Weekly Photo Assignment: Self-Portrait

I am a very religious guy, I was raised as a Catholic and I keep my faith my entire life. I go to Catholic Church every Sunday, I pray and I believe in Someone bigger is watching me and keeping me on the right path. This last weekly assignment made me think about what should I do. What kind of self-portrait should I take that really represents me. I decided to take a picture with a cross in my hand in front of a fireplace. Representing introspection, prayer, and faith. On the same hand that I have a tattoo that is written: “In  Nomine Patris, et Filli, et Spiritus Sancti.”

“A self-portrait is a representation of an artist, drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by the artist. Although self-portraits have been made by artists since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century that artists can be frequently identified depicting themselves as either the main subject, or as important characters in their work. With better and cheaper mirrors, and the advent of the panel portrait, many painters, sculptors and printmakers tried some form of self-portraiture. Portrait of a Man in a Turban by Jan van Eyck of 1433 may well be the earliest known panel self-portrait. He painted a separate portrait of his wife, and he belonged to the social group that had begun to commission portraits, already more common among wealthy Netherlanders than south of the Alps. The genre is venerable, but not until the Renaissance, with increased wealth and interest in the individual as a subject, did it become truly popular.”

Weekly Photo Assignment: Conflict

In this photograph that I took in the Amazon Rainforest, the Indians were showing us how they prepare for a battle with other tribes. It's a very intense and interesting demonstration.

Photojournalism is a photography business where information is clear and objective, through the photographic image, is essential. It can also be considered a specialization of Journalism. Through photojournalism, photography can display all their ability to transmit information. This information is transmitted by the framework chosen by the photographer before the fact. In printed communications, such as newspapers and magazines as well as the portals on the Internet, endorsement information through photography is a constant. For me, being a photojournalist is not an easy task, be willing to enter into conflict, get hurt or even die is to few photographers. Although it is very interesting, this profession needs a lot of knowledge of the region in conflict and courage. The conflict may be between neighbors or even a war. No matter the size of the conflict, the danger is imminent and take good pictures is important.

War or conflict photography is photographic images of armed conflict and military life in areas at war. Some photos can describe the terrors of the same alternated with acts of sacrifice. Contrary to paint and war drawing images based on real facts are not easily changed in the photographs. The photographers working in this filed of photography are sometimes injured or killed by recording images on the battlefield.

The most prominent photojournalist war was Robert Capa. Stands out especially in his work on the Spanish Civil War and the only existing images on the landing in Normandy on Omaha Beach. Some of the films exposed by Capa that decisive battle of World War II were poorly disclosed in the laboratory, losing invaluable war photography images.

Weekly Assignment : Nude

This photo was taken by Jan Hendrik den Boestert in 1950.

Nudity has always been a taboo, especially in the 40 As a photographer I see nudity as a work of art, when well photographed, nudity can be very subtle and beautiful.

In the early 20th century, the nude photos were seen as indecent or immoral. Only in modern times that these photos, taken before, were "famous" and are duly admired.

Nudity before the cameras started nearly two centuries before the popularization of intenet and webcams and long before the porn industry transform the body and sex in merchandise to compulsive consumption. "From the beginning of art history, portraying the human body has been a major challenge for artists and resulted in supreme achievements, as can be seen in the galleries of Greek and Roman statuary or the paintings of Renaissance masters" Thomas Campbell.

I want to take some nude pictures of some models for my portfolio. Good taste can be the key to beautiful pictures... and good taste I have, I just need to find a model that can inspired me to take some awesome photos.

I am not good in take pictures of people, I don't feel the connection... people never get the best of me as a photographer. I like landscape, architecture and still ife pictures.

I must improve my connection with people, It's necessary to consolidate a promising career and to achieve that I must create all kind of photos and show how good I can be in what I am doing.

Weekly Photo Assignment : Collage

In my opinion collage is a peace of art. I always love to do them with my pictures. Basically I use Photoshop and try to be very creative. Collage is a piece of art made by sticking various different materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric. If you surfing on the Internet you can find millions of collages, some of them are awesome and some are bad made. There are some websites and apps that make collages for you by themselves; the only thing you have to do is to upload the pictures.

