PHOTO CONFESSIONAL: Fabiola Ferrero
José Lara poses for a portait on his fishing boat in Lake Maracaibo. He asked me to stop my boat at take his picture. "Let them see how we work covered in oil", he said. 2022
IF YOU WEREn’T A PHOTOGRAPHER, WHAT OTHER PROFESSION WOULD YOU PICK?
Writer. A lot of my creative process goes through words first, particularly from poetry, and I often mix the two in my projects.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST CRUCIAL DECISION YOU HAVE MADE IN YOUR CAREER’s DEVELOPMENT?
Leaving my country. Which wasn’t a voluntary decision, because I was locked in Colombia during the pandemic, but then I stayed there 3 years. The past year I’ve been living in France. It influenced my relationship with the way that I photograph Venezuela, for the better I’d say, because it allowed me to breathe and take distance from a story that was deeply painful for me. I like that I can approach it with less drama now, and you can see it in the images. I am not sure I would have had the clarity to finish I Can’t Hear the Birds without that distance.
AT WHAT POINT DID YOU FEEL YOU WERE A PHOTOGRAPHER, AND WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT WAY?
Because I didn’t formally study photography, I don’t have a particular moment: it was a “fake it ‘til you make it” kind of situation.
Moises Marval, a Venezuelan migrant, plays with bubbles inside his home in Boa Vista, Brazil. His family flee Venezuela for his special condition (Autism) and lived in an invaded house. Moises suffered a brain hemorrage and died a few weeks after this picture was taken. 2019
HOW IMPORTANT IS RESEARCH IN YOUR WORK?
Research is key. It is the base of many of my projects. I have friends who make fun of my huge Excel sheets with lists of books to read, documentaries to watch, people to interview, and then the full spread of contacts, timeline and resources to carry out the work on the field. This is all previous to photographing, though, once I am on the field, I allow myself to photograph intuitively, because the information was already processed inside. Other projects also start backwards, just taking images that I feel drawn to, and it is later that I understand why, and I have a new project without realizing it.
IS THERE A PHOTOGRAPHER/ARTIST WHO IS A CONSTANT REFERENCE FOR YOU?
Cristina de Middel is a constant reference for me, no doubt. I am always amazed by how many ideas she’s able to actually bring to life, and when I find myself doubting my ideas her work inspires me to just go for it, and trust the process. Other photographers whose style I love are Evgenia Arbugaeva, Nanna Heitman, Sabiha Çimen, Newsha Tavakolian, Juanita Escobar, Musuk Nolte, Jorge Panchoaga... all very poetic documentary work. In Venezuela I love the elegance of Silvana Trevale’s images, the expansive eye of Andrés Pérez and the fresh and unique view of Natalie Keyssar. Many women, as you can see. If I could mention writers, I’d say the poetry of Eugenio Montejo and Yolanda Pantin are important references too.
WHAT WOULD YOU NOT WANT TO PHOTOGRAPH?
I would not want to photograph something that is unbearable for me to watch. Even when photographing pain, I hope that I can do it with dignity.
A guacamaya sits under heavy rain in Caracas, on August 22, 2021.
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE, AND WHAT IMPORTANCE DO YOU GIVE TO TECHNIQUE?
My main camera is a Canon R6, and my go-to lens is just a 24-70. With this I do 90% of my assignments. I also photograph a lot with my phone, a 35 mm analog camera, a little point and shoot and more recently a Mamiya 7. I am not very technical, but I do think it’s important. Technique is important to the extent that it allows your ideas to become what you want of them. Concepts come first, but without technical ability the image doesn’t really happen.
WHAT IS THE STARTING POINT OF YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
It varies. Like I said, a lot of times I just photograph intuitively and at some point, halfway through, a clearer idea emerges and some words come to mind. Memory, oil, rural, lost, grief, echoes… those were the words of I Can’t Hear the Birds. But they came after a few years of photographing intuitively. So the second half of the project was much more planned, by then I knew what I was looking for. The new project I’m doing is the opposite: I’ve had an idea for years and it is just now that I have the mental space to chase it with images.
Lorenzo Campuzano poses with a protest band during the LGTBTQ+ Pride march in Caracas on July 7, 2024
HOW DO YOU DEFINE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY WITH A # TAG ?
#ThisTooWillBecomeArchive
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH REJECTION?
I have a friend that does a little celebration every 5 rejections from grants, “because it means a ‘yes’ is getting closer”, she says. I have a similar approach, but instead of celebrating I go out and shoot more, because it’s what keeps me connected to the idea, instead of getting lost in the rejection. You are the first one who has to believe in it, and the first one who has to make it happen. I’ve also learnt to not take it personal, because I’ve been a jury of awards and grants, and I can tell you getting recognition does not solely depend on the quality of your work. Many factors play a role in that.
