To photograph is to eternalize an instant. A public manifestation for human right, intimate moments of love, the wishing look of a young boy, the exchange of vows of a marrying couple, or the simple everyday beauty of a mere sunset. To photograph is to register what only your soul can see.
Before being a photographer, I wanted to be a public prosecutor. I even graduated from law school and passed the BAR exam, proceeded to a postgraduation course, and practiced law during two years, when I could stand it no long and just quit despite opinions in contrary, and embraced photography.
It wasn’t exactly a “moment”, but a sequence of moments. I’ve always loved taking photos, loved just walking in the neighborhood looking for beauty, different perspectives and views from the ordinary, a beam of light where no one was looking, looks in people’s eyes, so many details… and trying to reproduce those in a way people could sense the feeling in the photo. For many years It was more of a hobby, a way to unwind. With all the ungratifying work at the law firm, I felt a growing need to just go out and take photos.
I used to ride around in the city bus carrying my camera in my backpack. I always saw interesting people and situations, but I could never get the courage to approach people and ask if I could take a photo. One day, at the Mussurunga bus station, I saw a child, a little girl about 2 years old, with a very expressive look in her eyes. So, I breathed deeply and gathered the courage to ask if it would be ok to take her photo.
There I learned a great lesson, a lesson on how amazing photos can be every and anywhere, all you need is the courage and tranquility to go for it. Of course, you can receive a NO in your face, but if you don’t ask you will never get a YES.
So, one day, with the support of people I love, I quit the law firm and embraced my passion, dedicating my time, creativity and energy to that which I love.
How can someone define photography? When we define something that tends to enclose it into limited boundaries. But we could say it is a form of art that can only be really lived with dedication, a dear care for details, and, above all, the capacity of seeing beyond the trivial. The ability to find beauty, to find expression, to see with you heart and express the moment in colors and shapes on a piece of paper.
To photograph is to eternalize an instant. A public manifestation for human right, intimate moments of love, the wishing look of a young boy, the exchange of vows of a marrying couple, or the simple everyday beauty of a mere sunset. To photograph is to register what only your soul can see.
A good photographer is one who can see beyond, is someone with a feeling for beauty that is not limited by conventions and patterns. A good photographer looks always for something more, something different, something unusual, something no one is look at or even aware of. A good photographer recreates and eternalizes moments in a way the person who receives the photo relives that moment.
There are different photographic styles, each one with its characteristics, peculiarities and goals. A good photo is one that speaks to your mind and soul, to your heart. A good photo goes beyond the harmony of colors and shapes and light, beyond the quality of the camera or photographic paper.
All in all, a good photo is one that reached the goal determined by photographer, be it while photographing wild animals, city views, or the intimate, loving and delicious moments that precede a wedding and outlive it.
I don’t have a specific moment I felt proud of my work. I have many small moments divided into small things. The happiness I saw in the couple eyes of the first wedding I photographed, when they received the photos, the joy of a family to have the last record of the life of a loved one, the happiness of parents going through photos of their child.
To register and eternalize the look a of pure love and adoration in the eyes of a couple exchanging vows is ecstatic, the expression of anticipation before the wedding and of “forever” during the ceremony; to offer this physical memory of such a beautiful day, is one of the things I am most proud of.
I am constantly getting to know incredible people with views and perspectives of both world and life that are completely different from mine. By allowing myself this dialogue of worlds and photographs, I have managed to open new doors of creativity and creation.
That is something I never want to lose and consider paramount to my work. To learn from colleagues, to exchange experiences and perspectives, and to offer the world ever better photographic experiences.
Keep it simple, use your perception and, above all, your heart.
