The Canary Islands surrenders for the second consecutive year to the audiovisual sector with the celebration of the CADEC Congress, the regional event born in order to value the image and the power of the image as an element of development of the audiovisual sector of the Archipelago and which takes place in the city of La Laguna, in Tenerife, between March 14 and 19. As a guest star, and without his presence detracting at all from the rest of the guests and speakers, the presence of the photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Emilio Morenatti, recently arrived from Ukraine, who will take part on Wednesday the 16th in a conference that can also be followed through the website of the Audiovisual and Digital Congress of the Canary Islands www.cadec.es
Morenatti is by no means unknown in the photojournalism sector. Apart from receiving the Pulitzer at Feature Photography 2021, it is a benchmark for the press, so that not only the image sector is called to the conference at the Leal Theater, the venue, but also the journalistic field as a whole .
This Zaragoza-Andalusian is one of the speakers who will detail the experiences lived in 30 years of profession in which he has offered incredible images to the world from the most prominent agencies, such as EFE or the American Associated Press (AP).
Among his latest works, in addition to the coverage of the war between Ukraine and Russia, the images taken of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, in La Palma, stand out, some of them captured from the air. The award-winning photographer was the only one allowed to capture the crater from a helicopter, images that were later collected by The Washington Post and reproduced for the entire world.
Morenatti’s dream was always to photograph from places and situations of conflict, which even led him to lose his foot in Afghanistan due to an explosion. This year cannot be a greater focus of attraction for the Congress than to have this celebrity who also accumulates several mentions in the World Press Photo for his coverage of wars, European summits, World Cups, natural disasters… but above all conflict situations, what he always wanted to show through the lens.
His extensive experience behind the camera will be offered in the talk From war photographer to Pulitzer Prize winner, on Wednesday 16 at 12:00.
However, the quality, professionalism and popularity of the speakers is absolutely extensible to the rest of the components of the poster. The Leal Theater dresses up to bring together a whole cast of the sector in an edition that, above all, wants to surprise and motivate.
In addition to the free sessions at the Leal, for which you must register through the CADEC website, two days are added to complete four technical workshops aimed at students, professionals and amateurs of photography in any of its aspects.
Stock photography is one of the workshops and night photography, another; photography for film and advertising and colorist post-production, the other two. In the latter, Photography Direction for Cinema and Advertising, the registered students will attend a real shooting, which will take place in the Plaza del Adelantado, and in which they will put themselves in the shoes of an assistant to the director of photography of that shooting. This workshop will be led by Ismael Issa, the current president of the AEC, the Spanish Association of Cinematographers and Directors of Photography, for example of festivals such as Marbella’s Starlite. The colorful post-production workshop is in the hands of Luis Ochoa, who has worked for image giants such as Amazon or Netflix. In short, the image and its value for a multitude of professional sectors, but all related to the audiovisual, is the axis of a second edition that will take place in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, after a successful first experience.
Apart from Morenatti, an eminence of photojournalism and of course a luxury for CADEC, all the guests stand out in some of the modalities of the image sector, for which reason it has been ensured that each one of them extols their little corner of specialization and thus the audience vibrates with all the varieties offered by training and dedicating oneself to the broad profession that beats behind the lens.
The talks will have a motivational component to inspire professionals who already work in the sector but, above all, students and photography enthusiasts who see their vocation in this world. “Inciding on the motivational aspect, we seek to encourage those who are at the gates of the sector or are timidly related to it but do not finish entering the world of the image, in one of its tributaries for x reasons”, says Dalay Betancort, one of the CADEC organizers.
Mario Rubio is another of the firms promoting an edition of CADEC that aims to leave its mark. With a virtual community of 36,000 followers on Instagram, he is quite the celebrity in night photos. He will give a presentation on Wednesday the 16th at 10:00 under the title Entrepreneurship in the world of photography, but he also directs one of the workshops: Direction of Night Photography. Edu López also has a long history associated with images. He specializes in lighting, digital retouching, and marketing for photographers, but will also mention in his From Photographer to Content Creator talk. The multipotential photographer the changes to which photographers are constantly subjected.
Víctor Torres, for his part, will talk about his field, stock photography. In his talk, Stock photography as a way of life, he will tell about some of his projects and how he has obtained nearly 20,000 images for sale distributed in the most important agencies in the market. Also, Alberto Mahtani, who in his presentation Emprender in social photography. How to know your target client will offer keys when it comes to focusing your own activity within photography, without wanting to cover everything and make it profitable.