“Collage became an art form during the Synthetic Cubist period of Picasso and Braque. At first, Pablo Picasso glued oil cloth to his surface of Still Life with Chair Caning in May of 1912. He glued a rope around the edge of the oval canvas.” For me it is an artwork since the first person did it. Picasso used and it became a famous technique. When you have good photos and a vivid creativity you can have amazing collages and earn some money from that. I do collages to give as a gift to great friends…. I always start with an idea, and then I take pictures of what I want to start building my collage. It can take minutes or hours, depends how much creativity is stuck in my head.

No matter which artwork I am doing, I always get happy about my work, It can be graphic design work or some photographies, I just love what I do.

How Art has Changed Me

I breathe art, I live for art. I always liked art museums. All my education are facing some kind of art: advertising, graphic designer and photographer.

Cinema, theater and museums have always been my hobbies. I still go every week to the theater or any kind of museum or exhibition. I have over 4000 DVD / Blu-rays at home, 2000 cds and hundreds of movies and digital music.

I am a very sensitive guy. Art transport me to a different world, to another dimension and that makes me happy and fulfilled. Art is a human activity linked to manifestations of aesthetic order, made by artists from perception, emotions and ideas, with the goal of stimulating interest in this awareness in one or more viewers, and every work of art has a unique and different meaning, and I can see those meaning, and that is why I keep feeding my soul with art.

I believe that a passion for art starts early, since when we were children, my parents always taught me to appreciate and understand the important art and their diversity ... I like to enjoy the simple pleasure and thrill me with the most diverse representation of art. I like the simple and the complex, the rich and of the poor, of any kind of attitude and art. The Art represents our nobility and teaches us that the world goes much further than we realize. Live life because I love art. I learned to love art because I live life to its fullest. I have several artists that amaze me, whether in painting, photography, film or music, my list can fill up pages and pages.

Weekly Photo Assignment : Computer Editing

My iMac and I are together no matter what… I use it for all my working as a photographer or a graphic designer. My software for editing photography is Photoshop and when I need to associate my photo with a graphic design job, I use Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. These softwares I use all the time.

Photoshop is an image editing software developed and manufactured by Adobe Systems Inc. Photoshop is considered one of the leaders in photo editing software. The software allows users to manipulate, crop, resize, and correct color on digital photos. The software is particularly popular amongst professional photographers and graphic designers. However, it is also used for amateur photography enhanced their web pictures. Adobe Photoshop is hands down, the most popular program for creating and modifying images for the web and for printing.  I use it mostly for printing. My steps to create an image are: first my thoughts, then my camera, after Photoshop, and at the end print it. Sometimes the last step is posted or just leaves it in a digital format. The clients decide how they want the final result of my work. When I really like any of my work, I print it for my portfolio and save it in a special folder.

My passion for Photoshop started in 2005, since then I use it everyday in my work. That was one of the reasons that made me go back to school in Chicago/IL and study Graphic Design at The Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago.

Weekly Photo Assignment : Camera Store

For every photographer, a camera store is where everything starts. Have some good equipment is essential to do a good work. Good equipment is not necessarily the expensive one... It's the one that can do the jog. You have to have a list of the equipment you are gonna buy and wisely invest your money. In my opinion a good camera, some lights and lens are what you need to start your photography business (as long as you have some study and background in photography)...  However it's not the equipment that is going to make you a good photographer,  to achieve success you must study and devote to your field. 

Right equipment depends in what kind of pictures are you taking, landscape, wedding, buildings, editorial, etc… The client can be very “severe” about what kind of pictures him/her wants. The equipment can make the difference between a good photoshoot and a bad one. The right light, ideal lenses and a good camera are the bases for a good job; and you can find every tool you need in any great camera store in the USA. B&H is a famous photo and video store in NYC that ship for every place in the USA.

“ You don’t take a photograph, you make it."(Ansel Adams), and to make a good photography, you need sensitivity, knowledge, passion for art and insight to make the best of you and your art. I have all the tools to be a good photographer, I just going to keep doing my best... always.

I took my picture at B&C Camera.

