one of the most beautiful things about photography 摄影最美丽的事情之一

Ahead of her debut show, Sandra Cattaneo Adorno discusses her work：

“This is one of the most beautiful things about photography: to evoke feelings and situations in a way that is unconscious and a bit magical”

Where did your love for photographing people in public and on the streets first begin?

I started photographing eight years ago, when my daughter took me to my first photography class as a present for my 60th birthday. It was the summer of 2013, and the course was given by Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb in Barcelona. “Oh God,” I replied to my daughter Gwen when she asked me to go, but I went for the fun of it. I had no idea how to use the camera and I was obviously the worst in the class, but for some reason I don’t know,

I really found it fascinating. It was very funny. I had never thought of doing photography, but something just clicked and I loved it.

Your images have such a consistent look. What is your favourite type of light to shoot in?

Visually, I am drawn to strong light and bold colours. I love the way strong light and harsh contrast transform a scene and layer it with mystery as much as I appreciate the strength of bold colours and the immediacy with which they can communicate emotions. I enjoy photographing in strong light because of the way it transforms the scene and loads the images with poetry and mystery through very graphic effects. I also enjoy the light at sunset because of its soft golden tones and the long shadows it creates. In my book on Ipanema, ÁguasdeOuro, the golden light was the predominant visual element, whereas for my new book, THIS PAGE: (Top) Sandra’s latest exhibition takes in Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema Beach. (Above) Her photos capture the beauty of everyday life. (Bottom left) Sandra takes us on a journey through the remembrance of things past.

ScartidiTempo, I played with reflections and colours to enhance the mystery and mood of the scene.

How do you remain so undetected by the people you photograph?

I normally use a zoom lens, which allows me to photograph people from a distance and be undetected. I think being a woman helps, too, as people might feel less threatened by me, and they might accept my presence more

than that of a male photographer. While photographing on Ipanema for Águas

deOuro, I got closer to people and noticed that some of them were a little self-conscious at the beginning, but then carried on doing whatever they were doing without paying too much attention to me. Some other times, people were probably wondering what I was doing taking pictures of windows of shops and restaurants, and didn’t even realise I was capturing their reflections!

If you could carry one lens around for the day, which would it be?

I am drawn to situations both close to me and in the distance, so I use a 24-300mm zoom lens, which gives me a lot of flexibility. I feel comfortable using this lens, as I know what it can and cannot do, so photographing with it has become automatic. I can then be attentive to the scene around me and be more ready to capture moments.

Many of your photographs have quite an abstract feel, like slow shutter speeds, reflections and so on. Is this something you like to try?

For me, a photograph is good not because of what is in the frame, but because of where it takes you. I think this is one of the most beautiful things about photography: to evoke feelings and situations in a way that is unconscious and a bit magical. I do not have control over where the photos might take the viewers, so I think of my images as open-ended and free to be interpreted. That is why I try to increase the enigmatic quality of my photographs by experimenting with reflections and creating abstract images. The photos in Scartidi

Tempo are mostly reflections and composites for this reason.

What advice would you give to someone going out to shoot on the streets for the very first time?

To follow the light and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. I think that often, people put too much pressure on themselves when photographing, and almost forget that being on the streets looking for that special moment is an immense joy. I know it can be tiring and frustrating at times, but witnessing the beauty and poetry of the world, framing it with your own personal vision and sharing it with other people are gifts that we should never take for granted.

• Sandra Cattaneo Adorno debuts her first solo exhibition at the 6th edition of Personal Structures, which runs parallel with the 59th Venice Biennale on 23 April-27 November 2022. www.sandracattaneoadorno.com/ aguas-de-ouro

THIS PAGE: (Top) Sandra is fascinated by the way light, shadow, colour and form can create optical illusions.

(Middle) The colour plates (scarti) are separated into cyan, magenta, yellow and black. (Bottom) Through her photography, Sandra feels like she is accumulating “scraps” of time.

在她的处女秀之前，桑德拉·卡塔内奥·阿多诺讨论了她的作品 "这是摄影最美丽的事情之一：以一种无意识和有点神奇的方式唤起感觉和情境" 你对在公共场合和街头拍摄人物的热爱最初是从哪里开始的？ 八年前，我开始拍摄，当时我的女儿带我去上了我的第一堂摄影课，作为我60岁生日的礼物。那是2013年的夏天，课程由Alex Webb和Rebecca Norris Webb在巴塞罗那授课。"哦，上帝，"当我的女儿格温让我去时，我回答她，但我是为了好玩而去的。我不知道如何使用相机，我显然是班上最差的，但由于某种原因我不知道， 我真的觉得它很吸引人。这很有趣。我从来没有想过要做摄影，但有些东西只是点击了一下，我喜欢它。 您的图像具有如此一致的外观。您最喜欢用哪种类型的光线拍摄？ 在视觉上，我被强烈的光线和大胆的色彩所吸引。我喜欢强烈的光线和强烈的对比度改变场景并赋予其神秘感的方式，就像我欣赏大胆色彩的力量以及它们可以传达情感的即时性一样。我喜欢在强光下拍摄，因为它可以改变场景，并通过非常图形化的效果为图像加载诗歌和神秘感。我也喜欢日落时的光线，因为它柔和的金色色调和它创造的长阴影。在我关于伊帕内玛的书中，ÁguasdeOuro，金光是主要的视觉元素，而对于我的新书，这个页面：（顶部）桑德拉的最新展览在里约热内卢的伊帕内玛海滩。（上图）她的照片捕捉了日常生活的美丽。（左下）桑德拉带我们踏上了一段回忆过去的旅程。 ScartidiTempo，我玩弄了反射和颜色，以增强场景的神秘感和情绪。 你怎么会被你拍摄的人如此不被发现？ 我通常使用变焦镜头，这让我可以从远处拍摄人物，而不会被发现。我认为做一个女人也有帮助，因为人们可能会觉得受到我的威胁更少，他们可能会更多地接受我的存在。 比男摄影师的还要多。在伊帕内玛为阿瓜斯拍摄时 deOuro，我走近了人们，注意到他们中的一些人在开始时有点自我意识，但后来继续做他们正在做的事情，而没有太关注我。其他时候，人们可能想知道我在做什么，拍摄商店和餐馆的窗户，甚至没有意识到我正在捕捉他们的倒影！ 如果您可以随身携带一个镜头，那会是哪个？