“We humans are terrible animals,” photographer Sebastião Salgado says in this alternately nightmarish and magical documentary about his life’s work
From widespread devastation in the Ethiopian famine to firemen working in the fiery oil fields of Kuwait to the savagery of the Rwandan genocide, Salgado’s camera has been witness to some of our species’ lowest, most horrific moments. Many of the images — and Salgado’s accounts of taking them — are as soul-shattering as they are breathtaking.
It was a black-and-white image of diggers toiling in a muddy gold mine that first drew filmmaker Wim Wenders to the work of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado. There was something about these dirt-caked prospectors stretching as far as the eye could see that was unbearably moving.
Several series came before, starting with a photographic essay on South America that enabled Sebastiao to get close to his native Brazil without crossing the border, until a return from exile in 1980. He followed that up with “The Sahel, the End of the Road,” his first major exploration of communities suffering from deprivation, and also the first time he worked in conjunction with Doctors Without Borders. After that came “Workers” and then “Exodus,” a project that unavoidably left him psychologically scarred by the horrific misery he witnessed and recorded. Designed as a record of the displacement of populations through famine, war and economic deprivation, the series coincided with the civil war in Rwanda and unimaginable horrors.
After “Exodus,” Sebastiao no longer believed in mankind’s salvation. Returning to Brazil with a desperate need to assuage his bitterness, he was faced with the desiccated remnants of his family’s formerly verdant farm, parched from drought. With Leila, he began an experimental program of replanting; their technique proved so successful that the project, called “Instituto Terra,” has now reforested parts of Brazil’s Mata Atlantica and is a model for similar efforts worldwide. The experience reinvigorated the photographer for his most recent project “Genesis,” a collaboration with son Juliano that encompasses parts of the globe retaining their primeval aspect, from Wrangel Island in Siberia to the highlands of Papua New Guinea.“The Salt of the Earth,” a film by Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, illustrates the way Sebastião Salgado’s photographs create beauty by capturing pain, violence and deprivation.
Born in Aimorés, Brazil, Salgado originally trained as an economist, a background that fundamentally shaped his systematic approach to documenting global socio-economic shifts. In 1973, he abandoned his career at the International Coffee Organization to pick up a camera, embarking on a five-decade odyssey across 120 countries.His work is defined by its epic scale, monochrome high-contrast aesthetic, and a profound empathy for the human condition. Salgado didn't just photograph subjects; he lived with them, sometimes for months, "photographing from inside the circle."
Sebastião Salgado Photography
Salgado’s masterpiece: GENESIS — Earth eternal >>>
Legendary photographer Sebastião Salgado dies at 81 >>>
From Economist to Photographer
Salgado's transition to photography was unusual. Exiled in Paris during the Brazilian military dictatorship, he earned a PhD in Economics. It was during work trips for the International Coffee Organization in Africa in the early 1970s that he began taking photographs. In 1973, he decided to abandon his career as an economist to become a professional photographer, working with prestigious agencies such as Magnum Photos.
Early Life and Economic Background
Salgado grew up on a large cattle ranch in the Rio Doce valley, surrounded by the Atlantic Forest. This early connection to the land would later fuel his environmental activism.
In the 1960s, while studying Economics at the University of São Paulo, he became involved in leftist political activism. Following the 1964 military coup in Brazil, he and his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, moved to Paris in 1969. He earned a PhD in Economics and began working for the International Coffee Organization. It was during his professional travels to Africa that he first picked up Lélia's camera. He quickly realized that a single image could communicate complex social and economic realities more effectively than any spreadsheet or report.
Major Photographic Projects
Salgado works in long-term cycles, dedicating years to each theme. His photographs are famous for their masterful use of light and shadow (chiaroscuro).
Other Americas (1986): A record of the lives of peasants and indigenous communities in Latin America.
Workers (1993): An ode to the manual industrial era that was disappearing. It includes iconic images of the gold miners of Serra Pelada, where thousands of men covered in mud looked like ants in an epic excavation.
Exodus (2000): Documented the global movement of refugees and migrants, capturing the suffering and resilience of those forced to leave their land.
Genesis (2013): After a period of emotional exhaustion, Salgado turned his gaze toward nature. He traveled for eight years to places untouched by modern civilization, capturing landscapes, animals, and communities living in balance with the Earth.
Amazônia (2021): His most recent project, which celebrates the beauty of the forest and its indigenous peoples, serving as an urgent warning for the preservation of the biome.
The "Salgado Style": Technical Mastery
Salgado is a master of black-and-white photography. His work is characterized by:
Chiaroscuro: A dramatic use of light and shadow that gives his subjects a sculptural, almost divine quality.
Deep Focus: Using small apertures to ensure both the human subject and their vast environment are sharp, emphasizing the relationship between man and land.
Transition to Digital: While a lifelong film user (specifically Kodak Tri-X and T-Max), Salgado transitioned to digital photography for his Genesis project due to airport X-ray damage to film. However, he developed a unique workflow to maintain the "grain" and silver-halide look of film in his digital prints.
Environmental Legacy: Instituto Terra
In the late 1990s, Salgado returned to his childhood home in Aimorés to find it a barren wasteland due to deforestation and erosion. Deeply traumatized by his experiences in Rwanda, he was at a breaking point.
His wife, Lélia, suggested they replant the forest. This personal mission grew into Instituto Terra, a non-profit organization dedicated to the sustainable development of the Valley of the River Doce.
Reforestation: They have successfully transformed a 1,700-acre "desert" back into a lush forest.
Biodiversity: The area is now home to hundreds of species of plants, birds, and mammals, many of which were endangered.
Education: The institute serves as a center for environmental education, training thousands of farmers and students in sustainable practices.
"Photography is not my career. It is my life. I am 100% inside this." — Sebastião Salgado.
The silent drama of photography | Sebastião Salgado
