Amazing is the first word that comes to mind. I have never heard of this amazing photographer prior to this class. ( part of me hates to admit that, I however have had the privalige of seeing a few of his images, and belive me they stuck with me). His type of photography is not for everyone - For it does not always portray life in regards to what we think the world is like, but what the world ( a large portion of it anyway ) is "really" like. There is much suffering in the world, and we could just take pictures of "beautiful" things but it sometimes seems to be the things that make us a bit uncomfortable that often stay with us the longest.
( pictured left - I feel that this is very similar to the Migrant Mother Image by, Dorthea Lange.) It evokes that same "tired, exhausted, hopeless feeling that was portrayed in Langes image.
Born in 1944 in Aimorés, Brazil. Schooled in Economics. Salgado often traveled to Africa for his work. After thinking seriously about his desire to photograph, he quite his job and took the plunge in 1973 as a full-time photographer. He did more documentary-type work. Worked for a few companies before starting his own business ( Amazona Images ) with his wife in 1994. http://www.amazonasimages.com/
A wonderful quote:
We can take a picture that communicates, one where we can see the problems and the people from around the world. We show the people of Bangladesh to others so they can understand them. I have tried to bring about better communication between people. I believe that humanitarian photography is like economics. Economy is a kind of sociology, as is documentary photography. - Sebastiao Salgado - Excerpts from an interview with Sebastiao Salgado by Ken Lassiter, Photographer's Forum
This picture is wonderful. In class we talked about why some pictures were done in nude - so that artists could properly paint, draw the muscles in ones body during movement. I love seeing the legs in this image - The amount of strength needed to walk up that muddy embankment is really well expressed in this photo.
This picture (below) is a tough one. I was almost not going to add it, but felt that it really gets Salgado's point across. The world can be a cruel and miserable place for many of its inhabitants. It brings to light the suffering of many of Africa's people. This is still happening - children are starving....horrible.
Shorter video - but still very good.
Your comparison with "Migrant Mother" is spot-on. When you see Salgado's work in person, it is hard to not be floored. One of the things I like about the work is that there are a lot of technical issues that other photographers work hard to overcome - large grain, motion blur, etc. But those are all part of how he has to work - handheld camera, fast iso film to shoot in low light, etc. I guess I love how the mistakes are kind of prominent.
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