Thursday, July 11, 2013

In the Eye of Sebastiao Salgado

And one day photography made a total invasion in my life. . . .
~ Sebastiao Salgado

Once you have seen a photograph by Sebastiao Salgado (b. 1944), you do not forget the name on the image. Salgado, a Brazilian with a doctorate in economics who did not take up the camera until he was in his thirties, travels the world, documenting through his work how he "live[s] totally inside photography." Death, destruction, decay: These are all in his remarkable photographs. But in his camera's eye, Salgado sees and so captures something more—the profound vision of what can be given back: a rebuilt forest, clean rivers, connection to what is living and passionately alive. 

In this wonderful talk for TED2013, Salgado describes eloquently what he has had to experience to get his extraordinary photographs, which are years in the making, and how, as he says in his most recently published project Genesis, "my camera allow[s] nature to speak to me. And it [is] my privilege to listen."


Also of Interest

Amazonas images This is the Paris-based press agency created by Salgado and his wife Lelia Wanick Salgado. You will find there information about Salgado's many exhibitions, books, films, lectures, and collections of breathtaking work.

An exhibition of images from Genesis is currently at London's Natural History Museum. "Sebastiao Salgado: Genesis" continues through September 8. See the online slideshow and download a booklet containing Salgado's interview with tropical plant researcher Dr. Alex Monro of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Natural History Museum.



Sebastiao Salgado on FaceBook and YouTube

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