The feminine look will not be missing in this edition either. The management of the Audiovisual and Digital Congress of the Canary Islands has organized a round table, called Violet Objective, in which the voice will be held by three women who will focus on the profession, encouraging equality in all professional fields, including image .
These three professionals currently move in the Archipelago: María Pisaca, a lifetime photographing for El Día; Galician María Novo, who currently works in Gran Canaria and defines herself as “a freak of light”, as well as a contributor to Con Estilo, the trend magazine of LA PROVINCIA and El Día, and Carla Henríquez who, under her signature Carla by the Sea, is, like Novo, specialized in lifestyle and advertising photography.
CADEC is a business initiative of Dalay Betancort and René Martín, which has the institutional support of the City Council of La Laguna, the Cabildo of Tenerife, the Teatro Leal, the University of La Laguna and its Fundación Emprende and the Autonomous Organism of Musical Activities of LaLaguna, among other private collaborations.
Emilio Morenatti
His photos in residences and hospitals during the pandemic —below one of them— earned him a Pulitzer, but this Zaragozan is a specialist in armed conflicts. In fact, he lands in Tenerife just arrived from the Ukraine, where he is photographing the effects of the war —images on the right—. In 2006 he was kidnapped in Gaza and on August 12, 2009 he suffered an attack while traveling with the US Army in which he lost a leg.
Mario Rubio
Director of the Academy of Photographers, founder of Fotografo Nocturno, a reference website in the night photography sector, Rubio is also a trainer and organizer of photography congresses. With a virtual community of 36,000 followers on Instagram, on Wednesday the 16th at 10:00 a.m. he will offer the Entrepreneurship in the world of photography conference, but he will also lead the Night Photography Management workshop.
Victor Torres
A graphic designer by profession, photography has always been his passion since he was a child. Specialized in lifestyle, business and medical photography, he currently has nearly 20,000 images for sale distributed through the most important agencies in the market: Stocksy United, Offset, Adobe Stock… where he has sold more than 300,000 licences. His conference, on Wednesday the 16th at 11:00 am, is entitled Stock photography as a way of life.
Alberto Mahtani
The Tenerife professional Alberto Mahtani, who has lived since his youth accompanied by a camera, in his presentation on Tuesday 15 at 10:00 a.m., will speak on Entrepreneurship in social photography. How to know your target customer. A prestigious professional with a great curriculum, Mahtani will offer keys when it comes to centering your own activity within photography, without wanting to cover everything and make it profitable.
Louis Ochoa
Senior DI colorist and cinematographic workflow designer, he has worked as a colorist in London and Spain, grading several feature films, spots and television series. Thanks to his experience in cinematography, post-production, color and mastering he configures workflows as an international independent expert. On Tuesday 15, at 1:00 p.m., he will talk about The current relationship between color processes and audiovisual production.
Carla Hernriquez
After finishing her studies in Agronomic Engineering and Food Quality in 2013 at the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the University of La Laguna, she dedicates herself fully to the world of sales and marketing, which led her to travel a lot and woke up the bug of photography. She today directs the By The Sea studio and, together with María Novo and María Pisaca, she participates on Tuesday 15, at 12:00, in the Violet Objective round table.
Mary Pisaca
A press photographer by profession and one of the most valued photojournalists in the Canary Islands, she is one of the women with the best and most extensive experience on the Islands, as well as the winner of various competitions. A member of the El Día staff, on Tuesday the 15th, at 12:00 noon, she participates in the Violet Objective round table together with her colleagues María Novo and Carla Henríquez. Essential.
Ed Lopez
Wedding photographer for a decade in Tenerife, he likes the idea of creating photographic reports that will last over time as part of the memory of such a beautiful and special day. With a colorful, luminous and elegant style, he has worked stubbornly to manage to dominate the light in this way. From photographer to content creator. The multipotential photographer will speak at his talk on Tuesday 15 at 11:00.
Maria Novo
María Novo is in love with light and masters it perfectly. She is dedicated to doing social and lifestyle photography both in black and white and in color and her images transmit a lot of strength. This professional based in Gran Canaria has the innate ability to connect with the people who cross her path, whom she cannot deny an impromptu portrait in the middle of the street. On Tuesday the 15th, at 12 noon, she participates in the Violet Objective round table.
