Snapshot Inspires Danish Man To Get His First Camera And Take Photos In Mexico Every Day For A Year

Last year, Frederik Trovatten bought his first camera so he could document the streets of Mexico City. He had moved to the city from Denmark because of a job and decided he wanted to explore his new home through photography after an impromptu snapshot inspired him.

His creative journey in street photography was sparked by an excursion to Xochimilco with his mother, who was over visiting him. He spotted an elderly couple on the boat he was traveling on.

“When I saw these two sitting opposite of us, on this small boat, I quickly reached for my phone and took a photo. To this day, and tens of thousands photos later, this still remains one of my favorites,” Trovatten said.

After taking the photograph with his phone, he began to think about photography every day, despite no previous interest in it.

“I’ve never had any interest in art, photography or cameras before I moved to Mexico. Which is why this is so odd. I’ve only had one year of experience taking photos and before that, I had never held a camera in hands before – except the one on my phone,” Trovatten told Reshareworthy.com. “Now I’m obsessed with photography and now I know, I will keep taking pictures until the day I die.”

Even though he had no prior experience in photography, Trovatten set himself the task of sharing a photo every day for a year on his Instagram.

Trovatten approached the task of taking photos every day as a way to educate himself on how to use a camera. “I bought a camera, without knowing anything about aperture, ISO and shutter speed. So I knew, in order for me to take the pictures I wanted to take, I needed to learn how to use a camera. And the best way of learning is to do a huge amount of output.” Thus began his 365 day challenge.

“By committing to upload a photo every day, I knew I would quickly learn how to use a camera,” he said. He soon attracted a following, with people asking him how he approached his street photography. He recently started a YouTube channel to “show people exactly how I take the photos.”

During the year Trovatten was lucky enough to get a press pass to the Day of the Dead parade. “The parade itself is a fun thing – [it] actually came about because of the James Bond movie [Spectre]. Before the James Bond movie, there were no parade.”

Trovatten notes that the parade is not held on the actual Day of the Dead. He remarked, “The Day of the Dead happens a week later and that day, me and three friends went to Mixquic, which is a small town outside the Mexico City center.”

“Mixquic is known for their Day of the Dead ceremony, where people go to the cemetery and honor the one who past way, by making alters with their favorite foods and drinks.”

Here are more of Trovatten’s favorite shots from his 365 day challenge, which he graciously shared with Reshareworthy.com.

To see more of Trovatten’s work and for tips on street photography, visit him on his website, Instagram and YouTube.