Who I am
↑My name is Joan «Linux» Martínez i Serres. I am a photographer, graphic editor and cultural activist, and I have worked from Nou Barris (Barcelona) for over twenty years. My work revolves around culture: blues, jazz, performing arts, festivals and street photography. Since 2002 I have been linked to the Barcelona Blues Festival, and in 2020 I founded 112 Books, an independent photobook publisher with ten titles published between 2020 and 2026.
I was born in Barcelona in 1972 and grew up in Subirats (Alt Penedès), in a household shaped by my parents' work as ceramicists, painters and sculptors. At fifteen I returned to Barcelona to study Graphic Arts, sustaining the work through fanzines, independent magazines and an obstinate commitment to photography that has never let up.
I work by hand: analogue photography from 35 mm to 8×10 inch large format, via the classic 6×6, developing and printing everything myself in the Llumàtics darkroom inside Nau Bostik. Since 2017 I have taught analogue photography, alternative processes and pinhole at Llumàtics and, since 2011, at Cameras & Films (the former Lomography Embassy Barcelona).
I do not understand photography as decoration but as language: something to be read, edited and, when necessary, challenged. I am interested in images that carry weight, not just surface. Projects that speak of territory, memory and social context.
Keeping analogue photography alive in the digital era is not nostalgia. It is a deliberate stance against speed, excess and the disappearance of photographic craft.
What I do
↑Commissioned photography
Professional coverage of festivals, concerts, performing arts and cultural events. Photographer linked to the Barcelona Blues Festival since 2002. Official photographer of the Barcelona Tattoo Expo (2002–2015). Album covers for Barcelona Big Blues Band, Big Dani Pérez, Bernat Font Trio and Joan Pau Cumellas, among others.
Request a quoteGraphic editing & photobooks
Founder of 112 Books, an independent photobook publisher. I accompany new authors through every stage: from concept to print. Editing is an act of responsibility — not every image deserves to be printed.
112books.euPhotography education
Teacher of analogue photography, experimental processes and alternative techniques at Llumàtics since 2017 and at Cameras & Films (formerly Lomography Embassy Barcelona) since 2011. I organise sessions for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day at Nau Bostik.
Llumatics.comTechnology consulting
Through LinuxBCN we offer technology consulting with over 30 years of experience: free and open-source software, web development, design, servers and secure digital infrastructure. We also work with the latest applied artificial intelligence tools.
linuxbcn.comCultural communication
↑From start to finish.
Most photographers show up, take the photos and leave.
I stay.
What interests me is not just the stage: it is what happens before the lights come on, the nerves at soundcheck, the conversations in the corridor, the release between sets, the accumulated excitement just before going on. What the other cameras do not see because they are already gone.
This closeness is not a style. It is a way of working. And it is what makes the images end up telling the whole story of the project — not just the highlight moment.
I work with bands, festivals and companies that need someone who understands both image and technology — and knows how to connect the two without middlemen. Photography, editing, web, social media, strategy. One person who knows the project from the inside.
Over twenty editions. It is not just coverage of the concerts — it is the meetings, the satellite projects, the decisions, the doubts, the rehearsals. Many people have photos of the concerts. I have everything.
When someone trusts you for that long, something must be working.
See on the blog →No budget, total freedom. One year in analogue, the next in digital, always with access to everything. A visual archive that would not exist if I had not been there every year. Planting seeds is also part of the work.
See on the blog →A small festival, in a small village, built around a reed. They keep inviting me because they trust how I see what they do. Outside Barcelona, outside the usual circuit, inside what matters.
See on the blog →Live shows, backstage, sessions, making-of, soundchecks, journeys. Not a one-off shoot. A coherent archive that builds identity over time — material that keeps working for them long after the concert ends.
See project →Work in progress
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40 Years of Blues in Barcelona
The book is out: six years of work, 150 protagonists, 150 sessions and 328 pages in large-format photochemical print, with texts by Manuel López Poy and a foreword by David Moreu. But make no mistake — the project is far from over. We are in the middle of the promotion, with the launch on 6 November at Collblanc–La Torrassa and the accompanying photographic exhibition. There is still a long way to go, and no intention of stopping now. Follow the project at 40anysblues.112books.eu.
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The Graphic Editor — A Survival Manual
Too many publications look like they were made by chance: poorly selected images, buried texts, visual decisions with no criterion. Nobody takes responsibility. This book was born from the need to bring order.
It is not a poetic manual or a collection of gentle advice: it is a working tool and a warning. The graphic editor is not a decorator or a software operator — they are the person who assumes responsibility for visual content with the same rigour as a text editor assumes responsibility for words. The image does not accompany the content — it is part of it.
Aimed at professionals, students and project managers who understand that images are content with their own responsibility. The goal: tools, criteria and references to do the work with rigour and raise the quality of any publication.
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Ressona.eu
Digital identity for artists. A digital presence service for musicians, actors, dancers and emerging creators who need a solid image without sacrificing coherence: visual identity, multilingual website, professional press kit and cookie-free analytics. Born from the merger of LinuxBCN and Pocallum.
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112 Revelats
A platform for emerging photographers, edited by 112 Books, with two annual open calls for collective photobook publications. No dependencies, no WordPress: a lightweight multilingual site (CA/ES/EN) hosted on GitHub Pages.
