Black and white photo looking dowwards through iron grid of pier showing person dressed in white below
’Untitled’, from the ’Pier’ series by Alvin Baltrop, 1975 - 1986
(Image credit: TBC)

Increasingly ambitious in both scale and scope, this year's PhotoEspaña's main theme was 'Time', and many of the official shows took this as their starting point.

The Harold Edgerton retrospective at BBVA proved that no one has yet bettered the good doctor's work from the 1930s - 1970s, capturing motion and freezing time. The iconic bullet-through-an-apple, and milk drop corona images were shown alongside many lesser known but equally daring photographs. A brilliant vintage print showing Edgerton and an assistant covered in eggs they had just thrown into a fan for a photograph, showed he wasn't afraid to suffer for his art. For the technical aficionados, his actual cameras and notebooks on exposure tests and custom lighting rigs are also included in the show.

The sprawling group show 'Manhattan, Mixed Use: photographs and other media from the 1970s to the present' at the Reina Sofia did contain some real gems, but could have done with a fiercer edit. Fascinating as the city was in its untamed, gritty Seventies guise, how many black and white shots of sections of the city changing through the seasons does the viewer really need to see?

For those with the stamina to wade through it all, highlights included Alvin Baltrop's legendary paean to clandestine homosexuality, the 'Pier Photographs' (including many previously unseen prints); Peter Hujar's haunting, beautifully printed 'Night' series from the 1970s; and a recent, deceptively simple Steve McQueen video piece entitled 'Static', in which the artists' camera mesmerically circles the Statue of Liberty, with the back drop of the city endlessly swirling while the statue itself remains enigmatically still.

Juergen Teller's star continues to rise: the retrospective of his work, 'Calves & Thighs' at the Communidad de Madrid was the most anticipated show of the week and the opening night was the hot ticket. Spread over two floors of a beautiful, classical Spanish building, the exhibition, curated by Paul Wombell, included work from throughout Teller's career, showing how his vision has matured but rarely deviated in style over the last decade.

The work, seen together like this, has a very definite, unique aesthetic which is studiedly casual yet incredibly difficult to pull off. A nice touch was a giant vitrine showing all of his books published to date (including a lay out of nearly every page of the doorstop-like Marc Jacobs advertising compendium), some of which are now as collectable as the prints themselves. Never one to compromise, Teller's bleached out, starkly lit shots often show their subjects laid bare (literally) in a way that few other photographers could hope to realise. Often in the shots himself, frequently naked, Teller is no shrinking violet and with an exhibition of this scale, while there's no denying the power of his work, you can't help feeling there's perhaps a little too much Tellerwürst on show.

The winner of last year's Descrubimientos (Discoveries) award, Alejandra Laviada (also a Wallpaper* Next Generation pick in 2008), was rewarded with a solo show at the Sala EL Aguila. Her work continues to find lyrical possibilities from the most mundane materials, in this case cracked, chipped windows and makeshift repairs. Laviada has already amassed a distinctive body of work, from the complicated constructions of found objects to the blasted shotgun holes in colourful plasterboard, and its good to see her getting more recognition.

Highlights from this year's 'Descrubimientos' entrants included Petros Efstathiadis, an intriguing young Greek photographer who creates strange, fantastical tableaux with any raw materials he can lay his hands on in the suburbs of his home town, Athens. Once he's taken the shot, he returns all the material to whence it came, and the print is the only record that remains.

Fernando Maquieira's portraits of members of various religious orders, contrasted with a series of people lost in prayer, showed a real sensitivity coupled with technical competence. His series of photographs taken at night, inside the Fundacion Mapfre in Madrid, revealed another dimension to his work, the subtle colours and the haunting lighting portrayed an eerie, still world filled with priceless paintings that look entirely staged but are only too real.

Dark black and white image showing cars with headlights on travelling below a pier-like structure

’Untitled’, from the ’Pier’ series by Alvin Baltrop, 1975 - 1986

(Image credit: Alvin Baltrop)

Dark black and white image - looking down the length of interior of a large cladded iron grid-like structure - light shines through an opening at the far end

’Untitled’, from the ’Pier’ series by Alvin Baltrop, 1975 - 1986

(Image credit: Alvin Baltrop)

Black and white image - people sitting on a jetty in front of a large wooden-like building.

’Untitled’, from the ’Pier’ series by Alvin Baltrop, 1975 - 1986

(Image credit: TBC)

Black and white image of side elevation of large building

’Untitled’, from the ’Pier’ series by Alvin Baltrop, 1975 - 1986

(Image credit: Alvin Baltrop)

Black and white image - 2 naked people standing in the distance beneath pier structure; foreground shows close-up of arch of pier.

’Untitled’, from the ’Pier’ series by Alvin Baltrop, 1975 - 1986

(Image credit: Alvin Baltrop)

Black and white photo showing side view of dilapidated pier building,

’Untitled’, from the ’Pier’ series by Alvin Baltrop, 1975 - 1986

(Image credit: Alvin Baltrop)

Close-up black and white photo of man in work boots and denim shorts seen through pier structure

’Untitled’, from the ’Pier’ series by Alvin Baltrop, 1975 - 1986

(Image credit: Alvin Baltrop)

Photographic portrait of Cardinal in black and red robes pictured in cloisters.

