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00 / Who I am  ·  Sports photojournalism, drone and travel

Mario Garrido Torres

Software engineer turned photographer. Sports photojournalism and travel with a cinematic eye. Madrid, and away a good part of the year.

Six stops. Move with the wheel, the arrows or by dragging.

01 / What I do

The
assignment

Races and athletes, in 2026: one assignment, three workshops and a photo El País published.

See all the race photos

The race from the ground and from the drone, and the rider's portrait right after the finish line: black background, a single light.

Assignment

Klimatiza

Cycling. Two days of coverage.

XCM European Championship in Ramales. Green smoke, witches on the wall and the second rider on his wheel.

Published, not commissioned

El País

A photo of David Valero, from the XCM European Championship in Ramales, published on 12 July 2026.

This one ran in El País on 12 July 2026. The champion, with the clock stopped.

Workshop

Appenninica MTB Stage Race

Stage race in Italy.

Minutes before the start at the Appenninica, in Italy.

Workshop

Spanish Whitewater Championship

Workshop with Sport Media Club.

Whitewater, at a workshop with Sport Media Club. A stroke right in the wave.

Portrait

The face,
at the finish

Black background, a single light and the athlete just as they come off the stage. And the odd studio portrait, away from the race.

See all the portraits
From the The Outdoor Lab team, just in and with the glasses still on her forehead.
From the The Outdoor Lab team. The laugh that comes out after the stage.

02 / What I know

The
rules

I keep my own knowledge base of drone regulations. I started it because I needed it before every flight. Everything is checked against AESA, ENAIRE and the BOE. Nothing made up.

  • 01 European regulations
  • 02 Royal Decree 517/2024
  • 03 Night flying
  • 04 UK regulations

Before take-off

Before I take off I check four things: the zone, the height, how far away people are and what the site sheet says. If something does not add up, there is no flight that day.

El Retiro from the drone, fountain in the middle and tiny people around it.
Drone · Madrid
El Retiro from the air. It is a restricted zone, so you fly with the permits in hand.

Every fact, against its source

  • AESASpanish aviation safety agency
  • BOESpanish official state gazette
  • ENAIRESpanish air navigation manager

It is what I consult before deciding whether a flight happens or not.

03 / The night

The
night

At night there is no improvising. Time, azimuth and distance are worked out at home; on site all that is left is to wait for what has to happen.

See all of the night
The Tormos de Selas under the Milky Way, a light in hand to give the stone its scale.
Earthshine moon over the Alcázar of Toledo, worked out days in advance.

Drone light painting

Guadalajara

The drone circles the oak with a light on while the shutter stays open the whole time.

In Guadalajara. The ring is the drone circling the oak with its light on.
Los Ángeles de San Rafael. Not the moon: a light placed there with the drone.

04 / Where I go

Where
I go

Trips with no client and no brief. It is where I try things I end up using at work.

See all the travel

Trip

Iceland

The south and south-east coast.

Vestrahorn mirrored in the water, with a figure for scale. Stokksnes, Iceland.
Skógafoss, all of it, and a person in red below for size.
Mont Saint-Michel from the salt marsh, at low tide, with the channel as a path.
Drone · Normandy
The tide going out in the bay of Mont Saint-Michel.
The Vasco da Gama bridge, Lisbon, at dawn. February 2026.

Personal

What I look at
when I am not working

Macro and wildlife. No rush, with the tripod set up an hour before anything happens.

A bee loaded with pollen on a sunflower.
Kingfisher on the bulrush, water behind.

05 / How to reach me

How to
reach me

This is where the journey ends. For coverage or for a question about flying, write to me. I answer myself.

Write to me

For coverage, tell me the event, the dates and the place. For a question about the rules or where you can fly, tell me the spot.

I only use what you write to answer you. No lists, no third parties.

Or, if you prefer, at the usual address:

hola@mariogarridotorres.com
El Retiro from the air at sunset, the same sky the journey opens with.

End of the reel

End

It starts and ends in Madrid.