A Visual Journey Through Diego Manrique's Panoramic Wonders

Greetings and welcome to another installment of our featured photographer blog, where we showcase incredible artists from all over the world and have them answer a series of questions to learn about their stories!

In this post, we're going to go on a visual journey with our featured photographer, Diego Manrique, who has an incredible talent of capturing extraordinary panoramic photos of the most beautiful landscapes you'll ever see! Continue reading below and find out more about how Diego captures these spectacular moments while also learning about his photography journey thus far.

Question 1: What ignited your passion for photography?

Our passion for this lovely art form stems from many different avenues depending on the artist. We love to get an understanding from our featured photographers and find out where they pull their story began. Here's the response we received from Diego; 

Answer: I've been traveling around the world for the last 10 years, especially within the United States, visiting all the National Parks through many road trips. I think that the first time I saw the Horseshoe Bend in 2015 is when I knew I had to start diving into landscape photography to capture those amazing scenes. Something inside me awakened and led me onto this beautiful journey.

However, it was not till 2020 that I started to get deeper into landscape photography because of the pandemic. My wife was based in NYC, meanwhile I was in Spain, so we could not see each other for 2 years due to the lockdown. I could say, that photography was my salvation. I began discovering new places, learning new techniques, and meeting new people within this community. 4 years later, I'm keeping it up! Loving the Nordic landscapes and, for sure, the Asturian coast.

Question 2: What's a memorable moment or experience related to your photography journey you'd like to share?

We all have our special moments and ones we crown our favorite. Even though we're all constantly creating new ones, our team loves to hear about the favorite ones thus far! Here's a moment Diego shared with us;

Answer: The first time I saw the northern lights was magical. After that, I've been several times in the Arctic looking for the greatest moments of light. I like the winter and freezing scenarios, they transmit to me a lot of calm and peace, bringing me away from urban and busy environments. Sometimes these magical moments are quicker than you expect, so you have to be ready to do the panorama and not fail in any shot.

In the beginning, my first photos didn't go well but after gaining experience I started getting ready for any situation. During these trips, for those who don't live near these latitudes, we depend on the weather conditions and geomagnetic activity, so many times you can fail and get back home with no award. The same happens with epic sunrises or sunsets, any landscape photographer is on their way to get these special moments, so I think this is something that keeps you motivated enough to desire more and more.

Question 3: Can you describe your signature style or preferred genre of photography?

Just as we all have our favorite moments, as photographers we all have our own unique style and genre preferences. We may share similar interests, but in someway we all add our own little artistic twist. These are a couple of Diego's favorite styles; 

Answer: Landscape photography and panoramas. I think it's a better way to get different perspectives that the human eye can not see. Using panoramas allows you to get the whole potential of any landscape and attract the attention of viewers through unique projections.

Question 4: Who or what serves as your primary source of inspiration?

In order to grow and explore, pulling inspiration from the world around us is necessary in order to continue creating wonderful works of art. We find it interesting to learn about where our photographers seek inspiration for their work and love to share it with our readers to see who relates. Here's where Diego looks for his inspiration; 

Answer: My passion for nature, mountains, and the most epic landscapes. The feeling of adventure and exploring that you can feel when you discover someplace new. Hiking a mountain, setting up my tent, and just observing nature around me while most of people are laying on the sofa. The thrill for adventure is like gasoline inside me to keep trying and getting better pictures.

Question 5: What challenges have you overcome as a photographer and what lessons have you learned from them?

Learning is part of life, in all aspects! As photographers, especially new ones, we'll come up against obstacles and challenges to tackle. The good news is after we overcome them our arsenal for creation will be expanded and then we can help others who face the same issues. Here's some challenges Diego has come across and how he's learned to conquer them;

Answer: Well, photography is not as easy as you can imagine at the beginning.  Landscape photography can be especially hard because sometimes you go through all the work and you don't get the results expected. There are a lot of good photographers all over the world so if you want to stand out and highlight your pictures, you are going to need to put great effort and hard work into every picture.  Extreme panoramas sometimes need a huge planification behind them and a little luck with the weather.

Our love for photography expands each and every time we get the opportunity to feature and showcase incredible photographers from all over the world. We hope you enjoyed reading about Diego and his photography journey while being awe-struck by his phenomenal panoramic landscape photos! Below you'll find a link to his Instagram profile so you can stay up to date on his adventures. Be sure to give him a follow and support him as he continues his journey throughout the world of photography. 

Instagram: @manriquephoto

Send our team a DM on Instagram if you're interested in becoming one of our featured photographers! @thelifewecapture