25/07/2026

MontPhoto crosses the Atlantic: 30 years of looking at nature land at once in Perpignan and Cuba

Three young MontPhoto photographers will represent the association at the Objectif Image Pays Catalan Festival in Perpignan, France, and at Fotocanímar, in Matanzas, Cuba.

This autumn, MontPhoto will be on two continents at once. In the midst of its 30th anniversary year, the Lloret de Mar-based association is rolling out its commitment to generational renewal at two international festivals that, thousands of kilometres apart, share the same conviction: the future of nature photography is built by giving a voice to those who are just starting out.

Perpignan: three young perspectives and an extensive MontPhoto showcase

From August 29 to September 12, the Objectif Image Pays Catalan Festival — celebrating its 32nd edition in the heart of Perpignan — will host a selection of three international projects by young creators linked to MontPhoto's Youth Stories programme:

• Giancarlo Velmarch (Mexico) presents Coexistance, a portrait of the delicate balance between local communities in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, and Africa's largest elephant population.
• Júlia Ferrer (Catalonia) presents Beyond the Great Icons, an invitation to look past media-friendly species and shine a light on local conservation efforts and the people making them possible.
• Lluc Semís (Catalonia) contributes Natural Moments – An Emotional Look at Nature, a photographic pause on light, colour and texture as the protagonists of nature experienced firsthand.

Each project will be displayed with 10 to 15 framed photographs in 50x50 format, and MontPhoto's presence will be rounded out by an extensive retrospective exhibition of the latest MontPhoto Contest 2025, bringing the pulse of the Lloret de Mar festival to Perpignan.

In addition, composer and pianist Yoko Suzuki will perform "Inspirada per la natura," the full album produced by MontPhoto in which award-winning works engage in dialogue with music. A show that turns the event into a major MontPhoto showcase.

Other members of the organisation will also be individually exhibiting their own work at the festival.

Cuba: an alliance born in Barcelona

On the other side of the Atlantic, the work of these same three young photographers — Velmarch, Ferrer and Semís — will also travel to Matanzas to take part in Fotocanímar, the International Photography Festival and Colloquium to be held from October 29 to November 1.

The alliance was born in 2026 during the 2nd International Meeting of Photography Festivals, held in Barcelona, and it runs both ways: as part of a reciprocal exchange, a delegation of works by Fotocanímar artists will travel to Lloret de Mar to attend the 30th edition of MontPhoto Fest this coming October.

Fotocanímar has described the partnership in words MontPhoto proudly embraces: an organisation that, in its 30th anniversary year, "celebrates with its gaze fixed on nature and a marked global impact," and that champions new generations as key agents of social transformation. That is precisely the spirit of Youth Stories, MontPhoto's travelling initiative designed to break down barriers to entry into the professional sector for young creators.

One story, two stages

From Perpignan to Matanzas, nature photography speaks in 2026 with a young accent and MontPhoto's signature. Thirty years after starting out as a mountain photography contest in Lloret de Mar, the association proves that its outlook now knows no borders.