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| Paco (left) and French photographer, Emmeric Le Person (middle), at the 2018 Baku World Championships |
Paco Lozano is an award-winning judo photographer from Malaga, Spain. A 3rd Dan in judo, he travels the globe covering major IJF events for a wide variety of magazines and websites. Like many judokas around the world, Paco is currently under lock-down as well.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
A: My first professional judo shoot was the 2009 Rotterdam Judo World Championships but I’ve been doing photography since I was a boy. I won my first camera – a Kodak – in a contest when I was 13 years old and the very first picture I took was about judo, which is a great passion of mine. I've always found it fascinating to be able to immortalize a brilliant moment of judo action in a photograph.
Q: Who do you shoot the photos for?
A: My photos have been published in several countries. Naturally, a bunch of my work appears in Spanish publications such as El Budoka magazine, Tatamikos website, Hajimejudo website, the Spanish Judo Federation website and the Andalusian Judo website. My photos have also appeared in Budo magazine in Brazil, Koka Kids and Matside magazines in the UK, Adidas website in Germany and L’esprit du Judo magazine in France.
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| Paco's award-winning shot |
Q: Speaking of L'esprit du judo, didn't they give you an award last year?
A: Yes, in Paris, I received the prize for the best judo photo of the year, 2019, organized by L'esprit du judo. It was for a picture of the brilliant Japanese -66kg fighter, Maruyama, throwing his South Korean opponent with an unbelievable uchimata in the 2019 Tokyo World Championships. My picture caught the Korean right when he was suspended vertically mid-air. What an amazing throw that was.
A: I have covered all the World Championships except the one in Rio in 2013. I’ve covered many European Championships, Grand Slams, Grand Prix… but it was in the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics that I had the privilege to rub shoulders with the elite of sports photography and this led to the opportunity to shoot other sports beyond judo. I currently cover sports for the Malaga City Council. Together with some other photographers, I cover most of the sporting events organized in our city. You can see some of my photos on the city’s website.
Q: Are there many judo clubs in Malaga?
A: Nowadays there are just a few clubs. In Malaga, judo is mostly practiced in schools and universities.
Q: Do you still get on the mat to do randori?
A: No, I no longer do randori. These days my main judo activity is shooting judo photos, though I did teach judo for about 20 years.
Q: Spain is one of the hardest hit countries for the Covid-19 virus. Can you share with us what life is like right now?
A: Spain is taking this crisis very seriously. We are all in isolation. We can’t leave home except to buy necessities. Colleges and universities are closed and all sports clubs are closed too. All events have been cancelled.
Q: How are Spanish judokas taking this?
A: Obviously the situation is hurting Spanish judokas a lot because judo is a full contact sport and in order to train properly, you need an uke. You can do some solo training but it’s not the same thing.
Q: Besides school and university clubs, are there also private clubs? And what will happen to them?
A: In Spain both private and public clubs coexist. Public clubs will surely resume activities after this is all over but if the closure lasts for several months it will be the ruin for private clubs.
Q: How has it affected you?
A: Well, I had already planned my travels and paid a lot of money for plane tickets and hotel rooms for all the competitions I was going to cover this year, so this thing is causing me great financial damage.
Q: So, you've already booked your flight to Tokyo?
A: Yes, both the flight and the hotel room. I’m not sure if I can get a refund if it's postponed.
Q: It increasingly looks like it will be postponed but if it were to proceed as scheduled, will you still go?
A: The way I look at it, the IOC and the Japanese government would only proceed if it was safe to do so, meaning the Covid-19 situation would have subsided by then. Otherwise, they would not do it. So, I wouldn’t be afraid to travel to Japan if the Games are on.
Q: Any parting words for Malaysian judokas?
A: I would like to send a message of encouragement during this difficult time. I am sure we will defeat this virus and we will emerge stronger. I have been to Asia several times. I’ve been to Japan, Singapore and Bali. I'm looking forward to visiting Kuala Lumpur and meeting Malaysian judokas once this Covid-19 virus thing is over.
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