光の記録 · Hikari no Kiroku

notas de luz · light notes

LIGHT NOtES+

Diario visual en el que voy guardando pequeñas notas de luz. - El Hikari más reciente aparece siempre al principio.

Visual diary where I keep small notes of light. - The most recent Hikari always appears at the top.

Hikari 06

The paradox of photography in the age of the like:

when brands confuse virality with value

Over the last decade, the visual ecosystem has changed at an absurd speed. Photography has been democratized, smartphone cameras do almost everything for you, and anyone can upload images in a matter of seconds. On paper, it sounds wonderful. In practice, it has also brought something far less romantic: an almost perfect aesthetic cloning.

You open Instagram, TikTok or any other platform and the feeling repeats itself: the same framing, the same washed-out or over-saturated colors, the same poses, the same “authentic” settings over and over again. Thousands of profiles pushing the same visual formula, as if the images came out of a factory instead of from different eyes. It looks like everything is new, but in reality you’re seeing the same photo again and again.

Underneath all that repetition, there’s a deeper problem that affects both individual creativity and the brands in the photography world. Some of them have started to confuse noise with relevance, virality with value. And that’s where something has gone off track.

More and more campaigns lean on creators whose digital visibility overshadows the actual quality of their work. These are profiles that know perfectly well how the algorithm moves: when to post, what kind of background works, which presets “hook” people. They’ve learned how to manufacture likes. What they haven’t always learned is how to photograph, how to create, how to truly look: how to build an image with intention, sustain a project over time, and have a voice of their own. And yet they’re the ones who end up being chosen because they generate interaction, even if their content is, at its core, a copy of a copy of a copy.

Some brands are letting themselves be carried along by this dynamic and are handing over their visual identity to creators who bring neither visual nor conceptual depth. They look for shortcuts: a quick spike in reach, a chart pointing up, a post that “blows up.” What they gain in exposure, they lose in coherence, reputation and brand prestige. And in the long run, that has a cost.

Meanwhile, on the other side, you have photographers, artists and visual creatives with years of craft behind them. People who have learned through mistakes, through being out on the street, through assignments, failures and successes. People capable of building images with intention, layers of meaning and soul. Many of them now feel a strange mix of modesty and exhaustion when it comes to sharing their work. They’re afraid of being copied, pushed aside by artificially viral profiles, or simply ignored by brands that seem in love with easy metrics: followers, likes, quick comments.

And there’s another layer that makes all of this even more uncomfortable. With the recent loss of major contemporary photographers and image-makers whose work has literally changed the way we look at the everyday, the question is no longer just what remains of their legacy, but who is going to pick up that baton. Not who will take their place in the hashtags, but who will take their place in the history of images. Something similar happens in music: we lose talent, we lose giants, and suddenly it becomes very hard to clearly point to who their true successors are. There is talent, of course, but very few voices that feel genuinely new and not just polished versions of what we already had.

Paradoxically, it is precisely these seasoned professionals—photographers, artists, creatives—who embody what prestige brands should be protecting: the line between the ordinary and the truly professional, between what will be outdated next month and what can sustain an identity for years.

Martin Parr has said it in many ways throughout his career: when you get obsessed with success, you stop really looking. You stop taking risks, you stop searching, you slip into formula mode. And that is exactly what we see today in a large part of the visual content on social media: images manufactured to please, not to tell a story. There has never been so much being produced and yet things have never looked so similar.

The algorithm rewards the copy of the copy, not the original gaze. And that logic has ended up contaminating even those who are supposed to defend visual excellence: the brands in the sector themselves. The problem is that branding cannot be built on that kind of noise.

Virality can be useful, yes, but it’s a one-off resource, not a strategy. It’s a lucky wave: today it lifts you up, tomorrow it leaves you on the shore. A brand that wants to be a technical or artistic benchmark cannot base its visual narrative on weak, repetitive or empty content. Prestige is built through careful decisions, not shortcuts.

So what can brands do in this context? Recover their sense of judgment—something as simple and as difficult as that. Start trusting photographers, artists and creatives with a genuine eye again, not just reach. Combine real emerging talent—the kind you can see in the consistency of the work, not in the follower count—with seasoned professionals. Judge images by their quality, their intention and their ability to tell a story, not just by their immediate performance in the stats.

It also means designing ambassador programs based on aesthetic sensitivity and real alignment with the brand’s values, not just on numbers. Accepting that taking care of content is taking care of the brand, and that not everything that goes viral is aligned with what a company wants to be in five or ten years.

Because in a world where anyone can publish, the real responsibility for brands is to choose well. That choice shouldn’t be based on who makes the most noise, but on who creates the most value. Reputation isn’t measured in likes. Authenticity isn’t something you slap on with a filter. Credibility doesn’t come from whatever’s trending this month; it comes from criteria.

The line between a prestige brand and a forgettable one is drawn—now more than ever—by the quality of its gaze. And that gaze starts with one key, almost basic decision that nevertheless conditions everything else: who you trust to tell your brand’s visual story.

FedeGrau

EXIF / Cámara

Make / Marca: Leica Camera AG

Model / Modelo: LEICA M (Typ 240)

IPTC – Autoría

Creator / Autor: FedeGrau

Creator Job Title: Photographer & Creative Director

Credit Line / Crédito: © FedeGrau · fedegrau.com

Website: https://www.fedegrau.com

Rights Usage Terms:
No reproduction, distribution or use of this image is allowed without prior written permission from Fede Grau.