’Cardenal Andrea Cordero Lanza Di Montezemolo, San Paolo Fuori Le Mura, Roma’ by Fernando Maquieira, 2008

(Image credit: TBC)

Bearded priest in white and gold robes pictured against red and gold curtains and standing on a red Persian-like rug.

Sacerdote, Copto Ortodoxo De Eritra, Roma’ by Fernando Maquieira, 2008

(Image credit: TBC)

Priest in white and gold robes pictured against red and gold curtains and standing on a red Persian-like rug.

’Sacerdote, Copto Ortodoxo De Eritra, Roma’ by Fernando Maquieira, 2008

(Image credit: TBC)

Young woman dressed in black, kneeling on steps of religious building. Two more people are kneeling on steps below her, and another person is stood on the left of the young woman. The young woman is looking upwards with eyes open as she prays.

’Scala Santa, Roma’ by Fernando Maquieira, 2008

(Image credit: TBC)

Priest in black robes stood in marble-like cloisters

’Edmund Power Abad Benedictino De San Paolo Fuori Le Mura, Roma’ by Fernando Maquieira, 2008

(Image credit: TBC)

A man dressed in simple white robes with hands raised upwards, stands behind a fire-temple inside a grotto shrine.

’Muva Zoroastriano Paviz Mali, Chak-Chak, Iran’ by Fernando Maquieira, 2008

(Image credit: Fernando Maquieira)

A large gilt-framed portrait of a lady dressed in black with a dome-skirted dress and black bonnet. The portrait hangs the full height of a bluish grey wall in an art exhibition.

’Untitled’, from the ’Out of Mind’ series by Fernando Maquieira

(Image credit: Fernando Maquieira)

Large gilt-framed portrait of an elderly lady seated in a full-skirted black dress with white bonnet. The portrait hangs on a bluish-grey wall in an art exhibition.

’Untitled’, from the ’Out of Mind’ series by Fernando Maquieira

(Image credit: Fernando Maquieira)

A lone hardwood chair is positioned with its back against a dusky-pink pillar in an art exhibition.

’Untitled’, from the ’Out of Mind’ series by Fernando Maquieira

(Image credit: Fernando Maquieira)

Black and white multi-frame photograph displaying the motion of a tennis serve.

’Gussie Moran’ by Harold Edgerton, 1949

(Image credit: Harold Edgerton)

Photograph in gold and orange tones with black background showing the lower half of a footballer in old-fashioned kit wearing plain black boots about to kick the ball.

’Football kick’ by Harold Edgerton, 1938

(Image credit: Harold Edgerton)

Motion shot of a bullet shooting through an apple against a dark blue background.

’Shooting the apple’ by Harold Edgerton, 1964

(Image credit: TBC)

Black and white motion-shot of a lightbulb being smashed by a hammer.

’Hammer smashing light bulb’ by Harold Edgerton, 1933

(Image credit: Harold Edgerton)

Black and white motion-shot of paint splattering as it is dropped by an artist onto a rotating desk fan.

Edgerton and colleague suffering for their art

(Image credit: TBC)

Close-up of two brown winged butterflies eating sliced apples that have started to turn brown.

’Schmetterlinge, London’ by Juergen Teller, 2009

(Image credit: TBC)

What appears to be a naked man holds a lady in his arms in a dropped embrace. The pair are stood upon the top of a grand piano in a pale blue Louis XV style room. The lady wears a long pale blue dress.

’Louis XV’ by Juergen Teller, 2009

(Image credit: TBC)

Bronze statue in two parts - head and left arm - in a glass box displayed against a terracotta marble background.

’Paradis XI’ by Juergen Teller, 2009

(Image credit: TBC)

Lady with long blonde hair in centre parting wears a gold lame dress, black dress gloves and black shoes. The lady is lifting up her skirt to the waist revealing her lack of underwear.

’Kristen Lifting Skirt, London’ by Juergen Teller 2005

(Image credit: TBC)

Two slim ladies pose naked in an art gallery with high ceilings and a wooden floor.

Paradis XVIII’ by Juergen Teller, 2009

(Image credit: TBC)

White battered pick-up truck pictured in a derelict area.

’Vehicle’ by Petros Efstathiadis, 2009

(Image credit: TBC)

An grey-haired man wearing a brown suit is stood against plastic sheeting with dozens of apples at his feet in an outside setting.

’Man with apples’ by Petros Efstathiadis, 2008

(Image credit: TBC)

Outside stage setting. A toilet with its seat lifted sits in the centre of the stage with empty crates piled up high to create a colourful backdrop.

’Kabine’ by Petros Efstathiadis, 2009

(Image credit: TBC)

An outside makeshift boxing ring with mattresses for corner protectors.

’Boxing Ring’ by Petros Efstathiadis, 2009

(Image credit: TBC)

A working cannon made out of recycled materials displayed in an outside setting.

’Cannon’ by Petros Efstathiadis, 2010

(Image credit: TBC)

A market display of old household objects in an outside setting.

’Market’ by Petros Efstathiadis, 2009

(Image credit: TBC)

A dark haired man in a black suit stands with head down in front of a ramshackle garage with an old dining chair strung up above the roof and an old iron bedstead hanging vertically to one side.

’Levitation’ by Petros Efstathiadis, 2008

(Image credit: TBC)

Black and white night image of an outside city parking lot with old American cars sparsely parked

’Untitled’ from the ’Night’ series by Peter Hujar

(Image credit: TBC)