Regarded as the precursor and renovator of Catalan photography, he was an outstanding photojournalist. His original profession was that of attorney, but he gave it up to start work as a photographer in the 1890s. His interest in archaeology and art led him to photograph monuments and works of art all over Spain. Most of the work he did was as the result of private or public commissions. He acquired a great deal of prestige and gathered together a good collection of images with which he created the first photographic archive in Catalonia: "Ampliaciones y reproducciones Mas". Of particular note in this collection is the repertory of photographs of Modernista buildings showing both exteriors and interiors.

The photographs in his archive, which is held in the Amatller Institute of Hispanic Art - Mas Archive (Passeig de Gràcia, 41), are still today an extremely valuable collection for the study of Hispanic art.