It seems that whenever a
report about Leica appears, it immediately results in a barrage of
unsubstantiated nonsense from the typical Leica haters. One of their favorites is the claim that
Leicas are only for collectors and rich, non-photographers, insinuating that
real photographers use cameras other than Leicas. Yet some of the most iconic photographs, past
and present, are made with Leica equipment.
One of the truly great contemporary
photographers using Leica cameras is without a doubt Sebastão Salgado. One of his most extensive series
of photographs is titled “GENESIS.”
NBC News reported
“Sebastião Salgado has never shied away from ambitious photo assignments. "Genesis" attempts to show us what
the world looked like before humans transformed it. Begun in 2004, its main
subjects are sweeping landscapes, wildlife and frequently indigenous people
living in harmony with the earth.”
On over 30 trips, traveled
on foot, by light aircraft, seagoing vessels, canoes, and even balloons,
through extreme heat and cold and in sometimes dangerous conditions – Salgado
created a collection of images showing us nature, animals, and indigenous
peoples in such shocking and intense beauty it takes our breath away. In
GENESIS, one discovers the animal species and volcanoes of the Galápagos; the
penguins, sea lions, cormorants, and whales of the South Atlantic; Brazilian
alligators and jaguars; and African lions, leopards, and elephants. Through
Salgado’s lens, we travel over icebergs in the Antarctic, the volcanoes of
Central Africa, the ravines of the Grand Canyon, and the glaciers of Alaska. We
encounter the Stone Age Korowai people of West Papua, nomadic Dinka cattle farmers
in Sudan, Nenets and their reindeer herds in the Arctic Circle, as well as the
Mentawai jungle communities on islands west of Sumatra.
Sebastião Salgado: Large
sand dunes between Albrg and Tin Merzouga, Tadrart. South of Djanet.
Algeria. 2009.
© Sebastião
Salgado/Amazonas images-Contact Press Images.
Sebastião Salgado: In the
Upper Xingu region of Brazil’s Mato Grosso state, a group of Waura Indians fish
in the Puilanga Lake near their village. The Upper Xingu Basin is home to an
ethnically-diverse population, with the 2,500 inhabitants of 13 villages
speaking languages with distinct Carib, Tupi and Arawak roots. While they
occupy different territories and preserve their own cultural identities, they
co-exist in peace. Brazil. 2005.
© Sebastião
Salgado/Amazonas images-Contact Press Images.
Sebastião Salgado:
Southern Right whales, drawn to the Valdés Peninsula because of the shelter
provided by its two gulfs, the Golfo San José and the Golfo Nuevo, often
navigate with their tails upright in the water. When a tail stands immobile for
tens of minutes, it is probable that the whale is completely vertical in the
water in a kind of resting position; it has also been claimed that the whales
use their tails as a sail, allowing the wind to do the work. After close observation,
it is possible to predict when a whale will jump: a sudden and swift movement
of the tail provides the burst of energy that enables the whale to project its
massive body out of the water. Valdés Peninsula, Argentina. 2004.
© Sebastião Salgado/Amazonas
images-Contact Press Images.
Sebastião Salgado:
Chinstrap penguins on icebergs located between Zavodovski and Visokoi islands.
South Sandwich Islands. 2009.
© Sebastião
Salgado/Amazonas images-Contact Press Images.
The images are stunning.
Salgado’s style – high contrast black and white images with a seemingly endless
depth of field at times – has resulted in tremendous pictures of human labor,
joy and suffering for years. Genesis marks his first major effort applying his lens
to animals (whales, leopards, penguins and many more) and landscapes, with
tremendous results.
Taschen Books has
published a huge book with the images.
This Collector’s Edition, designed and edited by Lélia Wanick Salgado,
features exquisitely reproduced large-format images arranged not by theme or
region but rather conceived as a portfolio that takes beholders on a journey
around the globe, immersing them in Salgado’s vision of the Earth’s mesmerizing
scale, order, and beauty.
The book has a size of
46.8 x 70 cm (18.4 x 27.6 in.) and is delivered in a wooden cargo box (total
weight: 59 kg [130 lb])
The photographer:
Sebastião Salgado began
his career as a professional photographer in Paris in 1973 and subsequently
worked with the photo agencies Sygma, Gamma and Magnum Photos. In 1994 he and
his wife Lélia created Amazonas images, which exclusively handle his work.
Salgado’s photographic projects have been featured in many exhibitions as well
as books, including Other Americas (1986), Sahel, L'Homme en détresse (1986),
Workers (1993), Terra (1997), Migrations (2000), The Children (2000) and Africa
(2007).
The editor and author:
Lélia Wanick Salgado
studied architecture and urban planning in Paris. Her interest in photography
started in 1970. In the 1980s she moved on to conceiving and designing
photography books and organizing exhibitions, numerous of them on Sebastião
Salgado. Since 1994 Lélia Wanick Salgado has been the director of Amazonas
images.
International Center of
Photography
1114 Avenue of the
Americas at 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
Taschen Books
www.taschen.com
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Clement Sebastao is the master of committed, sympathetic & meaningful photo-journalism; in my opinion he exceeds the efforts of others especially when dealing with sensitive issues. Not only does he succeed in providing an accurate message but his artistic style provides a very serious presentation!
ReplyDeleteSorry, but "Genesis" was shot on medium format and Canon EOS 1DsIII and 1Dx.
ReplyDeletehttp://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/interviews/salgado_genesis.do?page=3
Yes you are absolutely right :-) And for medium format he used a Pentax 645... In the movie Salt of the earth you can see how the Canon camera is placed. I don´t think I saw a Leica once in this full length future documentary?
ReplyDelete