Hikari 05

Hoja detenida en diciembre

LEICA M10 +Industar 26M • 1:2.8 • F=5cm

1 de diciembre de 2025. El otoño se resiste a marcharse y deja esta hoja atrapada en la barandilla, como si alguien hubiera pulsado pausa. Las sombras dibujan barrotes sobre el suelo y, por un momento, todo parece más quieto de lo que realmente está. Hay días en los que uno se siente un poco así: sostenido en el aire, entre lo que ya se ha ido y lo que todavía no llega.

December 1st, 2025. Autumn refuses to leave and leaves this single leaf caught on the railing, as if someone had hit pause. The shadows draw bars on the ground and, for a moment, everything seems stiller than it really is. There are days when you feel a bit like that leaf: hanging in the air, between what’s already gone and what hasn’t arrived yet.

EXIF / Cámara

Make / Marca: Leica Camera AG

Model / Modelo: LEICA M10

IPTC – Autoría

Creator / Autor: FedeGrau

Creator Job Title: Photographer & Creative Director

Credit Line / Crédito: © FedeGrau · fedegrau.com

Website: https://www.fedegrau.com

Rights Usage Terms:
No reproduction, distribution or use of this image is allowed without prior written permission from Fede Grau.

Hikari 04

Flor en la penumbra

LEICA M10 + Leica Summilux-M 50mm F1,4 ASP

La luz de la tarde apenas roza los pétalos, como si tuviera miedo de romperlos. La flor se queda suspendida en su propio silencio, ajena al ruido del día, al calendario y a las prisas. Quizá por eso, incluso en blanco y negro, parece guardar el recuerdo de todos los veranos.

The late light barely touches the petals, as if it were afraid of breaking them. The flower hangs in its own silence, unaware of the noise of the day, the calendar, the rush. Maybe that’s why, even in black and white, it seems to hold the memory of every summer.

EXIF / Cámara

Make / Marca: Leica Camera AG

Model / Modelo: LEICA M10

IPTC – Autoría

Creator / Autor: FedeGrau

Creator Job Title: Photographer & Creative Director

Credit Line / Crédito: © FedeGrau · fedegrau.com

Website: https://www.fedegrau.com

Rights Usage Terms:
No reproduction, distribution or use of this image is allowed without prior written permission from Fede Grau.

Hikari 03

Taza, pantalla y calle

LEICA M10 + Leica Summilux-M 50mm F1,4 ASPH

En la cristalera se mezclan dos mundos: dentro, el café caliente, la pantalla encendida y una mujer que se toma un respiro; fuera, la calle sigue pasando como si nada. Me gusta ese punto en el que nadie sabe bien si estamos trabajando, descansando o simplemente alargando un poco más la mañana para no volver todavía a la realidad.

Two worlds blend in the glass: inside, hot coffee, a glowing screen and a woman stealing a quiet moment; outside, the street keeps moving as if nothing were happening. I like that place where no one really knows if we’re working, resting, or just stretching the morning a little longer before going back to reality.

EXIF / Cámara

Make / Marca: Leica Camera AG

Model / Modelo: LEICA M10

IPTC – Autoría

Creator / Autor: FedeGrau

Creator Job Title: Photographer & Creative Director

Credit Line / Crédito: © FedeGrau · fedegrau.com

Website: https://www.fedegrau.com

Rights Usage Terms:
No reproduction, distribution or use of this image is allowed without prior written permission from Fede Grau.

Hikari 02

Escuchar hacia dentro

iPhone 14 Pro Max back triple camera 6.86mm f/1.78

La casa está en silencio, pero aquí dentro suena otro mundo.

Entre la planta, las plumas y la figura del ángel, los cascos esperan como una invitación a quedarse un rato más. Afuera todo sigue con prisa; aquí sólo importa la canción que viene y ese pequeño lujo de escucharse por dentro mientras la música lo llena todo.

The house is quiet, but another world is playing in here.

Between the plant, the feathers and the little angel, the headphones wait like an invitation to stay a little longer. Outside everything is in a hurry; here only the next song matters and that small luxury of listening inward while the music fills the room.

EXIF / Cámara

Make / Marca: Apple

Model / Modelo: iPhone 14 Pro Max

IPTC – Autoría

Creator / Autor: FedeGrau

Creator Job Title: Photographer & Creative Director

Website: https://www.fedegrau.com

Rights Usage Terms:

No reproduction, distribution or use of this image is allowed without prior written permission from Fede Grau.

Hikari 01

Bajo el cielo frío de noviembre

Leica SL2 + 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS / Contemporary

La niebla se quedó suspendida sobre el bosque, como si alguien hubiera trazado una línea entre lo que se ve y lo que todavía no. Desde aquí arriba todo parece quieto, pero bajo las copas oscuras la vida sigue moviéndose en silencio.

The fog hung over the forest as if someone had drawn a line between what is visible and what is not yet. From up here everything seems still, but beneath the dark treetops life keeps moving in silence.

EXIF / Cámara

Make / Marca: Leica Camera AG

Model / Modelo: LEICA SL2

IPTC – Autoría

Creator / Autor: FedeGrau

Creator Job Title: Photographer & Creative Director

Website: https://www.fedegrau.com

Rights Usage Terms:
No reproduction, distribution or use of this image is allowed without prior written permission from Fede Grau.