Camino

Faces along the way

Portrait photography series capturing faces on the Camino de Santiago. A documentary photo project focusing on the inner journey of each person.

Type: Project
Location: Spain
Project: 2025
Published: August 10 2026

This project is a collection of people I met along the Camino de Santiago, somewhere between the long walks, small villages, shared meals and brief conversations that make up the journey.

Not everyone in the series is a pilgrim. Some are hospitaleros, jewellery makers, food truck operators, or simply people whose everyday life is closely connected to the Camino. What interested me was this mix of people, and the way the route brings together so many different lives for a short time.

Most of the portraits were made in natural light, often without taking people very far from what they were already doing. Someone might be walking, resting, buying something, talking to another pilgrim, or stopping for a moment in a village. I found that these ordinary moments often said more than a carefully arranged portrait could.

As the days went on, I also started noticing how much of the journey could be seen in people’s faces. The tiredness, concentration, excitement, quiet moments and long conversations all became part of it.

For me, the series became a record of the people who gave the Camino its character. Some I spent time with, others I met only briefly, but together they became part of the same journey.

Close-up black and white portrait of a bald man with a graying beard, wearing a backpack.

Black and white close-up portrait of a man with a long white beard, wearing a patterned bandana and glasses on his head.

Close-up black-and-white portrait of a bearded man wearing round glasses and a baseball cap.

Black and white close-up portrait of a man wearing dark sunglasses, a headband, and a wide-brimmed sun hat.

Close-up monochrome portrait of a woman resting her cheek on her hand, looking directly at the camera.

Close-up monochrome portrait of a smiling older woman wearing round glasses and a patterned headband.

Close-up black and white portrait of a man with a beard and tied-back hair.

Close-up monochrome portrait of a man wearing sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat with the text #remoteplacesnz, and a hooded jacket with the word altus.

Close-up monochrome portrait of a woman wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat, backpack, and a small crucifix necklace.

Black-and-white close-up portrait of a man wearing thick-rimmed glasses and a cap.

Close-up black-and-white portrait of a smiling man wearing glasses and a hooded jacket.

Close-up black and white portrait of a woman wearing a headband and a backpack.

Close-up monochrome portrait of a smiling man with short white hair and a backpack.

Close-up black and white portrait of a smiling woman wearing patterned eyeglasses, ear tunnels, and a plaid shirt.

Close-up black and white portrait of a laughing man with a beard, wearing a baseball cap with the word Supreme.

Close-up monochrome portrait of a smiling woman wearing a patterned cap.

Close-up black and white portrait of a smiling middle-aged man with short graying hair and a mustache.

Close-up monochrome portrait of a smiling man with a thick mustache.

Close-up black and white portrait of a woman looking at the camera.

Close-up portrait of a woman wearing a bucket hat with a chin strap and a zipped jacket, shot in black and white.

Black and white close-up portrait of a woman looking directly at the camera.

Close-up black and white portrait of a smiling man with curly hair and a mustache.

Black and white close-up portrait of a man with short hair and a beard, wearing a collared shirt.

Black-and-white close-up portrait of a woman with long dark hair, wearing a necklace with a round pendant.

Close-up black and white portrait of a smiling man wearing glasses, a cap, and a neck gaiter.

Close-up monochrome portrait of an older man with glasses, short graying beard, and patterned hooded jacket.

Close-up black and white portrait of a smiling woman outdoors.

Close-up monochrome portrait of an older man with a white mustache and cowboy hat.

Close-up black and white portrait of a woman wearing large dark sunglasses and smiling.

Close-up black-and-white portrait of a man looking forward, wearing a patterned zippered jacket against an out-of-focus background.

Close-up black and white portrait of a man looking forward, wearing a hooded sweatshirt under a jacket.

Close-up monochrome portrait of a man wearing glasses and a wide-brimmed hat, with a mustache and beard.

