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 stone cat. It was the beginning of summer. And I saw the young stone cat diving again and again to the ground to catch an insect on the outskirts of the Grazalema Natural Park. I took out the camera and took the photo. This photo, which Alberto speaks about, earned him a prestigious world photography award in London earlier this month. And for this same image, he has just won another European prize in Germany. He has accumulated more awards than years. Because with only nine, Alberto Román, from Ubrique (Cádiz) has become the most awarded photographer of the moment.
Alberto’s first award-winning photo was two years ago, when he was just seven years old, and he had practically just pulled out an Olympus M1 camera that his parents had given him to further his growing love of photography. He then titled “Funambule” the serene image of a cattle wagtail, a small bird that he clearly identified, perched on a small branch of oats. He then won the MontPhoto youth prize, aimed at children up to 14 years old.
And to remember this photo, he almost recites. “One spring afternoon, my father and I went to photograph a few kilometers from our home, in an area where there are crops and many birds. And I saw the washerwoman making a lot of effort to keep her balance.
Alberto’s father, Daniel Román, is present in all the stories about his photos because it is thanks to him that this passion was born. “I am an environmental officer and I became interested in photography in 2015, right around the time Alberto was born. It’s true that he saw me going to the countryside, taking photos and, from there, this hobby came to him. But Alberto did much more than imitate his father. During the pandemic, not being able to go out, her way of escaping the four walls of her house was to read every bird guide that was in her house. This is why he is able to recognize the birds he immortalizes from far and near by their flight, their colors and their size.
A dozen photography awards
He is passionate about ornithology, although before that it was his love for photography. His first tool was a compact camera, which he replaced with a Lumix with many more features. Then came the Olympus, which quickly changed to its current one, another Olympus M1, but with the bird tracking function, which allowed it to perfect the captures of what it does best: representing the peace of the nature, the beauty of life, the pause that accompanies the observation of the common. “I started taking photos of mountain goats, cows, sheep, sparrows and all kinds of birds.”
His parents started sending their photographs to international competitions when they shared them with relatives or curious people and they all agreed to emphasize the high quality of the images. And that’s how the prices started coming. There are already more than ten of them. For his photo of young Stonechat, he 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 collect in person wearing a tuxedo. Even the President of the Council, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, congratulated him and showed his pride that such a young Andalusian was showing such great talent.
He called his photo “Free as a Bird” because the young stone cat, the one he captured from his father’s car, is perched on an iron fence next to a metal chain with a padlock . It’s a photo so full of content that it was just 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 prize, but the profusion of trophies is such that it is now impossible to attend each presentation in person.
The youngest speaker in history
From a young age, Alberto already gave a lecture. He did so at the age of eight at the Extremadura International Ornithology Fair, where he became the youngest speaker in history. He recounts, while showing some of his best creations, this simple routine of walks with his father, his travels in the countryside of Ubrique and its surroundings, the ability to discover a moment of beauty and knowing when to shoot with his target . We have already talked about an exhibition in his city, where so much success led him to be received by the mayor and to attend numerous interviews.
After the stonechat, he now dreams of obtaining 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 catechism, because next year he will take communion, with basketball practices and classes at school, where his favorite subject is knowledge of the environment. “I want to be a teacher, because I see that it’s 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.