HOW DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SUCH SUCCESS?
A lot of factors have played a role. First, I wasn’t thinking of a “career”, I was just thinking of bringing ideas to life, and was emotionally connected to what I was photographing. It’s what keeps me sane. I can be very obsessive and can have a lot of patience, so working on one topic for six years helped. And I didn’t work alone, there is a lot of people that helped on the way: colleagues, family, mentors. Not to undermine my capacities or say that I don’t have faith in my vision, because I do, but I can’t deny I had my share of privileges: For one, Venezuela was the center of the news for several years and it wasn’t easy to get in, so I was working with international press just one year after I started photographing. I was using 100% of my time to photography, which I was able to do because I didn’t have to pay rent and Venezuela was very cheap at that time. I speak several languages, so I could access opportunities like the VII Mentor Program or the Magnum Foundation Fellowship when I was just starting my career. I had incredible mentors: Maggie Stebber, Sim Chi Yin, Alice Gabriner, in Venezuela Leo Álvarez and Laura Morales. All these people saw potential in me, and I allowed them to guide me in my process of finding my vision. Maybe this answer is too long but it is important for me that other newcomer photographers know that making a career in photography is not just about talent. It is about collaboration, resources, patience, commitment, trust, clarity, networking and sometimes also silence and reflection.
A man carries a woman to cross the river that divides the border between Colombia and Venezuela. Despite the closure of the bridge, approximately 450 Venezuelans enter daily with the intention of staying in Colombia, and 200 migrants who return to Venezuela. 2020
HOW DO YOU APPROACH STRANGERS IN YOUR PROJECTS OR TO INCLUDE IN YOUR PROJECTS?
Because nobody is expecting your personal projects, I am not in a rush. So I approach people with honesty, hear their story, explain my ideas and the possible ways in which their images will be used and if they’re not interested in being photographed, I let it go. It allows me to interact with people from a more relaxed place, and it feels more like a collaboration. Other times you’re just reacting to what you see in the street, so you interact less. In general, I try to stay in touch with a lot of the people in my projects. How can you enter someone’s privacy like we do and then willingly never talk to them again?
A scar from a Venezuelan migrant who was attacked after she refused sexual advances from a man. She was under the care of Colombian authorities. 2020
IS IT COMMON FOR YOU TO QUESTION YOURSELF OR YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY?
I question myself on daily basis. Thankfully, I have two friends and a therapist that hear about it constantly and give me perspective. Although you have to be careful to not torment yourself, you HAVE to question your practice often, otherwise you might miss important ethical issues or make more mistakes than necessary.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE A WOMAN PHOTOGRAPHER? HOW HAS IT AFFECTED YOUR PROJECTS? AND YOUR APPROACH TO THE ART WORLD/ PHOTO-BOOK WORLD?
It means that you work harder. It means more obstacles in some ways, but it also means that you don’t face them alone, because you build community to make your way around it together. It means you have a special kind of sensitivity and your voice matters.
A man waits for the water tank from security forces during clashes in Caracas. 2017
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A NEW PHOTOGRAPHER WHO IS JUST STARTING OUT?
Do not let the lack of clarity become lack of movement: if you feel the urge to follow an idea, go for it and see where it takes you. Do not show work that is not ready: take the time to understand it first. Don’t show your edits to too many people: choose the ones you trust the most. Don’t rush: it is too easy to make mistakes when you’re rushing. Do build community, do respect your colleagues, do find mentors, do take breaks of silence, do read a lot, do stay open to the idea guiding you, do take your time, and to finish with a little hippie note: do all from a place of love.
ABOUT FABIOLA FERRERO
Fabiola Ferrero is a journalist and photographer born in Caracas in 1991 and currently based between France and Venezuela. Her personal work is the result of how her childhood memories contrast with nowadays Venezuela, her home country. Using her background in writing and investigative journalism, which she studied in Caracas (UCAB), she develops long term visual projects about South America, and specially Venezuela's crisis. Her educational background in photography includes the Joop Swart Masterclass 2019 and the Photography and Social Justice Program of the Magnum Foundation. She was a Fellow at the Columbia University's Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris for the 23-24 cohort.
She won a World Press Photo for the Long-Term Projects category in the South American region in 2023, the Inge Morath Award given by Magnum Photos in 2021 and the Carmignac Photojournalism Award, which resulted in her first catalog, The Wells Run Dry. She was also a finalist for the Alexia Grant, Eugene Smith Memorial Fund and the Leica Oscar Barnack Newcomer Award.
Interested in bringing opportunities to other newcomer photographers in the region, Fabiola founded Semillero Migrante, a photography mentorship program around migration, where free education is given to young Spanish speaking photographers.
Portrait by Musuk Nolte