Weekly Photo Assignment 3 : National Geographic

I have my own and unique style of pictures. I am not a fan of any kind of self-portrait, however, Machu Picchu is one of the most beautiful place in the world and a self-portrait is a must have picture. I took a picture showing my most awesome tattoo blending with the background. I took the background picture while I was in Machu Picchu and for this assignment I merged my legs with the background using Photoshop. I have a similar picture that I took over there; but to make it new for this assignment I decide to reproduced the picture using Photoshop with two of my pictures. National Geographic has some priceless pictures showing nature and the relation between nature and human beings. I want to show the same with my picture, but in my case the relation between my tattoo and Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu stands 2,430 m above sea level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest, in an extraordinarily beautiful setting. It was probably the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height. My self-portrait gives me power and energy… the same kind of energy that you can feel in Machu Picchu. 

On a second picture, I took a photo of myself with some style to be National Geographic Magazine. Working in the National Geographic Magazine as a photographer is a dream for every photographer. I hope one day I can have some great pictures that I can send to the magazine.

“I have photographed sharks in waters around the globe, and I always want more and yearn to peer deeper into their world. To feed my passion and to raise awareness, I developed a story about sharks for 'National Geographic' magazine.” Brian Skerry

Weekly Photo Assignment 2 : Paparazzi

The paparazzi are always seeking glamour, success, celebrity life, beauty and everything else that is news. The paparazzi live in search of good photos of celebrities and celebrities use the paparazzi to continue the success. It's an exchange of favors. All the good photographers want to get what is on top, a great celebrity pictures can make a huge improvement in a paparazzo's life. But how far will go the "limit of privacy invasion". In my opinion there is a difference between a single paparazzo and a photojournalist, depends in what you want to see, a simple glamour picture or some reality. 

In this assignment I took a pictures of the celebrities' life style. A limousine represents a very glamorous life. A a moment of spontaneity that symbolizes a lifestyle of big money, fans, spot light, people, career and no humility.

As a photographer I want what is news, I want to do my best to get on top and, as I wrote before, a single picture can make that improvement the photographer needs. Be on top can be easy, stay on top not so much; stay on top as a photographer only with photos of celebrities can be interesting, but at the same time boring and unsatisfying. I wish one day take a picture of a very famous person, but I want to take my career in another direction. I love landscape and tourism... and I am going to focus on that to build my career.

Do always your best, as a photographer, is the greatest weapon to succeed we can have. I use a Nikon D300 and captured a moment of glamour and beauty. Good feeling, good photography...

Weekly Photo Assignment 1 : Self Portrait

Constructed self portrait     

My inspiration for this assignment is the work of Sebastião Salgado. He is, in my opinion, the best photographer alive in the world. His black & white technique is impressive. I have to confess that this assignment wasn’t easy. First of all, I don’t like self-portrait and It was/is hard to get something closer of Sebastião Salgado’s work.

Salgado travels all over the world to capture the best photojournalism or landscape ever. He goes to poor and, at the same time, awesome places. He has the power to capture our emotions and makes us feel the mood he is showing. Photoshop and digital cameras are news for him, his pictures are raw, emotional and amazing.

Week 1 EOC Stallions Not Unicorns

I want to work with landscape and photojournalism ... I'm better working with nature and journalism, I have training in media and want to bring all my knowledge for photography. My connection with my camera is unique and makes me a better person (I see more real world through the lens of my camera). My biggest inspiration is the photographer Sebastião Salgado; his photos are incomparable.

Week 1 EOC - My Voice

I am a photographer and a graphic designer. I always see the world around me in shapes, color, typefaces, photos and feelings. As a graphic designer I need my photos to work with, and as a Photographer I need my graphic designer background to design a moment. I will always keep my mind busy with photos and graphics. My emotions are revealed in my work; and my ideas are transformed into reality. I work with passion and desire to always make the best work ever. Every work is a challenge and equal important. I like to travel to know the world, to capture moments, to express my feelings through pictures… My conscience is abstract, but my moments are real. I want to freeze the abstract and the real in an image, transform that moment in momeries. The power of photography to make history is unparalleled. I work because I enjoy what I do, I completely satisfied myself with my work.
I am Brazilian and I have studied in London, Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas. The world waits for me to turn it into memories.