Drought

With an area spanning almost 6 million square kilometers, the Amazonian rainforest is a vast region spread out over nine countries, the largest of which is Brazil. This region contains approximately one fifth of the total species on earth, with over 10,000 species of trees. Each year, the Amazon rainforest processes 18 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, or approximately three times the amount of fossil fuel emissions produced in the world. On the other hand, the processes of tree respiration and the decomposition of organic materials in the soils result in the release of an almost equivalent amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The drought that is currently ravaging Amazonia has led to a series of devastating consequences for the communities in this region. Numerous tributaries of the Amazon River have completely dried up, causing the destruction of biodiversity in the area and the loss of a mode of commercial transportation of goods. In several regions, the customary delivery of food and medical supplies on these waterways has been disrupted, which could lead to an increased risk of epidemics and famine.

In Brazil, the dry season typically occurs during the months of September and October. This year, the dry season began in the month of August and has extended into November. Scientists have postulated various theories to explain the possible causes of this worrisome drought, but none can pinpoint the cause with certainty since the factors that contribute to the region’s climatic stability are varied and complex. Some cite the source of the problem as the heating up of the oceans’ surfaces and the massive deforestation that has occurred in the Amazonian rainforests. Others claim that selective and clear cut logging have reduced rainforest density, decreasing its ability to retain moisture. This circumstance may have also led to the damaging fires that occurred in the Peruvian and Bolivian Amazon.

The increase in tree mortality due to drought has tended to reduce the rate of carbon dioxide absorption, and to increase the release of carbon dioxide. This is transforming the role of the Amazonian rainforest from that of a carbon “sink” to that of a carbon “source” for the atmosphere.

Para 2

After giving a lot of thought to the direction in which I wanted take my photography, I finally decided to focus my work specifically on Para and to make him the central figure in my final project. Para is not the most photogenic person that I have met in the Port of Tabatinga, but he is by far the most fascinating, the most ambiguous, and the most contradictory. It is a considerable challenge to subtly depict such a complex character with whom I also have a close personal relationship. His poetic and nostalgic views blend well with my style of photography, giving me the impetus to integrate his poetry and reflections with my work.

find that Para’s life is both dramatic and compelling, simultaneously personal and sociopolitical. I have lived for almost one year in Colombia and have witnessed just how much Columbian society has been paralyzed by the never ending war that is has been involved with for many decades. Just as drought has been ravaging Amazonia during the entire length of my work here, the political situation in Colombia is not the subject of my work, but it inevitably forms the backdrop for it. Many Colombians who are victims of war have found refuge in Leticia, an Amazonian town located on the border between Brazil and Peru. However, the absence of social services, adequate infrastructure and employment in Leticia often induces them to move on to Brazil.

Para and I did several photo shoots together, both in the Port of Tabatinga and in the cemetery where Para often goes to get flowers, relax and smoke drugs. During one of the shoots in the cemetery, he was inspired to pose for a nude figure session. He had always wanted to do this back in New York with his artist friends but had never had the opportunity to do so. Para thought that doing a nude figure session in the cemetery could be funny and provocative while raising some interesting political and religious questions. I did my best to take artistic, respectful photographs to portray wh at he wanted to express: derision, sensitivity, eccentricity and humour.

Texture

I continued my research into the subject of texture by using various transparent materials to help “filter” the elements I photographed, imbuing them with an impressionistic feel. I obtained the best results by using “Cling Wrap”.

I also discovered that by making holes in the material, I could play with clear and blurred effects to achieve engaging results.

I also took images of white sky after adding improvised filters to my lens. Next, I chose photos that were seemingly conventionally executed. With the help of a Photoshop software application, I then superimposed on them the photographs I took using filters fabricated primarily from various pieces of garbage I found along the shoreline. I think that some of the resulting images appear to be rather interesting from an artistic standpoint.

Following this work, I began to wonder if I had the right to manipulate images using Photoshop software. This question did not, however, occur to me while I was snapping shots with my improvised filters. Rather, it is likely that this question occurred to me because of the considerable recent debate in the media over this question; and because several photographers lost their credibility when they were caught having blatantly modified images. What in fact is the difference between using a filter placed over a lens and using a digital filter?

