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Artists
Sebastião Salgado

Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil

Sebastião Salgado

Photographer
Brazilian·b. 1944·Website ↗
Known for:
long-term documentary projects on labor and migration
Education:
University of São Paulo (MA, economics); University of Paris (PhD, economics); self-taught in photography

Sebastião Salgado trained as an economist before taking up photography in his late twenties, producing long-term documentary projects that have spanned decades and continents. His Workers (1993) and Migrations (2000) documented labor and displacement at a scale few photographers have attempted. In parallel with his photographic work, he and his wife Lélia have replanted more than two million trees on degraded land in Brazil through the Instituto Terra.

Sebastião Salgado's Gear List(3)

Leica M6
Leica M6

Leica

Connection Source
AboutphotographyWebsite
↗

Connection note

Salgado used Leica rangefinder cameras for his documentary projects "Workers" and "Migrations." He has discussed his preference for Leica in multiple interviews.

Product description

The M6, produced from 1984 to 1998, was the first M-series Leica to include a through-the-lens exposure meter. It retained the mechanical shutter and M bayonet mount of earlier cameras, maintaining full compatibility with decades of Leica M lenses.

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Kodak Tri-X 400
Kodak Tri-X 400

Kodak

Connection Source
SubstackBook
↗

Connection note

Salgado's black-and-white documentary work was shot on Tri-X and other fast films during his film-based decades; his grain-forward aesthetic is built on these materials.

Product description

In production since 1954, Tri-X 400 is a black-and-white film whose grain structure, broad exposure latitude, and response to push processing made it the dominant film in photojournalism and street photography for decades.

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Canon EOS-1D X
Canon EOS-1D X

Canon

Connection Source
Canon EuropeInterview
↗

Connection note

Salgado transitioned to Canon digital cameras for his "Genesis" (2013) project. He has discussed this switch in interviews, noting the camera's ability to perform in extreme environments.

Product description

Canon's flagship full-frame DSLR, introduced in 2011. It shoots at 12 frames per second and was designed for professional use in sports, editorial, and portrait photography under demanding conditions.

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