Medellín in Black and White [Winner!]

It’s no secret that Medellín is one of our favorite cities in the world. The history, the people, the landscapes… If you’re ever thinking about going to Colombia or Medellin, don’t hesitate… you’ll love it. I already posted some cool landscapes and urbanscapes of Medellín but something weird happened there. All of a sudden, I started experimenting with black and white landscapes. Something I haven’t done in ages. I’m not even a landscape photographer!

Then, a few weeks ago, I saw a call for submissions on booooooom.com. I’ve been a member for a while now because there’s a lot of great art to discover and they always organize cool projects. Anyway, this is what they were asking:

We recently teamed up with LOJEL to create a fun project focused on creatives’ journeys and we want to hear your stories! Tell us about a travel experience that was particularly meaningful for you. It could be a big exciting adventure or more of a small quiet moment where you learned something about yourself.

An important thing was that a submission had to consist of both photographs and text. So, I wrote something about my experiences in Medellín and added a few black and white photos. Guess what? It made the winning selection… Check it out here on booooo00m.com

Here’s my submission:

“Traveling changes you,” they say. Sure, it might be a platitude but it really does. I’ve been traveling for more than a year non-stop now and being on the road all the time affects your brain and soul in a strange way. I feel like I grew more as a person now than in the last 20 years and also-for the first time since I set off on this journey–I fell in love with a city: Medellín, Colombia.

I’ve loved Colombia from day one when I arrived in Bogotá almost two months ago but Medellín just takes it to another level. The geographic location, the people, the history of war and violence, and the transformation over the last decade. This city is like a black hole that keeps pulling me in. I planned to stay here for maximum one week and then move on.

That was more than three weeks ago and I’m still in Medellín. It grabbed me and won’t let me go. I’m getting goosebumps while I write this and it’s a strange feeling. I’ve never felt like this about a place or city. Even my own country doesn’t even come close to Medellín.

Creatively, this place sparked my inspiration. I’m a color photographer and I’ve always been, ever since I started studying photography ten years ago. I also focus on people, mostly. People are the essence and soul of any country I visit but Medellín is the first place that got me exploring a new direction in photography. This beautiful city, probably one of the most photogenic in the world, pushed me into black and white landscape photography. Something I was never interested in…

Almost every day, I’m exploring the surrounding mountains and hills to find the best viewpoints to capture the incredible beauty. I still haven’t found the ultimate epic view of Medellín yet but I hope I never will. Please, just let me explore this fascinating and beautiful black hole forever.