Baco's Gardens

Photographing the autumn of La Rioja is to capture time in its purest state. The light of October, low and mild, caresses the rows of vines, drawing long shadows that mimic the wrinkles of the hands that harvested them. There is a special mystique in the moment when the morning mist clings to the rooftops of San Vicente de la Sonsierra or Briones, suspended like a veil that separates reality from legend. It is there, between the mist and the first rays of sunlight, where the chromatic contrast becomes almost unreal: the green that refuses to die, the yellow that claims its prominence, and the fiery red of the leaves that seems to ignite the earth.

Each shot is an attempt to retain a perfect transition. In the valleys of the Oja and Najerilla, the leaves of the forests fall in a silent dance, carpeting paths that invite you to get lost. The photographer does not seek absolute sharpness here, but the atmosphere. He seeks the crunch underfoot, the smell of damp earth and must that seems to permeate the grain of the image, the reflection of the golden poplars doubling in the tranquil waters of the Ebro.

La Rioja is Land of Wines and the finest garden of Bacchus.