Close-up monochrome portrait of a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and backpack, looking directly ahead.

Close-up black and white portrait of a man wearing a cap and aviator sunglasses reflecting a photographer.

Behind the Project

This section offers a little context to help understand the images and the ideas behind the project. It explains how the work was created, what it explores, and what you might notice when looking closely.

Project Philosophy

The approach and ideas that guide this project are explained below.

Every face is a story

The project suggests a belief that each human carries a universe behind their eyes. The Camino becomes a backdrop for something deeper: the idea that a journey reveals the truth of a person.

These portraits are not just images – they are moments of human existence captured during transformation.

Equality through presence

Photographing everyone in the same style says: no one is above or below another. The CEO, the retiree, the student, the wanderer – once on the path, they are all simply pilgrims and everyone deserves the same space in the human story.

They are everyday people photographed with the reverence usually reserved for icons.

Every human being is extraordinary when seen with attention and respect.

Human connection without words

We understand each other more deeply through presence than through language.

The eye contact, the simplicity, the directness create a silent intimacy between the subject and the viewer.

The Idea and Inspiration

While August Sander’s Antlitz der Zeit is not a direct inspiration, his work has had an effect on my thinking and on the philosophy behind my Camino Faces project. I didn’t follow his method or style, but I admire the idea of connecting people through their presence. Sander catalogued human experience in a reflective way; he created a systematic portrait of a society. In a similar spirit, my long-term projects aim to create a contemporary reflection of identity, presence, and connection. Like him, I let the subject’s face, posture, and environment communicate meaning without over-explaining.

Documenting with respect and consent

I only photograph people who agree to be photographed and who understand how their portraits may be used in my projects.

Photographed between 2 and 26 May, along the Camino de Santiago from Logroño to Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Personal View

I began this journey to challenge myself and grow in my photography, but the Camino quickly turned into something larger: a shared path where people from all backgrounds walk for their own reasons, forming an unspoken community with every step.

The Camino gave me moments of deep reflection, and it revealed how fragile a relationship can be, forming only at a specific place and time through a series of coincidences. It also showed me how much effort and performance people can give when circumstances demand it. On my last day, I walked nearly 60 kilometres: a long stretch from sunrise to sunset, ending with the sun sinking into the ocean, painting the sky in gold. It was beautiful, but also incredibly demanding, and the memory of that day still resonates deeply with me

Every step along the way made me aware of both the effort it took and the waves of feeling that rose and fell with each kilometer. I still feel both the physical and emotional weight of the journey - a reminder that these shared paths leave lasting impressions in the way we see ourselves and others.

01 Gear

Captured with the Sony A7IV and Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G zoom lens, using a variable ND filter.

02 Consistency Through Black & White

The use of monochrome creates a unified aesthetic. It removes colour-based distractions and emphasises:

Texture of skin
Lines, wrinkles, expressions
Light–shadow geometry
This suggests a focus on character, not environment.

03 Tight Framing / Headshots

Most portraits are framed tightly around the face. The project centres on human expression; the background is secondary.

04 Natural Light, On-the-Road Style

The lighting is natural and available, often soft, diffused outdoor light.

05 Camera Distance and Lens Choice

A short telephoto focal length creates a flattering perspective, soft background falloff, and intimacy without distortion.

This reinforces that the project is about genuine human presence.

Behind the camera

Dávid Hosszú

Monochrome studio portrait of a man with a beard and hair tied in a bun, looking downward against a plain background.

I approach long-term projects as open studies of identity, place, and human experience. I’m curious about the patterns we share and the details that make us unique, the way expressions, posture, environment, and movement can tell parts of our stories.

My work combines observation, technical experimentation, and a genuine interest in the people and contexts I photograph. Whether I’m working with portraits or with the surrounding world, I try to create images that are both aesthetically refined and connected to simple questions with complex answers: Where do we come from? How do we shape each other? And what traces do we leave behind?

Faces along the way