Ricardo Montesdeoca is a painter, printmaker and photographer from the Canary Islands, where he lives and works.

His work has been exhibited in numerous group and individual shows since 1979, when he presented his first photographic work, "Círculos cromáticos" (Chromatic Circles). His work can be found in public collections, including the Atlantic Centre of Modern Art in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, and private collections around the world.

The photographs in this online exhibit were done with a technique called "pinhole photography." Rather than passing through a lens, as with typical cameras, the light passes through a tiny hole in the camera. The camera itself can be converted from an existing camera or it can be made from found objects. Ricardo Montesdeoca uses materials as diverse as cardboard, a plastic nut and even a Maria digestive biscuit for his construction.

From the technical aspects of construction to the calculation of the long exposure times needed by these cameras, good pinhole photography requires skill and patience, but the dream-like images that result are magical, as Ricardo Montesdeoca points out in his description of the process:

Pinhole photography is something special that transforms the real thing into an imaginary world, into a magical universe that conquers the soul of the artist. This process invites investigation, a return to the past, to the basic beginnings of photography. Everything becomes special, from the construction of the camera to the revelations of the darkroom. The long moments of exposure, the passing of minutes, seconds, turns pinhole photography into a magical and quiet process, into art.

Ricardo Montesdeoca's work displays a creative willingness to fully explore the subject, combined with a sensitive eye and the technical skills to make even the experimental work. His photographs perfectly capture the dreamy essence of this art.

To see more of his work, visit his personal Website, Photography & Paintings and estenopeica.com.

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Photographs

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All images are owned by the photographer and may not be used for any purposes without the permission of the photographer.

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