| Street Photography in Lisbon and Faro Contributor(s): Escat, Adolfo (Author) |
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ISBN: ISBN-13: 9798566446608 Publisher: Independently Published OUR PRICE: $26.01 Product Type: Paperback Published: November 2020 * Not available - Not in print at this time * |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Photography | Photoessays & Documentaries |
| Physical Information: 0.34" H x 8.5" W x 11.02" (0.96 lbs) 130 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Welcome to Street Photography in Lisbon and Faro. This book contains 120 pictures mostly taken on the streets of these two cities of Portugal. What makes Lisbon so fascinating?. I have been pondering about an answer to this question. I think that all former imperial cities are interesting for different reasons and Lisbon is no exception. The people, the architecture, the light, the food, the parks, the river, the hills, the palaces, the amazing underground system... I think that it is a combination of it all. One thing however that distinguishes Lisbon from other capitals in Europe is the visible constant desire to embellish the city with art, be it official, such as in each tube station, or non-official, with the abundant graffiti scattered all over. A visit to Lisbon always pays off, there is always something new to discover. Faro too is worth a visit, not only because of the sea but also because of its abundant street art and the beautiful architecture. I often recall the sunset at the marina area, the savoir-vivre of the town and the elegant storks flying around from nest to nest, delighting the onlooker with their singing. The photographs are spontaneous representations of daily life, later processed so as to create new representations of reality. I take pictures of any unusual images of life that draw my imagination or attention, be them people, animals, works of art or buildings. Of course, the definition of unusual varies from person to person. For example, I find unusual to stumble on the street on a girl carrying a snake in her arms. Or, for that measure, to find a white-bearded toothless man donned with a black hat that likes to smile openly in front of a camera. Not everybody is interesting for the eye of the camera. People are then my main objective and object of fascination, how they present themselves in the open air or in the intimacy of their homes, how they cloth themselves, how they want to be seen by others, their hobbies and their passions. I could spend hours without end following interesting people on the streets. Physical defects are a definite source of attraction if the person is proud of them and does not try to hide them. I am enormously admirative of such people that put a brave face on life and misfortune and then live their lives unconcerned. On the other side, I like to represent graffiti and other works of street art, as ephemeral human activities that are worth preserving with photographs for the sake of posterity. Anything that is transient is interesting to me. In Portugal, I have found excellent artists on the streets. I am attracted by the geometry of the city in conjunction to the movement of human activity in it. Symmetric and asymmetric patters, perspective, contrasts of all types, this is what draws my attention. I try to catch vivid colours, sharp forms, unusual human activities. A sharp shadow in conjunction with a human activity or a blue sky is interesting to me. Not all other colours, but only the blue of the sky. Sometimes, the artistic impression arises from the deletion of image elements, in order to let visible only some of them. I also enjoy capturing spontaneously other photographers or people photographing themselves, if the general frame is beautiful in my eyes. Here, the meta-photography leads us to reflect on the act of capturing reality images, how we do it, how we react in front of a camera. On other occasions, the opportunity appears unexpectedly out of the blue and the talent of a photographer consists of recognizing it and reacting quickly to catch it under the most favourable or artistic light possible. Well, at the end of the day, there is nothing new asserted on these lines, if I am not wrong. Other artists have formulated street photography before me, perhaps better than me. I thank here all the human models that have made possible this book with their generosity and their patience and I hope that you will enjoy the contemplation of these pictures. The author. |
