Carlos Darder: Life Doesn’t Wait For Anyone

“The sunsets are crazy in LA” – but this is just one of the reasons behind Spanish photographer Carlos Darder’s move to the United States. With a visual style that is always brave, sometimes even provocative yet never fails to play with the gentleness within human nature, Carlos has never really cared much about borders anyways. “(The city) is also full of neon lights. I’ve always been obsessed with those.”

Colours and shades may feel different in every continent and this is something Carlos – who was born and raised on the island of Mallorca – has first hand experience of. Being always on the go can make or break someone. It’s an experience that can be described as surfing on a wave of adventure, joy and creativity without knowing how long it will last or what will follow once it’s over. “I never felt like home anywhere in Europe. It was fun for a while, but then I missed that feeling.”

Carlos’ latest book, Corazón Salvaje is a unique selection of photos documenting everyday intimacy, pictures of people that we may or may not see ever again as well as a series of self-portraits. “Times of introspection help me take ideas out of my brain, to always keep on shooting.”

While some of these images were undoubtedly born out of spontaneity, others give a feeling of being wonderfully staged or can be easily mistaken for outtakes of a movie – although this is as far from the truth as it can be.  “Normally, I never think about composition. It comes naturally with the idea, right about when I shoot it.”

What makes Carlos’ pictures truly outstanding is the fact that they are rooted in genuine, real life memories. These photographs all happened in a certain place at a certain time and they are here today not to reflect on anything, only to serve us as a reminder. “I was just looking at pictures from 2016 the other day and time runs. Life is happening very fast and that’s scary.”

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