I’m the son of a photographer, and so my first memory of photography is playing with my father’s negatives in his darkroom. He was the one who taught me to take pictures.
My first assignment was covering a horse race. I went there as a freelancer for a local newspaper, and I quickly learnt how difficult it is to shoot action photos with a manual focus. But, at the same time, a manual focus is perfect for making you keep your concentration. Before the race I was very nervous, but it was a good and exciting experience.
I started working for Reuters after I sent in a picture of a confrontation between police and drug traffickers back in 1995.
Covering the 1996 Olympics was the assignment that left the biggest mark on me. It was the fulfilment of a dream, and an opportunity to cover lots of different sports that are not popular in my country.
The assignments that excite me the most are social and documentary subjects. They give you the chance to get in contact with and learn about different people and their stories.
I never think about a certain audience when I shoot. I take pictures for everyone.
I’ve lost a lot of films by leaving them on the seats at Rio’s international airport. I think that’s given me my biggest lesson as a photographer.
In photography, the person I respect the most is my father because he is the one who taught me.
Being able to tell stories through my photography is my passion.
