Sebastião Salgado

                Sebastião Salgado, full name Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado Júnior, was born on February 8^th, 1944, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Born into a big farming family, Salgado initially pursued a career as an economist, earning his master’s in economics from the University of São Paulo. Working for the International Coffee Organization, he often traveled to Africa on missions for the World Bank, an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries. It was on these trips that Salgado developed an interest in documentary photography, eventually quitting his career and starting anew as a photojournalist.

                I chose to do my essay on Salgado because I admired his resolve to abandon a stable career to dive into photography, a profession that he had no formal training in. His specialty black and white photography, and his mastery in capturing lights and darks to creating stunning visual contrast really made his photos stand out to me. His claim to fame photographing workers in less developed nations also appealed to me, as it brought to light the immense struggles these workers faced in their everyday lives. But what really astonished me was his gift in capturing breathtaking landscapes using only black and white photography, as unlike most landscape photographers, he did not need to rely on striking colors to convey the beauty of the natural world, something that I can always appreciate the beauty of. And to be able capture these surreal images and their beauty simply with black and white photography made me really respect him as a photographer.

                I chose the following photo because it is a perfect example of Salgado’s ability to capture stunning natural landscapes with very vibrant contrast. I also liked the juxtaposition of the hard lines of the mountain ranges with the softness of the clouds and the tender feeling the nesting albatrosses evoked, showcasing Salgado’s ability to capture the subtlest emotions even in non-human subjects. The sleeping albatross to the right really stood out to me, and it really felt like a magical moment to capture as one can see the tenderness of the moment in this mated pair of albatross. The subtle lines and white dots again really show off Salgado’s knack of capturing really stunning contrasts, especially with the beautiful backdrop of the muted clouds with the pleasant scene of birds flying in the distance.