The New York Times recently featured the work of photographer Lalo de Almeida in a slideshow accompanying a travel article on Salvador da Bahia, the legendary Brazilian city described by the writer Jorge Amado as “the most mysterious and beautiful of the world’s cities” and “the most languid of women.”
The informative article by Larry Rohter tells us that Salvador da Bahia is reputed to have 365 churches, one for every day of the year, however it is also home for Candomblé, the African-derived religion and Brazil’s equivalent to voodoo. The Candomblé worship ceremonies are held in open-air sanctuaries known as terreiros in the poor neighborhoods of the city. I expect these would be fascinating venues for photography!
I very much like the lovely photograph by de Almeida of this equally lovely (and languid?) Bahian woman...it's exactly how I would've photographed her, against the backdrop of a cobblestoned street and looking away from the center of the photograph...giving the impression to the viewer that there's something else in the scene beyond the reach of the lens.
The NY Times' Jorge Amado's Salvador
