Javier Aguirresarobe Zubía was born in Eibar, Guipúzcoa, Basque Country, Spain, on 10 October 1948.[1] He has an older brother who was an industrial photographer, whom he used to help in the lab as a teenager, and this sparked his passion for photography.[2]
After earning a Diploma in Optics,[3] He moved to Madrid to study journalism, and worked at various newspapers before deciding to change tack. He studied cinematography at the Official School of Cinematography,[1] which has close links to the Spanish film industry. Only the top nine students in the entrance exam were admitted to the cinematography course. The students used 35mm film.[2]
Career
In 1983, Aguirresarobe's first work as cinematographer was for "a very small movie", La Muerte de Mikel (The Death of Mikel), which turned out to be a success at the box office.[2]
In 2004, he won the Spanish National Photography Award.[3]
In 2009, Aguirresarobe was one of two recipients to be awarded the Universal Basque Prize by the Lehendakari (the Basque president) "in recognition of their endeavours to disseminate the image of the Basque Country outside its frontiers in the seat of the Lehendakaritza".[6]
