BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Our F/W shoot with Brazo de Hierro & Julia Llonch

We sat down with friends/photographers, Brazo and Julia, to get the story behind the latest photos taken in their home territory of Catalonia. For both Brazo and Julia, this shoot represented a break from work--an opportunity to so something creative and fun without worrying about client demands.

In a recent project, Brazo captured the chaos of hungry cyclists in a super market in France. The free, human nature of this super market scene represents a reality that's not often shown in the fancy coffee shop culture around cycling. From Brazo's perspective, cycling is about people being together and sharing food and drinks. For him, it's not about avocado toast and latte art. 

Brazo and Julia found inspiration in a simple plan that started at a Spanish churrería and concluded with a barbecue. "As the main goal was to spend quality time together, I would've been happy with a couple nice shots at the churrería," Brazo said. With pre-ride churros as the central motif, they added on a foggy ride plus a stop at a street market in a small village to the day's itinerary. In contrast to the oftentimes snobbish attitude of both employees and visitors at frilly cycling cafes, they encountered people who let them go "backstage" to take photos from anywhere they liked. In these quotidian locations, the models and photographers felt a closeness and warmth from the locals right off the bat. 

To capture the glowing light at the churrería as well as the connection they felt as a group and with the people they encountered, Brazo chose to shoot primarily film. The spontaneous, textured, unpredictable nature of analogue photography paired perfectly with the spirit of the shoot: a personal project centered around having fun and eating together.

Photos: @brazodehierro