Dead fly

Computer brain

Man and sea (i)

The dog

Portal to the sea

Roads of nature

Childhood

Old farm

End of line

A hand

“I prefer to embrace the imperfections of nature than search for technically perfect photography.”

Moisés Santana

Convergence is a word I use to describe this cultural moment that allows the many streams of world cultures to bind together and create something new.

But Brazilian culture has convergence in its very blood. It’s a nation that’s adapts indigenous, European, African, and Asian influences, blends them together, to continuously develop new forms of art.

Moisés Santana is one artist creating exciting new works. Hailing from Bahia, Brazil, he specializes in street scenes, nature, and landscapes. Viewing his snapshots, I’m struck by how well he captures a moment in time, delivering little slices of life that cannot be found elsewhere. His use of black and white allows him to focus on grain, which brings more life and texture to his subjects.

Commenting on what motivates him:

“In my photos I try to escape some of the current “rules” of digital photography that put the perfection of sharpness and amounts of megapixels above anything, so the philosophy of the culture [of] Sizz fits in many things which I think about when making a photograph, where I prefer to embrace the imperfections of nature than search for technically perfect photography, such as the Japanese wabi-sabi.”

I relate strongly to Moisés’ sentiments. Looking back, I realize what’s often kept me from developing as an artist is the notion that I need to have the right gear and the technical know how to fiddle with obscure equipment settings.

But that’s not important. What is important is the act of creativity, and creativity is often messy.

Moisés alludes to the Japanese aesthetics of wabi-sabi which celebrates the “perfectly imperfect” and the “imperfectly perfect,” acknowledging that almost everything is impermanent on this planet (and that’s okay). What this means is, if you need to create, just do it. If it’s not perfect, embrace it.

To practice his wabi-sabi craft of photography, Moisés uses a Fuji X-E2 camera and some analogical lenses made during the 60s and 70s. But don’t focus too much on his kit. For Moisés, it’s all about the feeling that results from his captures.