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Cuida
The first webapp — and probably not the last. A family coordination app for caring for a sick relative at home: medical contacts by role, emergency protocols, medication management, carer calendar and shared follow-up diary. A free, open-source (MIT) PWA that works in the browser and installs on mobile. Born of circumstance, built to last.
Published works
↑Books
- 2026
150 Barcelona blues protagonists portrayed in large-format photochemical print, with biographies by Manuel López Poy and a foreword by David Moreu. 328 pages and six years of work.
- 2026
Third volume of the series. A visual and textual journey exploring fragility, tension and the limits of the gaze through photography and fragmented writing.
- 2026
Second volume where photography and dance meet without a script. A direct encounter between photographer and dancer: improvisation, gesture, presence.
- 2026
First volume. An exploration of bodily transformation through dance, light and visual rhythm.
- 2025
Collaboration with Mario Ortiz. Analogue portraits and short texts exploring identity and human fragility.
- 2024
83 photographs on the relationship between humans and dogs in Barcelona. Inspired by The Stooges.
- 2024
Urban photography photobook of Barcelona. 84 pages, 24×15 cm.
- 2022
Portraits of the protagonists of Barcelona's blues scene. All shot on analogue with a Hasselblad 500 and hand-developed by the author.
- 2020
Collaborative photobook with Alfonso de Castro. Interior landscape and absurd reality.
- 2020
Orthochromatic analogue photographs from a cold day on the river Ebro.
Timeline
↑- 2010–presentProfessional photographer · pocallum.cat
- 2017–presentTeacher of analogue photography and alternative processes at Llumàtics
- 2011–presentTeacher at Cameras & Films (formerly Lomography Embassy Barcelona)
- 2026–presentCreator and driving force behind · Ressona.eu
- 2001–presentTechnology consulting · LinuxBCN
- 2020–presentFounder and graphic editor of 112 Books
- Sep. 2020–presentResident and active participant in the self-management of Nau Bostik
- 2007–presentPhotojournalism collaboration with Carrer, newspaper published by FAVB
- 2002–presentCoordinator (with other members) of 9 Barris Imatge
- 2002–presentDocumentary photographer at Prollema
- 2002–presentPhotographer linked to the Barcelona Blues Festival
- 2002–presentPhotographer at Barcelona Tattoo Expo (official photographer 2002–2015)
- 2002–2024Documentary photographer at 9 Barris Acull (recently dissolved)
- 2002–2017Member of the board and cultural programming committee at Casal de barri de Prosperitat
Articles
↑- Loading articles...
Press
↑- CulturaBPortraits of 40 years of Blues in Barcelona
- CulturaBThree books portraying a Barcelona you wouldn't imagine
- CulturaBThe portrait book born from a fridge full of strangers
- The New Barcelona PostJoan Linux Martínez: snapshots in blue night
- YouTubeLaunch of «40 anys de blues a Barcelona», video by Bad Music Blues
Frequently asked questions
↑What exactly does Joan Linux Martínez do?
He is a professional photographer, graphic editor and analogue photography teacher based in Barcelona. He works on four fronts: commissioned photography of festivals, concerts and performing arts; graphic editing and photobooks at 112 Books; analogue photography tuition at Llumàtics.com; and technology consulting with LinuxBCN.
Does he have personal projects in progress?
Yes. Besides commissions and editing, he develops several personal projects which he expects to turn into new photobooks in the future: dance and the body, portraiture in different contexts, street photography and long-term documentary photography.
Does he shoot analogue or digital?
For personal work, always chemical photography: from 35 mm to 8×10 inch large format, via the classic 6×6, developed and printed by himself in the Llumàtics darkroom (inside Nau Bostik). For commissions he works with analogue and digital interchangeably, but he prioritises the analogue result over the digital one.
Where does he work and how far does he travel?
He is based in Barcelona, in the Nou Barris district, and works mainly in the city and the metropolitan area. For specific projects he travels throughout the peninsula — especially music festivals — and has worked in France and Italy at international social festivals (the international soup of the world festival) and at other music events.
Can he be hired to cover a festival or a concert?
Yes. He has been the photographer linked to the Barcelona Blues Festival since 2002 without interruption and has covered some thirty festivals: Arundo Donax, Jazz I Am, Ciutat Flamenco, Festival de Sopes del Món, Nou Barris meets New Orleans, Clot amb Blues, Pícnic de Blues, Sax-o-Rama, Calella Harmònica Festival, VijazZ Festival, FITI, La Nuu, La Juganera and the Barcelona Tattoo Expo (BAUM), for which he was official photographer between 2002 and 2015. He works regularly with bands and musicians such as Barcelona Big Blues Band, Los Mambo Jambo, Ivan Kovacevic, Chino Swingslide and many others.
Where can his books be bought?
The photobooks can be seen at 112books.eu. Sales of «40 anys de blues a Barcelona» (2026) are handled directly by the Societat de Blues de Barcelona.
Does he teach photography courses or workshops?
Yes: analogue photography, alternative processes and pinhole photography at Llumàtics since 2017, and tuition at Cameras & Films (the former Lomography Embassy Barcelona) since 2011.