Games of Light and Shadow

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Light and shadow, lines and geometric forms, and patience, lots of patience. These represent the concept behind the series “Games of Light and Shadow”. The series was entirely made in the Cultural Centre “Vila Flor” in Guimarães, the birthplace of Portugal. I had one photo in mind when thinking of this place (“I - CCVF”), however, after spending some time studying the building I thought it had much more potential because as the light changes, the several lines could create good compositions. Therefore, I spent quite a few hours in this place waiting for the light to be in the right place and then for the people enter in the frame (unfortunately I chose a quiet day, without many people moving around). Against most of the photographers I wanted a sunny day to create a deep contrast between the clear and darker zones. I wanted to explore the perception that Light and Shadow are the two faces of the same coin, and one cannot “live” without the other. Only a dark mood can make dramatic images and allow the Light to shine. My idea was to capture the several lines and geometric shapes, emphasized by the degree of incidence of light. The human presence was a must (whenever possible) to give an earthly sense and a notion of scale.