Portuguese street photographer Valdeira focuses on people in their most vulnerable state of pure existence in a world without the awareness of being watched.
It results in not always flattering but certainly vivid and expressive portraits with a sunbathed city as a backdrop. In the featured series, Valdeira presents a selection of photos of fishermen from Cascais, “one of the richest cities in Portugal, working while the sound of supercars drowns out the sound of the sea.”
Pictures of these hard-working older men seem like an ode to the lost art of simply being connected to the sea, a source of nourishment in so many aspects. The subjects are humble yet powerful. What is ordinary about them is what makes them interesting, and this also rings true to the rest of Valdeira’s portfolio.
In this series, the photographer captures a part of the quintessential maritime life, the fishermen being illustrative of it. The hard work and the leisure are brought together in an effortless illustration of how less difficult life becomes when they’re one and the same.
The warmth (both from the sunlight and from within), the sea, and the sand riddled with seagulls and people (enjoying either others’ company or their own) alike are colorful illustrations of a life where time has patience and where days seem to last forever. A gentle reminder of happiness found in simplicity.
Read our “Metamorphosis” issue in full
In the 3rd issue of RAWGUE., 24 visual artists and poets share a common pursuit: authenticity over perfection. The subtle art of becoming, the passage through various stages of artistic contemplation, the ever-shifting states of mind, feeling, and medium, or the act of altering reality to underline emotion or meaning – metamorphosis.
We’re a team of writers using our craft to spotlight art in its most honest form. RAWGUE. started as a bi-monthly editorial experiment where each issue’s theme is dictated by the submitted work, thus removing editorial bias from the equation and preserving a more raw approach. We focus on all forms of poetry: written, photographed, painted, drawn, and filmed.
