What is your background?
Jaime: I’ve been doing photography all my life, from photojournalism to fashion, to stills and portraits.
David: Architecture/Graphic design.
What kind of photography do you most identify with?
Jaime: At the moment fine arts and documentary photography absorb all my time.
David: Fine art photography.
Explain your style in 100 words
David: Bold, often hard-edged images with a strong use of colour.
Highly controlled compositions which rely on a graphic approach and a strong attention to detail.
Extensive use of montage with the aim to create realistic but categorically non-real scenarios.
How did your style change over time?
Jaime: Drastically. Going from fashion to war photography, the style could not be more different. Said that, when I look back at my work I sometimes recognise an aesthetic approach which is similar, no matter what type of context you are in.
What photograph left a lasting impression on you and why?
Jaime: There’s a bunch of images that, after all these years, keep fascinating me. War pictures like Nick Ut’s Napalm Girl: incredibly painful and powerful. Diane Arbus photograph of the twin girls: always in my head. Fashion wise, I still find Melvin Sokolsky’s series of a model floating in a bubble extremely beautiful and a perfect explanation of what fashion is all about.
When did you discover your passion for photography?
Jaime: In the 80’s I was studying architecture in Peru when Mario Testino asked me to model for an editorial. I was very impressed by his way of working. It made me grab a camera and start to take pictures.
David: I always liked photography but always felt too shy (or lazy) to express myself with a camera. On the contrary, since starting to work with digital graphics, I immediately embraced the potential of photo manipulation. The collaboration with Jaime has represented the perfect occasion to express myself with the medium without the need to become a photographer.
What’s your most embarrassing moment related to photography?
Jaime: When starting to work as a fashion photographer, we did a shoot on a beach in Peru and we were mugged by a couple of guys. I then discovered that I forgot to put a film in the camera and that we had gone through all that stress for nothing!
What is your dream project?
Jaime: It would involve traveling extensively around the world, dealing with different civilisations. A bit like we did for the project Mírame Lima, but on a worldwide scale.
David: Any project with a big budget and complete creative freedom.
Name 5 photographers who have inspired you
Jaime: Guy Bourdin, Richard Avedon, William Klein, Melvin Sokolsky, Diane Arbus.
David: Jeff Wall, Andreas Gursky, Miles Aldridge, Alex Webb, Martin Parr.
What would you do without photography?
Jaime: Probably I would be doing something related to Fine Arts, maybe installations or painting.
How do you know when a body of work is finished?
Jaime: When we’ve tried many different options and that one solution remains the winner.
David: When we’re not enjoying working on it anymore.
What is your most important gadget? Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?
Jaime: I love my flashlights (don’t know if it could be considered a gadget).
What camera do you use now and why?
Jaime: At the moment I’m using Nikon D800. The quality is superb.
What role does the photographer have in society?
Jaime: Monitoring the passage of time.
David: These days I would not differentiate it too much from that of any other fine artist.