The Ochre Paradise

Arturo tells us in an exclusive interview what all a good photographer needs to possess, how he fell in love with Asian countries and what makes him keep coming back

Q. It’s been over 30 years since you started your travel adventure carrying your camera along to capture one of the rawest forms of your surroundings and customs. What motivates you to pursue this lifestyle?

A. I still hope to prepare a baggage and go to the airport. If I am not traveling, I am preparing for the next destination or, simply, dreaming about wonderful destinations. Being able to get so many sensations with a simple click, makes you addicted to this lifestyle. I always thought that as I grow older, the excitement of traveling would wane and that I would focus on other more comfortable photographic fields, but today, I still think that I have many images to capture, many countries to travel and much to learn from other cultures.

Q. You have traced your path along the Asian land majorly covering parts of India, Nepal and Indonesia. What was the inspiration leading you while travelling to these countries?

A. Thirty years ago, Asia was like a  distant and almost extraterrestrial paradise, so different from what surrounded me. A friend of mine who had already visited Nepal, told me about the people, the landscapes, the light. I had always wanted to go until finally, I decided to buy a plane ticket and embark on the adventure in the early 80’s. That first visit to Nepal was a change in my life: so intense, so colorful, so spiritual. Since then, I have returned whenever I have had the occasion. Now, when I see other visitors, there are times when I stop to think, looking at them carefully, trying to guess whose is the first time in Nepal and what impact that first time will have on their lives. For me, the most intense memory I have is when I first descended the ladders of the plane in Kathmandu, with the Himalayas in the background; I felt that I was about to start a life adventure at the end of the world.