A LONG FORGOTTEN PASSION

Cameras, I didn’t own lots of them… Even so, unfortunately I don’t recollect their models, specifications, lenses… I don’t remember the details about the films that I used and who revealed my first images. When I was younger, the analog world was too uncool and the digital world was far from being well established for just a sixteen year old technology fan.

But I do remember my first landscape photo. I was visiting my godparents’ house and they took me to see the Christ The Redeemer statue. From there, in between the huge jack fruit trees, I was able to snap a shot of the Sugarloaf Mountain which became my favorite photo for quite a while. The hardest part - being born and raised in Sao Paulo - was to admit that Rio De Janeiro was much prettier than my hometown.

It was not until eleven years later that this passion re-ignited, after the move to New York City, sparking a whole new perception to my sight senses. With the advent of the cell phone cameras, I was given the power of creating compositions at any time, which culminated in the purchase of my first Nikon. Following the growth of social media, I started to receive good feedback about my work and ultimately photography became my soul escape, to create beautiful images became my personal question of honor.

THE CONTRAST

As an introvert, my mind’s state swirls between the calmness of longing and the intensity of the war between my heart and mind. It is in everything I do: in music, the power of heavy metal combined with the melody and the epic of erudite music; in photography, even the stillness of a place can contrast with its vibrant colors. In the end, this is reflected in how I portray photography itself: the purpose to emulate life. And how is it done? Telling a story: the yearning, the (inner) battle and the conquering.

It is not a coincidence that I often use the 16:9 aspect ratio - widescreen - for most of my compositions. Since the purpose of my photography is to tell a story, why not using what was adopted by the cinema as the standard?

LIFE OUTSIDE PHOTOGRAPHY

Being a photographer is not an easy job. Most of the photographers I admire only had recognition later in life, many struggle while throwing everything away to turn their passion into a full time profession. Being a full time photographer demands an immense amount of courage, it means to be always fighting outside of their comfort zones to have a decent revenue by the end of each month.

For me, this is still a transition period. Thankfully I have a full time job that gives me the opportunity to acquire the gear I needed through the years and to travel to different locations where I could find inspiration to shoot something new.

In 2019, I had the chance to visit many new places and meet great people around the globe. In 2020, the time to exhibit part of this work has finally come. At least, it is a start!