Miguel Rio Branco: Inspiration From Masters Of Photography

Miguel Rio Branco is a Brazilian Photographer who was born in 1946. His father was a diplomat and as a kid Miguel lived in various countries such as Portugal, Switzerland and United States.

Having done his degree in photography from Institute of Photography New York, Miguel initially started working as a cinematographer and then began to collaborate his works with the great Magnum Agency in 1980.

In his earlier days, he was very much noted for his dramatic quality of color scheme he produced and has often been a freelance photographer and director of photography for movies. Then having become the member of magnum, he explored his Brazil and published a book depicting the fringe elements in the society during that period of time. His book Nakta was very much noted for the material power of images very much exploring the theme of bestiary inside every man and animal.

Miguel is personally known to explore and interbreed two different art forms, Painting and Photography. He wanted to search the comprehension and expression of himself in relation to the world through some of the ingenious works ever produced.

“Since the beginning, I have always relied on interbreeding. Painting meeting photography. Drawing meeting collage. Photography meeting cinema. Music meeting poetry. Poetry meeting montage. All these meetings are part of the many crossroads in the search for a comprehension and expression of myself in relation to the world.”

Why I like Miguel Rio Branco

Stark Sensuous and Sensational pictures with a spur of surprising reality
Actions and Colors gel well to produce some of the most artistic as well as disturbing photographs
Composition and vivid colors, as Miguel already said, this is more of a fusion between two wonderful art forms.
Contrast within the frame through brilliant interpretation of mood and characters.
Simple and elegant frame structure and picturisation which makes us feel native.
True essence and flavor of a street through some brilliant post work, also great impact through some light and dark shadow play.
Undisturbed and unstaged work of his, makes us believe and feel for the warm rapport he must have before the shot.
Masterclass narration fo the lifestyle and story within a character, through dark surreal and puzzling environments.