As many longtime readers of MOC know, I featured this young, up-n-coming Spanish photographer last October in a post entitled, "Eduardo Tachado Is Looking For Hypersexualized Teens." You'll recall the photographer managed in a series of erotic images to capture those final moments as the mounting euphoria that washes over you as you jerk off builds before: Ay.
So I was absolutely beside myself when Mister Tachado agreed to answer a few questions which, at times, where answered in true Arien fashion: bluntly. He discussed the nature of his photography and seemed eager to want to share his love of his what it is he does. A centro, adentro!
MOC: Eduardo, do you remember the first picture you took? What was it of? Why did you shoot it? What camera did you use? How old were you?
Eduardo Tachado: Like Jean Genet said “Creating is talking about childhood”. I think I was 4 years old: I asked my mom to sit on the couch and put her golden heels on! I later tried to retrieve the picture but my mom has hidden it well. It was with a Kodak we used to take when travelling. 2 years later I was given a camera and that’s when it all started.
MOC: Now, speaking “professionally,” answer the same things: Do you remember the first picture you took? What was it of? Why did you shoot it?
Eduardo: I never studied photography. It started kind of casually: I used to study fashion and I needed models for some homework. I decided to upload some of these pictures to my website and they called me to make a very sexual book. I had so much fun that I ended my studies knowing I wanted to be a photographer.
MOC: What does the camera/s one use/s tell us about the photographer, in your opinion? Which cameras do you use and for circumstances?
Eduardo: I think that’s cliché. Beauty lies in the result, not in the camera. I have several analog cameras, my favourite is an Olympus OM-1 because it’s very precise. I also have some Polaroids and a Fujifilm Instax that’s broken and burns parts of the film: I love it.
MOC: Are you a good photographer? I mean if I said I had a signed, numbered picture of Eduardo Tachado would strangers feel a sudden need to run their fingers up and down my shoulders and invite me to all-expense paid trips to Ibiza? Or would they ask me to hurry, pay my fare and get on the bus?
Eduardo: I don’t think I’m a good photographer: I’m pretty impulsive and I always improvise. I barely use artificial light but that doesn’t mean my pictures aren’t retouched. I like my pictures to look natural, not to be natural. So we both take the bus and start a session right there.
MOC: What makes a good photographer? (If the answer to the previous question was ‘no,’ you can skip this one.)
Eduardo: I’m telling you I don’t believe I’m a good photographer. I don’t talk much and I express myself through photography. I do what I’d like to see and what I need to say.
MOC: What does your photography say about you, besides the fact that you have near-perfect taste in men.
Eduardo: They say everything; my obsession with intimacy, the beauty of loneliness, sexual identity. At first I was pretty ashamed to put them on the Internet because I didn’t really want people to recognize me. I’m extremely shy and I avoid going to overly crowded places. Almost all my pictures take place in the intimacy of a home where one feels safe.
MOC: Who has been the most influential person on your craft? Why?
Eduardo: The only person to influence my work is my best friend. I’m only interested in his opinion because of his sensitiveness and because I know I can bare my thoughts with him.
MOC: Explain some of the differences – if there even are any – between photographing men of different races inside studios and/or outside?
Eduardo: Thanks to living in Paris, I’m lucky to work with people from over the world. I don’t find huge differences between races but it’s easier to take pictures here because guys understand the kind of pictures that I take. My favorite until now is a guy from Lebanon; pure sex. My pictures couldn’t be taken in a studio, even though I started taking them in mine. I know prefer the guy’s house: it’s harder but much more authentic. I prefer closed places with natural light.
MOC: If your home filled with photographic images and books on the masters? (I could be in Paris, France in about 10 hours, you know?)
Eduardo: Do I need to book you a flight?
MOC: Who are some of your influences?
Eduardo: The Little Mermaid, Al Parker, Gaspar Noé, Mark Morriroe, Joe Dallesandro, Erwin Blumenfeld, Alexey Brodovitch and also exhibitionist guys that jack off on Webcams, even though I’m currently obsessed with codified porn movies I used to watch when I was a teenager on a pay-per-view channel where you could guess the bodies with a lot of imagination.
MOC: What are you saying in your pictures and how do you go about achieving that?
Eduardo: I like them to speak for themselves and that each person takes his conclusions. When I start to take pictures, I make sure everything is as tense as possible and there’s barely been any form of contact between me and the model. The model gets more and more comfortable throughout the session and takes his clothes off. Freedom is what’s more important and we all carry sex in our blood.
MOC: If I were going to buy you a piece of photographic equipment for your birthday – and until I buy a Master Cylinder for my ’89 Toyota Camry – nobody gets anything but well wishes – what would you want?
Eduardo: I already have everything I need as far as photography is concerned but if you want, I can give you an endless list of books with the places where you can find them. I’m putting it easy for you!
(Here are two sets of photographs that Eduardo took. The first is of a model named Julien.)
Here's a second series of images of a young model named Solymane:
Eduardo Tachado's work can be seen at www.eduardotachado.tumblr.com.
© 2011, Victor Hoff. All rights reserved. Menofcolor.blogs.com
Thanks for this interview, Victor. Eduardo's website is beautiful, haunting and intimate.
Mark
Posted by: Mark | April 01, 2011 at 05:03 PM