Esta abarcadora colección fotográfica está compuesta por más de 350 imágenes panorámicas montadas con miles de fotografías individuales en infrarrojo. Éstas fueron captadas por mi lente en un periodo de un año, entre el 2008 y el 2009, a través de todo Puerto Rico e islas vecinas de Vieques, Culebra, Culebrita, Mona y Caja de Muertos.

Desde el 1995 hasta el presente, he trabajado con la fotografía infrarroja en blanco y negro y le he dedicado una gran parte de mis trabajos artísticos a los montajes panorámicos en diversos formatos. Es por eso que fusiono aquí estos dos elementos con el tercero y más importante, mi amor por Puerto Rico y sus paisajes. Mi deseo de documentarlo para traducirlo en mi propio lenguaje visual ha sido mi motivación primordial para presentar esta extensa colección de fotografías.

Si nos fijamos en los colores del arco iris, vemos el color violeta en un extremo del espectro y el rojo, su contraparte, en el otro. Los objetos violetas y azules retratan distinto que los objetos rojos y anaranjados debido a la cantidad de luz infrarroja que reflejan o absorben. El cielo y los cuerpos de agua aparecen más oscuros de lo que realmente son al absorber estas ondas infrarrojas. Por otro lado, las nubes, la arena, la piel y la vegetación destellan y brillan al reflejar la mayoría de estas ondas. No es un truco de cámara ni tampoco es la magia digital de Photoshop®. Es pura realidad en su máxima expresión.

Al montar las fotografías individuales en el formato panorámico me aseguro de captar a plenitud todos los elementos presentes dentro de cada paisaje borincano. Es una forma interesante y diferente de transportarlos al lugar donde le hice “click” a la cámara y poder compartir mi experiencia con todo aquel que viaje conmigo por las páginas de este libro…  Así podrán conocer El Puerto Rico que yo conozco. ¡Que disfruten! 

Salvi 10’

This comprehensive photography collection is made up of more than 350 panoramic images comprised of thousands of individual infrared photographs. These were captured by my lens in a one-year period between 2008 and 2009 throughout Puerto Rico and its neighboring islands of Vieques, Culebra, Culebrita, Mona, and Caja de Muertos.

Since 1995 I have worked with black and white infrared photography and have also devoted a large part of my artistic work to panoramic montages in a variety of styles. Now I have chosen to fuse these two elements with the third and most important element, my love for Puerto Rico and its landscape. My desire to document it and translate it into my own visual language has been the driving force behind the creation of this extensive collection of works.

Infrared photography has always captivated me because of its ability to capture a reality our eyes are not able to detect. As with any traditional camera, infrared cameras and film capture the electromagnetic waves that constitute the color spectrum of visible light (400-700nm), but these are also sensitive to the longer near infrared waves that go beyond the red color in the visible spectrum (700-1200nm). These are invisible to the human eye, since we can only detect colors.

Different objects absorb and reflect infrared rays in different manners, thus creating an abstract and surreal image. The result is a more rich and complete photograph with an unparalleled visual content.

If we look at the rainbow and its colors, we see violet at one end of the spectrum and red, its counterpart, at the other end. Violet and blue objects photograph differently than red and orange objects due to the amount of infrared light that these reflect or absorb. This is why objects that absorb infrared rays, such as the sky and bodies of water, appear darker than usual. And such objects as clouds, sand, skin, and vegetation shine and glow because they reflect these same waves. It is neither a camera trick nor the magic of Photoshop®. It is pure reality at its maximum expression.

By mounting these individual photographs in a panoramic format, I fully capture all the elements present in the Puerto Rican landscape. It is a different and interesting way of transporting you to the place where I clicked my camera, and of sharing my experiences with everyone who travels with me through the pages of this book… This way you can get to know The Puerto Rico I know. Enjoy!

Salvi 10’

Following the ethic that has always distinguished my work, and being faithful to the reality and accuracy of the photographs captured by my lens, I assure you that the images in this book have not been digitally manipulated, with the exception of traditional optimization methods, such as mounting, brightness and contrast control, and color desaturation.