José Manuel Bielsa, the multi-prizewinning photographer

José Manuel Bielsa is, surely, the photographer from the Basque Country who has received most awards and recognition throughout his career. His avant-garde images with a classicist conception that combine a mastery of light and form, mood and atmosphere, have made him worthy of 17 Lux Awards in different categories: Nude, Architecture and Interior Design, Industrial, Landscape and Nature, and Themed Photo Report, amongst others. He has also won awards during the Photography Master Cup, at Acttec, as well as at the Hasselblad Open and the Kodak European Portrait Gold Awards.

Bielsa combines his signature portraits with more commercial work. In his opinion, commercial photography can be considered an artform, and he tries to get this across in his work. He likes to have the ability to process and post-produce his images by applying the latest technologies, from start to finish. Along with his excellent technical skill, each of his projects incorporates thoughtful reflection.

He has done numerous exhibitions, both individual and collective, as well as having been a speaker at different conferences and seminars and having given several expert talks for the Kodak Professional Division. His images have illustrated numerous books of poems and books about architecture, interior design, etc. He has even published a magnificent original book on the architecture of San Sebastian. For him, photography is no longer just a profession – it has become his passion, his way of observing life. And we, his public, have the fortune of bearing witness to his bold way of looking at things.