30MM (XCD 3,5/30)
Flower Power
There is nothing random about our photography. We leave nothing to chance since every little detail is planned and well thought out. From the concept, to the location, the light and even the outfit. You’d never believe how much time we usually spend looking for the right dress or the right t-shirt. Every element in the frame should help the image tell its story and if it’s not helping, we get rid of it. That’s why our photography is sometimes so minimalistic.
APERTURE: F/3,5
FOCAL LENGTH: 45MM (XCD 3,5/45)
We print our work, and the level of detail we get when printing really surprised me. I didn’t think that was possible. Since we work with buildings in the street, everything has a particular texture to it. It's amazing how you can see even the slightest details of the surface in the wall so well when printing X1D images.
ABOUT DANIEL RUEDA & ANNA DEVÍS
Daniel Rueda & Anna Devís, two trained architects living in Valencia, Spain, combined their love for geometry, perspective, and storytelling to become the ultimate creative couple. Traveling the world in search of the quirkiest buildings, the duo use these facades as their canvases. Check out their Instagram accounts to see more of their magic: @drcuerda & @anniset.
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