Moments (Salamanca Exhibition # 22, 23)

No words necessary.

Reading in the sun.

No human was harmed during the performance of this stunt.

The Market (Salamanca Exhibiton # 20, 21)

When Hugo invited me to do the exhibiton, I almost freaked out because I didn't have many photos with the themes of 'multiculturalism', 'imigration' and something else.

So, I decided to go to a local market near my mother's house. I later came to realise that that was a huge mistake. People didn't want pictures taken, they looked away, and one woman yelled at me. She yelled her lungs out at me! So, all in all, not a very rewarding experience.

I did manage to snap 2 (out of 43) (yes, 43) photos which I tought reflected the market people.

The market people are usually older people (older than me, not old), in their 40-60 years of age, who never move very far away from their area. They protect their produce and are nice to the approching people they can detect will buy something. The other are shooched away with sideway glances. I also noticed, while there, that they were always rubbing their hands and keeping them in their apron pockets. Don't know why.

They were very simple clothes, in plain fabrics, usually with a plaid pattern on their shirt or scarfs, many with (once) white plastic aprons.

I managed to snap a photo of a (not very mentally sane) woman, who was walking around the different market sections, advising people on what to buy. When they picked something up that she didn't think was good enough, she would insult them and then pick the right produce.

This was taken in the fruit section. The woman on the right is the not vey mentally sane produce advising woman. I think the pinapples give it a funny flare.

Butchers. Enough said. I love the eyebrows on the man on the left, very full. His apron is a little spotted with blood, but that's ok.

Loneliness (Salamanca Exhibition 17, 18, 19)

See the person sitting with their legs crossed smoking a cigarette? The one with a hoody? Boy or girl? Boy or girl? Can you guess?

This one is in downtown Lisbon, to the left of where I was standing when I took this one. One the wall there are some writting with the translations into several languages of the sentence "Lisboa, Cidade da Tolerância" - Lisbon, City of Tolerance. The English one is right under the Portuguese one, in the middle, also close to the Spanish one. As it so happened, someone wasn't very tolerant - the first letters of the Portuguese word 'Tolerance' as graffited over.

I took this picture at the entrance of a boat terminal in Lisbon, where people take the boat to cross the river. It was pretty much 'snap and run', because the security guard had already told me twice that I could not take any pitures. This is (luky) photo number 13.

A foggy day in Lisbon town (aka Salamanca Exhibiton photos 14, 15, 16)

These are all pictures of the same place: Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square, literally translated) in Lisbon.

Crazy homeless man who cursed at me and threatened me to leave.

I find this photo to be very artistic. Almost magic. The person walking in the background, the fog/humidity, the lamp posts...

This picture is very grainy, due to humidity. I took this one around January 2008 when I was going home. I was standing on a bench and someone took a picture of me taking the picture. If you see a cray girl on a bench during a day/night with a lot of humidity, the chnaces are that it is me.

Salmanca Exhibition # 11, 12, 13

I am now realising that my photos - or at least most of them - have two things in common:

- I am never there on purporse taking the pictures. I usually am on my way somewhere else and just so happen to take a picture of something I thought was interesting (for these, I was on my way to the supermarket (1st photo), on my way home (2nd) and on my ay to a local market (3rd)).

- Only when I get home do I notice that I took an interesting photos. This applies to most of my good photos, but not only.

These three pictures, to me, are all about the contrast, whether in shadows or black and white bouldness.

I took this one in Rossio, a large square in downtown Lisbon. This place where I was is a hangout spot for people of different races - Africans, Asians, etc.. I tried to take pictures of people of different social or cultural background but they all came you really bad. I was about to leave to go to the supermarket when I noticed that the man I first thought was asleep was now comlaining about something. He was asleep on the pedestal, touching the star, and when he turned around, he fell and that is what he was complaining about. I heard him cursig, turned around very fast, took the picture and left. As I was waiting for the lights to change near the crossroad, I was browsing throught he pictures and saw that the framing was decent, the light was ok and it was an interesting picture with a religious something to it: on the background you have a religious building (Catholic) and a Jewish star in the front.



I went for a stroll around the city and ended up in Largo do Carmo (Carmo Square), in Baixa. I was trying t take pictures at this group of performers (singer, guitar player and juggler) but the photos were coming out terribly ugly. I had already noticed this couple when I first got there but didn't try to take their picture because they were always loking in my direction. So, there I am trying to take a decent picture when I hear this really fun laughter, the kind f laughter you know that the person laughing is really enjoying him/herself. I turn around and take the picture. The funny thing is that it wasn't until I got home that I noticed that I had caught the guy laughing.

I love this one, eve though I dn't really know why. This is the picture of the shadow of a man who sells 2nd hand books under the arcades of Praça do Comércio in Lisbon. He has a cruffy beard and very understanding eyes. He saw that I was taking his picture and didn't mind at all. He went on back and forth with his stroll. When I finnished (10 pictures for 1 good one), I thanked him and he he smiled at me and nodded his head once.

Salamanca Exhibition photos # 8, 9, 10

To me, all of these picture have a feeling of loneliness in then. Yet, I don't hink they are sad photos.

Train station.

Love it!

Taken in one of my favourite hangout spots: the S. Pedro de Alcântara Belvedere, in Lisbon. I go there and read and enjoy the view... very relaxing.

Salamanca Exhibition # 7

Homeless man, who saw that I was going to take the picture and started to leave. 1 second later, it would have been too late.

Salamanca Exhibition # 6

The woman in the post bellow reminded me of this man, who also seems tiny.

Salamanca Ehibition # 5

Bairro Alto - Lisbon

A man kneeling down and cooking some sardines on a grill and a man who when for a walk with his dog.

Salamanca Exhibition # 4

One of my first picksfor the exhibition. It's in the Castle, in Lisbon. Only after a week or so did I realize who Biblical it looked, with the tree and the light.

I remember being a kid and going up to the Castle and seeing this tree there, exactly it is now. In over 10 years that it hasn't changed. I love who the leaves are very crips.

There's something about it.

Salamanca Exhibition # 3

Bairro Alto, Lisbon

Salamanca Exhibition # 2

30 Março 2009 - Napping

I took this picture in Lisbon, near the S. Carlos National Theatre. This old man was probably taking a nap as it was after lunch and I took the opportunity to snap a picture. There was a foreign couple sitting on a bench next to him who saw me taking the picture and were always pointing at me and whispering. I didn't hear what they were saying, but I didn't need.

On the background you see a statue of a man with a book instead of a head. That is Fernando Pessoa, famous Portuguese poet, although in real life he did have a head. It was built to comemorate the100 years of his birth (I think) and placed in this square because he lived for a very long time on the building behind it (windows with varandas).

Salamanca Exhibition # 1

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira - 30.03.2009 - Metro, Lisbon)

I also leave you with one of the pictures from my Salamanca exhibition.