Alberto has a good memory and relives the special moments of his life with the emotion of someone reciting a poem. “From my father’s car I saw a young stonechat. It was early summer. And I saw the young stonechat dive to the ground again and again to catch an insect on the outskirts of the Grazalema Natural Park. I took out the camera and got the photo.” That photo, which Alberto talks about, made him collect a prestigious world photography award in London earlier this month. And for that same image he has just won another European award in Germany. He has more accumulated prizes than years. Because with only nine, Alberto Román, from Ubrique (Cádiz) has become the most awarded photographer of the moment.
Alberto’s first multi-award-winning photo was two years ago, when he was barely seven, and he had practically just released an Olympus M1 camera that his parents had given him to deepen his growing love of photos. He then titled ‘Tightrope walker’ the serene image of a cattle wagtail, a small bird that he clearly identified, perched on a small branch of oats. Then he won the MontPhoto youth prize, which was designed for children up to 14 years old.
And to remember this photo he almost recites. “One spring afternoon, my father and I went out to photograph a few kilometers from home, in an area where there are crops and many birds. And I saw the washerwoman who was making a lot of effort to keep her balance.”
Alberto’s father, Daniel Román, is in all the stories about his photos because, thanks to him, this passion was born. “I am an Environmental Agent and I became interested in photography in 2015, just when Alberto was born. It is true that he has seen me go to the countryside, take photos and, from there, this hobby has come to him.” But Alberto has done much more than imitate his father. During the pandemic, not being able to go outside, his way of escaping the four walls of his home was to read all the bird guides that were in his house. That is why he is able to recognize from afar and up close by flight, colors and size, which birds he is immortalizing.
A dozen photography awards
He is passionate about ornithology, although before that it was his love for photos. His first tool was a compact camera, which he replaced with a Lumix with many more features. Then came the Olympus, which soon changed to its current one, another Olympus M1, but with the bird tracking function, which has allowed it to perfect the captures of the best it does: portraying the peace of nature, the beauty of life, the pause that comes with observing the common. “I started taking photos of some mountain goats, cows, sheep, and sparrows and all kinds of birds.”
His parents began to send their photographs to international competitions when they shared them with loved ones or curious people and they all agreed to highlight the high quality of the images. And so the prizes began to arrive. There are already more than ten. For his photo of the young stonechat he has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year (best wildlife photographer of the year), organized by the Natural History Museum in London, which he was able to pick up in person dressed in a tuxedo. Even the president of the Board, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, congratulated him and showed his pride that such a young Andalusian demonstrates such great talent.
He called his photo ‘Free as a bird’ because the young stonechat, the one he captured from his father’s car, is perched on an iron fence next to a metal chain with a padlock. It is a photo so full of content that it has just been awarded again by the German Society of Nature Photographers, which was awarded this weekend in Germany. Alberto and his family were invited to collect the award, but the profusion of trophies is such that it is now impossible to attend each presentation in person.
The youngest speaker in history
At his young age, Alberto has already given a conference. He did it at the age of eight at the Extremadura International Ornithology Fair, where he became the youngest speaker in history. There he told, while showing some of his best creations, this simple routine of walks with his father, his trips to the countryside in Ubrique and surrounding areas, the ability to discover a moment of beauty and knowing when to shoot with his target. There has already been talk of an exhibition in his town, where so many successes have led him to be received by the mayor and attend many interviews.
After the stonechat he now dreams of getting an image of a puffin, a capercaillie or a bearded vulture. His father reminds him that photography is a hobby, so Alberto combines this talent with catechesis, because he will take communion next year, basketball training and school classes, where his favorite subject is Environmental Knowledge. “I want to be a teacher, because I see that it is a more or less easy job.” Deep down, he knows that although he still has a lot to learn, he already has a lot to teach others.
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