José Luis Domene
Landscape | Last Updated: April 4, 2024
¡Hola! My name is José Luis Domene. I’m an adventure and landscape photographer from Seville, Spain. I have to confess that I like to photograph everything, not just landscapes, waves, etc., so I love to photograph products, people, and advertising stuff, too.
My love for photography started when I was 15 years old. I discovered that I felt so comfortable shooting behind the camera. Many years later, I studied for a Bachelor of Advertising and Public Relations degree where I discovered advertising photography. After finished my degree, I moved to Barcelona to work in one of the biggest photography/video studios: Barcelona Studios.
Actually, most of the time my job in Barcelona Studios was painting the walls and floors of the studio, and doing a lot of driving. But thanks to that, I met great photographers and photo assistants who taught me a lot of things about lighting and digital workflows.
When I came back home (Seville), I earned enough money to buy new photography equipment. I changed from Canon to a mirrorless camera–I bought the Sony a6000
. I chose it because of the light weight and great quality. After that, I decided that was time to shoot what I love: The sea.
I always love being inside the water, and I really wanted to show a different view from inside. That was my goal and dream. So, I asked my brother to bring me the Salty Water Housing for my Sony a6000
from Sydney. And there is where everything started…
If I feel happy behind the camera, now inside the water feels amazing. I can feel what other surfers feel when they’re surfing and photograph them in the exact moment.
Thanks to what I have learnt about lighting, I like to try different things to improve my photos. Not everything is “freeze the moment, good exposure, good frame or a good moment”. Sometimes I like to try different angles, speeds and apertures.
Nowadays there are a lot of people who photograph inside the water, but I would like to be a different one, with my own style and my own vision in that moment.
Outside the water I really enjoy using my 35mm camera, an Olympus OM-10
that was from my father.
I usually use the 50mm f/1.8 lens
on this camera because is really simple and beautiful what I get from it. Also, I have to say that shooting with an analogue camera feels different, because what you shoot, that is going to be the photo. You only have 24 or 36 exposures, so you have to think a lot about the photo, the frame, the speed, everything, and when you see what you got from it…it’s an amazing feeling.
Little by little, I’m chasing my dream. Lately, I also like to film some videos that have been shown in the SurferRule Magazine of Spain (www.surferrule.com/sueno-despues-ophelia-jl-domene/) so I hope to improve my skills and do a lot more work, always inside the water.
Gear list:
Cameras:
Sony a6000
This is the camera I use for shooting from the water. It shoots 11fps, which is great as everything happens super quick out there. I prefer shooting with an APSC sensor in the water as it produces a better depth of field, and with surf photos I generally want as much of the image in focus as possible.
Olympus OM-10
(from 80’s)
This is my favourite and personal camera. With this one I only shoot what I really love in that moment…people, the sea, an important place… As I said before, l the magic of analogue photography is when you discover what you pressed the button that moment.
GoPro Hero 3
Actually, this GoPro is not mine, is from my brother. He lent me this camera for a future trip. I had the first GoPro on the market, but I felt so tired of the same wide-angle photos. However, I have to say that is the most useful camera at the present. Compact, great resolution, and a lot of possibilities for travel.
Lenses:
Sony 18-105mm f/4
This is my favorite lens for shooting inside the water. I have got too many possibilities when I’m near to the wave and I can open it to 18mm and shoot the action. On the other hand, I can shoot at 105mm when I’m far away from a wave or surfer and I can also add some bokeh to the photograph.
Samyang 12mm f/2
The Samyang 12mm
provides me of a lot of visual field and great light. I use this lens with my 6-inch dome port for the Salty SurfHousing. Always ready to shoot and to not miss anything. Sometimes this is also really useful for architectural photography and landscapes.
Olympus 50mm f/1.8
Yes, I can use this lens in my Sony a6000
because I got an converter. So cheap! Thanks to this converter I have a portrait lens, although is a manual focus lens. The quality of the glass is awesome!
Converter Olympus to Nex
Like I said, this adapter is really cheap, and it’s worth it. I can use an old lens in my new camera for a good price. You can find it in Amazon without problems.
Water Gear:
Salty a6000 Surf Housing
This is my water housing for my Sony a6000.
Fully equipped with buttons to control everything on the camera and shoot in manual mode. This housing is built in aluminum, so it is pretty strong and light.
I got this housing with the single stage pistol grip, 6-inch dome port, 18-105mm f/4 zoom port, and the covers and the leash.
Digital Gear:
Macbook Pro Retina 13”
This laptop has been my salvation for editing photos and video. Small, compact, light and so powerful. Great retina screen to love your own photos. Also came with our special Spanish character, the “Ñ”.
Lacie Rugged Thunderbolt 1Tb
I use this hard drive to backup all my works, as photographer and photo assistant. Thanks to the thunderbolt connection it is so quick and you don’t have to wait too much. Also, it can resist shocks, dust, water, and drops up to 4 feet. Also, it is orange. So orange. That means that it is really hard to lose it.
TetherPro USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Micro-B Cable
Perfect to shoot connecting to the laptop. It’s a USB 3.0 cable, so the transmission is quick and this cable is long enough that you can move your camera while the photos are in the laptop. Also, orange.
Miscellaneous Gear:
Rosco black tape. You can fix anything with tape, so I bring it with me everywhere…
Extra batteries for my Sony a6000
. Mirrorless cameras consume much more battery power than a DSLR camera.
SanDisk ExtremePro cards (32gb and 64gb for video
).
Nilox powerbank. It’s so useful to charge the camera or phone anywhere.
Manfrotto Superclamp 035
+ J-Hook
. As the name says, it’s a super clamp to hang whatever heavy stuff you have.
UE Boom 2
. An amazing waterproof and shock speaker to bring it wherever you go to shoot. 15 hours of battery and it’s charged only in 2 hours. I need music where I go.
Joby Tripod
. A flexible and articulated tripod for my Sony or GoPro, excellent for videos.
Camera Air Blower. It’s essential when I go to the beach and I have to clean all my gear from dust or sand (also water drops).
Essential kit with cables, converters, chargers, AUX cable, USB wall charger, lightning pin adaptor.
Multi-tool (the cheapest one). Good for fixing equipment, defending yourself or sharing a sandwich with your friends.
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