Featured Photographer : Sebastiao Salgado

Sebastião Salgado’s early influences included Lewis Hine, W Eugene Smith and Walker Evans. Much like his heros, Salgado developed a style in black and white that found beauty in brutal subjects of poverty, hardship and oppression of various cultures under the wake of industrialization to the native landscape (via).

With a photojournalistic, monochromatic style that combines complexity with a high sense of drama, his work is dedicated to awareness of conditions of both wildlife and humans (via).

Salgado’s work raised global awareness to varying human conditions which revealed "the often harsh conditions of large scale industrial sites including oil fields and commercial fisheries" (via).

In 2004, after decades of seeing and capturing the worst humanity has to offer, "his work shifted to landscape and wildlife as he began his work on Genesis, a collection of images from some of the most remote parts of the world."

"Salgado aimed to capture landscape that is completely untouched by humans" (via). 

For forty years, Salgado documented deprived societies in hidden corners of the world, and the images, the people, and the experiences slowly yet methodically took its toll - his soul became sick, "I no longer believed in anything," Salgado found, "in any salvation for the human species."

It was then that he returned to his Brazilian home to began a new project: restoring the rainforest and mending his soul. 

For a deeper, more intimate glimpse into Sebastiao Salgado's heart and mind and camera, check out The Salt of the Earth, a film directed by Salgado's son that explores the life and loves and work of the brilliant Sebastião Salgado.

Here's a trailer of the film.

Little did I know that I was going to discover much more than just a photographer.

And so will you.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Photography  :  Inspiring art  :  Salgados's Instagram  :  Documentaries

Steve McCurry Photography : its own place and feeling

"What is important to my work is the individual picture. I photograph stories on assignment, and of course they have to be put together coherently. But what matters most is that each picture stands on its own, with its own place and feeling." - Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry has taken some of the worlds most iconic images, and he's been doing so for the past thirty years.

This picture of Sharbat Gula, an Afghan refugee, has been described as one of the most recognizable photographs of the world.

But there are many more of equal beauty and splendour. 

Here are a few from his Portraits gallery:

"Most of my photos are grounded in people, I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face."

His other galleries include "On Reading":

"The photograph is an undeniably powerful medium. Free from the constraints of language, and harnessing the unique qualities of a single moment frozen in time."

His work on Kuwait is astonishing. 

"A picture can express a universal humanism, or simply reveal a delicate and poignant truth by exposing a slice of life that might otherwise pass unnoticed."
 

After several years of freelance work, McCurry made his first trip of what would become many trips to India. Traveling with little more than a bag of clothes and another of film, he made his way across the subcontinent, exploring the country with his camera (via).

"There are certain, inescapable images, forever part of our collective consciousness, that influence who we are, whether we are cognizant of it or not."

All works by Steve McCurry.

For more on . . .

Photography  :  -N- Stuff  :  Stories

jtinseoul : Loud yet Clear

JT White is a street and documentary photographer based in Seoul, South Korea. "Noise" in digital photographs is used to describe visual distortion - grain for example, and JT White's photography has a lot of noise. But it works.

Each photograph is full of emotion - tone even.

And his ability to capture a moment is truly mesmerizing. 

Here's a few images from his tattoo project entitled, "The Culture."

JT White has also been featured at Lensculture and can be followed on instagram: @jt_inseoul.