Thursday, June 4, 2009

Photography Guest Of The Week Joao Pedro Marnoto - Portugal


A man at a local bar in Portugal enjoys the late afternoon.

Photo © Joao Pedro Marnoto All Rights Reserved

Portugal: Nine Winter Months and Three of Hell

"The national and global economic, political and social changes of the last few decades impacted local communities. While many of the younger generation left these locales in search of better opportunities their homes could no longer provide, most older residents resisted the appeal of the big city. Today, many of these areas have few citizens and elders comprise the majority of the inhabitants along with the occasional sprinkling of younger faces."

Such are the observations of Joao Pedro Marnoto that accompany his photo essay, Portugal: Nine Winter Months and Three of Hell now appearing on Gaia Photos. The photo documentary observes the lives of the people who have remained in the agrarian regions of Douro and Trás-os-Montes in northern Portugal, one of Western Europe’s poorest areas.

Gaia Photos is a new international photography source with 41 photojournalists from around the world involved with promoting quality and diversity in documentary photography.

Born in 1975 in Porto, Portugal, Joao Pedro Marnoto had a passion for photography at an early age, taking his first basic photography course at when he was just 14.

After completing his degree in Photography in the United Kingdom, he returned to Portugal full of ideas and desires. While working on a freelance basis he gradually turned his attention to photo documentary work. In 2007 Joao Pedro Marnoto's first book was released about the Douro region in Portugal.

During that time he also did some teaching, experimented with video and exhibited works throughout Portugal after receiving a grant from the Portuguese Center of Photography.

Presently, he is finishing his first video documentary, working to release a new book and launching a project in collaboration with “Doctors of the World”.

Please Visit Us and view more of Joao Pedro Marnoto's photography.

You can also search for assignment photographers at Gaia Photos, a place to explore and discover the issues facing the diverse population and locations of our world, both near and far.

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