Anyone who picks up a camera wanting to do documentary photography should definitely study intently the works of celebrated photojournalist Sebastião Salgado.
Sebastião Salgado is one of the names you’ll encounter once you tread down the path of documentary photography (especially social documentary) and photojournalism. The Brazilian photographer is especially known for his dramatic black and white images which explore the relationship man and nature have with each other. There’s nothing like getting first-hand insights, opinions, and ideas from the photographer himself, so we’ve put together a collection of interviews and talks where Sebastião Salgado talks about his life and work.
We’ve previously had a quick glance at Sebastião Salgado’s iconic photography through a video primer by Aidan Moneyhon. There, we learned something about his life, his beginnings as a photographer, and some of the best examples that have made him one of the most important photojournalists then and now. Today, it’s time for us to take a deeper dive into his poignant photography and learn more about the strong imagery he has captured, straight from the master himself.
The silent drama of photography | Sebastião Salgado
Let’s start with one of the most endearing talks by Salgado: the 2013 TED Talk he presented to talk about the silent drama of photography. Here, he tells about his personal life growing up in a farm in Brazil, being an activist while studying in a university to be an economist, meeting his wife, landing a job in an investment bank, until finally photography took control of his life and sealed his fate. He goes on to tell the moving story of how the craft that he loved also nearly killed him, and then gives a preview of his then latest work, Genesis.
In Conversation with Sebastião Salgado – Canon
In this video shared by Canon Europe, Salgado talks about his career, favorite projects, and experience with a Canon EOS model against a montage of his thought-provoking and affecting black and white photographs. Full of inspiring perspectives about the craft and the responsibility that a photojournalist bears, this sit-down with the master is both inspiring and educational. For example, he likens photography to a strong language that everyone understands and needs no translation, and notes that while it’s important to be a photographer, not everyone has the instinct to capture an image just as it happens before you.
Sebastião Salgado Interview: Photographing the Pristine
This quick feature puts the spotlight on Salgado’s Genesis project, described by the Louisiana Channel as a photographic homage to our planet in its natural state, its beauty, and the call to preserve it in the future. To do this, Salgado believes that “we must deal with things in a different way, we must create another model of life.” Through Genesis, he hopes that viewers would see what it means to live in a pristine planet, even through just a hundred or so photographs.
Sebastião Salgado. GENESIS
In another look at Genesis, Salgado sits down with Benedikt Taschen in 2013 and talks about how the project was a life-changing undertaking. The epic project was conceptualized back in 1993, and it took him eight years to produce what is now one of his most celebrated bodies of work. “I had the privilege to see the most incredible things in the planet and discover that close to half of the planet is as pristine, is yet as the day of the Genesis,” he said.
Exclusive Intimate Interview with Sebastião Salgado at Beetles+Huxley, 2014
Another intimate sit-down with Salgado in 2014, this exclusive interview was done as part of his retrospective exhibition at Beetles+Huxley. If you can’t get enough of hearing about how his career unfolded and what his life outside of photography is like, this hour-long discussion makes an interesting addition to your playlist.
Sebastiao Salgado: The Photographer as Activist
If you’re looking for something more scholarly, this will give you a front row seat into the 2008 talk where Salgado sat down with UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism adjunct professor Ken Light, and Photo Critic and Curator Fred Ritchin. Here, he spoke about what it means for a photographer to be an activist, using photography as a social and political tool for telling powerful stories told from an intimate point of view.
Interview with Sebastiao Salgado (The Photography Show 2017)
One of his more recent interviews Salgado did this quick chat shortly before his talk on the Super Stage at The Photography Show 2017. Aside from briefly speaking about his life and motivations as a photographer, he also gives some important advice for young photographers who want to be photojournalists at this day and age.
Enjoyed these videos and want more? You can also check out some Ansel Adams interviews if you’re also interested in landscape photography.
Screenshot image from the video by Canon Europe