After some reflection, I came to the conclusion that photographers have a basic right, if not an obligation, to explore new territories that present themselves to them while using digital technology. A photograph can be manipulated until the image has completely lost its origins in reality, but that does not mean that it has lost its ability to engage the world. For the most part, it goes without saying that photographers have the responsibility to reveal and justify the various techniques of manipulation that they use.

“ Art is a privileged territory: in it, dream, allegory, mask, metaphor, illusion, and fiction benefit from the greatest possible freedom. Like Dieu trompeur, art enjoys appearing in spaces, at times, and in forms in which it is not expected, as a great strategist of mystery and surprise effects when we are to be seduced or shocked, not with the intention of concealing, but to remind us of its true nature. ”

Antoine D’Agata

Amongst all the contemporary photographers of today, there is no doubt that the French photographer Antoine D’Agata is the person who has most inspired me to complete this project. His photos, documenting the world of drugs and prostitution, consistently explore subjectivity through documentary photography. “The moment that I release the shutter is not the moment of truth; it is the moment that I create something in relation to my imagination. I create fiction constructed from material that is a true life experience, whether it is conscious or unconscious. This translation produces an untruth while allowing another truth to be expressed.” Antoine D’Agata

Henry Wessel

Henry Wessel

While surfing the internet, I found the following interesting reflection from the American photographer Henry Wessel. Despite the fact that Henry Wessel’s photos do not arouse in me the sense of instinct or intuition that he is mentioning, I am nonetheless in agreement with his views.

“ You know, your mind is always back there saying: Move a little to the left. Move a little to... You wanna beat that. You cannot be thinking. You’re just, yes, feeling. Yes, boom, here, there, whatever. Once you recognize something, then you’re actually less aware. You name it, right? Once you name something -you name a telephone pole, you’re less aware. But if you are not naming anything, then you’re aware. More animal-like. So the mind’s always in there saying " Ah, look at that. ", you know. Telephone pole. Right? Macadam. This, move right, move left. So you wind up, in most cases, making maybe five pictures, six pictures of- the same stuff. The first ones, you could see how different they are than the ones when your mind got in there. When your mind gets in there, they start to look like photographs that you already know. They look like problems that you’ve already solved. They’re never taking you to a place that’s unfamiliar. They’re taking you to what you’re supposed to do. Then they look like everybody else’s photographs. It’s like when people say : " I see something, and then I wanna go up and ask someone if I can photograph. " You can’t photograph it. It’s gone! What you saw was gone. Now you’re gonna photograph something else.

Influence 2

Gihan Tubbeh

In her series called Purga, the Peruvian photographer, Gihan Tubbeh presents a photographic project dealing with transgression; transgression, on the one hand, because it traces an intimate and raw portrait of the world using, among other things, various sadomasochistic bars. On the other hand, it deals with transgression because she uses photographic techniques that break with the traditions of the documentary medium. Even though the Purga project wallows in some respects in morbid sensationalism, it nonetheless provokes questions not only about human nature but also about the nature of photography itself. Using little known techniques in documentary photography, Gihan Tubbeh succeeds in expressing emotions that go well beyond the realm of the conventional documentary.

http://sientemag.com/wp-content/uploads/purga.jpg

Influences 1

Virgílio Ferreira

I am intrigued by the images of the Portuguese photographer, Virgílio Ferreira. His series of portraits, Daily Pilgrims, completed over several separate journeys across Asia, show images of anonymous people in various urban settings. The people who have been photographed are all out of focus, creating a project with a characteristic outlandish feel, while at the same time challenging conventional street photography. The blurriness and the lack of information produce, in my view, enigmatic photographs that evoke a sense of solitude and alienation that can sometimes be associated with large cities. Even though Ferreira’s images do not document locations and people in a traditional manner, they nonetheless document by original means the atmosphere, feelings and impressions of Asia, which in my opinion, are as relevant as any so-called journalistic documentary. With that said, some of Ferreira’s expositions, such as “WE and the Others”, left me completely indifferent. What makes an image that either captures our attention or not? Hard to say…

http://www.milim.com/work.php?&id=152