From Runway to Lens: Gabo, Her Finca and a Costner Moment

From Runway to Lens: How Gabo Sees Mallorca Anew

A strong wind pushes the clouds over the MA-19, the voices from a café mix with the clatter of olive trees — it was on such a morning that I met Gabo. She laughs often, is straightforward and has that calm manner people develop after years in the spotlight: no hurry, but a look that knows what matters. Once she herself spent hours in front of cameras; today she searches for the face behind the gaze, a journey detailed in From Runway to Lens: Gabo, Her Finca and a Costner Moment.

Rancho Felice: Workspace, Stable and Rhythm of Life

Since 1999 she has lived on a small finca in the southeast that she lovingly calls Rancho Felice. Two dogs and — until recently — a horse are part of everyday life there. At midday there is a siesta, in winter a wood stove crackles, and the church is a five-minute walk away. This routine sounds simple, but for Gabo it is more than decoration: Mallorca is workplace, retreat and material at once. The island provides light, air and sounds — the loud cicadas in summer, the distant church bells on Sunday — and it provides people who are willing to reveal themselves.

Light, Technique, Craftsmanship

"This Mediterranean light is clean, but not soulless," she says when the evening sun bathes the facades in warm gold. Gabo is someone who loves both worlds: studio work with precise lighting and a digital workflow when schedules are tight; and analogue photography, because grain, tactile quality and the unpredictability of film add something real. She talks about developing film like others talk about a good recipe — with respect for the material and a little wink when something goes wrong — a balance visible in Mallorca events such as Lights, Runway, Sea: Pink Panther Evening at the Lobster Club in Puerto Portals.

Ethics Before Fee: Saying No

Money is tempting, she admits, but there are clear limits: no fur campaigns, no PR projects that tug at her conscience. "In the end you have to be able to look yourself in the mirror," she says. This stance is more than personal morality; it is a signal to an island community that is asserting itself between tourism pressure and cultural identity. By prioritizing values, she shapes the local scene — slowly but steadily.

The Hay Bale Fiasco with a Touch of Hollywood

Anecdotes belong to every set. Similar unexpected shoots are reported locally, for instance Flash shoot at Palma Airport: When the terminal briefly becomes a film set — and who should pay. Once a hay bale was planned as an appealing prop — and the manager found the whole thing less than brilliant. When Kevin Costner appeared on set, he reacted with dry humor: a line that made everyone laugh and caused Gabo to blush briefly. Such small incidents, improvised and human, are what she likes. They turn photo sessions into moments you don't just arrange, but experience.

Teaching, Exhibitions and Her Role in Palma's Cultural Life

In addition to photographing, Gabo passes on her knowledge: workshops, guest lectures, exchanges with young photographers. Her current portfolio is on display in a gallery on the mainland until mid-October — portraits meant not only to please but to strike. In Palma you often meet her at the weekly market, at an espresso in front of a small photo lab, or chatting about film formats and new ideas. That matters: cultural work doesn't only happen in galleries, but at counters, in squares and in studios.

Between Digitalization and Humanity

One issue that moves her is AI. Gabo likes the possibilities for optimization, but she rejects blind replacement: "Optimize yes, replace no." Her attitude is an appeal to colleagues and clients to respect authorship rights and not to obscure the person behind the image. This is a practical code of ethics, not a dogma — and an invitation to the scene to think about practices and rules.

In short: Gabo combines empathy with craft precision. Her finca is not a cliché of solitude, but a workspace with dogs, a wood stove and room for experiments. For Mallorca this is valuable: artists like her bring stability to a changeable cultural and creative landscape, train new talent and keep the debate about ethics and technology alive. And who knows — maybe at the next set there will again be a hay bale, a good espresso and a moment no machine can reproduce.