The Documentary Photography of Sebastiao Salgado

     Sebastiao Salgado is a Brazilian documentary photographer and economist. He has a passion for both professions. He was born in Aimores, Brazil (International Center of Photography) in 1944. He traveled around a lot as a child, sparking his interest in economy. As a result, he got his MA and PhD in economics from Sao Paulo University and University of Paris respectively. He started his work in photography in the mid 70s and is known to post a majority of his work in collections rather than separately.

    As a documentary photographer, Salgado has been to 120 countries, capturing the most powerful photographs of humanity and how those not in first world countries live. This photo portrays the everyday traffic of an Indian train station named Church Gate. Indian trains are well-known for being overly crowded. It should be noted that Indian train rails are normally not blocked off as well, leading to thousands of deaths per year. It shows us the struggles of billions of people living in a large, yet overpopulated, country.

 
     This next photograph shows the abandoned babies of Brazil playing together on the rooftop of a children's home. Out of the 430 children that live in this home, 35% were found on the streets of Sao Paulo, where the home is located. The many babies playing with the backdrop of the city creates a depressing yet beautiful display. It also brings attention to the problem of child abandonment in Brazil. 

        This last photo is a powerful one to me. A photo of women showing the photos of them men once in their household in Iraq. One day, Iraqi soldiers came to the village of Beharke and took all the men of every family away. They were never seen again (ICP). Women in Iraq are not allowed to marry as per Islamic law, so the women in the village who were forcibly widowed can never again legally get married. 


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