Pedro de Passos is a minimalistic photographer from Portugal. His style of photography is a bit unusual for those who mainly take snapshots but it’s gaining a lot popularity among those who wish to capture something which is apparently ‘less’ but has ‘more’ in terms of simplicity, beauty, and aesthetic value. It also depends a lot on a viewer how he perceives from an image and what is his/her definition of art. Pedro’s images are very well composition and their tonal balance is done in a masterly manner. As there are not distracting elements in his images, they draw their attention with the flow of light, texture, and moment expressed through curves and lines.It is indeed very rewarding to look at and appreciate such photography. Here’s Pedro’s interview with Lenspeople:

Hello Pedro! Tell our readers about you and things you like and do:

My name is Pedro de Passos and I’m a minimalism photographer from O’porto, Portugal. I was born in Viana do Castelo. its a small town in north of Portugal near the border with Spain but its beautiful. We have mountains, river and sea in the same places, so in terms of geographic location is wonderful, even for sports.

I moved to O’porto where I did my graduation in Visual Arts - Photography in ESAP (Escola Superior Artística do Porto) and I also studied Architecture in the same university. Finished my Master Degree in Art and Design for Public Spaces in January of this year.

In the moment I’m freelancing in some studios and companies here in Portugal, mostly in photographic direction in some movies/short movies, but also working and directing some projects of performance Art in Ballet Teatro here in O’porto. I like people, reading, music, running, movies…

Tell us what is photography and when did you begin it:

Photography is my everyday drug! I just need it! Those 10 seconds or less when I’m framing I feel super relaxed and calm. Sometimes I just want that feeling to last more time to go throughout the day.

I started taking photography seriously about 4 years ago when I started to study architecture. I didn’t have a lot of time because of all the works for the university, so I managed to connect photography with architecture by using point-and-shoot cameras everyday from my house to the university. I started taking at least one photography per day, even if it’s with my camera or my cellphone.

What do you like shooting most… that’s about your key area in photography:

My key areas are street / urban / fine art / conceptual / minimal photography. That’s all about my interest in photography at the moment.

Have you had any achievements to share with us?

Hmm… it is my publication in some international zines like Justified Magazine, Voight Kampff and Der Greif latest exhibition. That’s all I can recall at the moment.

Tell us about your cameras and related stuff:

Right now I’m between 35 mm and 120 mm cameras. In 35 mm I use Olympus MJU-II, Olympus XA2 and I’m getting a Contax T2 this week actually. In 120mm cameras I use a Fujifilm GA645 and a Hasselblad 501c.

I use the 35mm point and shoot a lot because of my fast day to day life. I’m always on the move here in O’porto and I need a small and fast camera to use when I’m walking and see what I want to photograph, but at the same time I like the type of lens that those cameras have and how they manage to capture light and colours in a smooth way.

I try not to use a lot of digital manipulation. What I usually do is that I develop the films and scan them. I just use Photoshop to clean a little bit of possible dust or hair in the image.

Any special reason for using film cameras?

I use film cameras because of all the process it has. My mom put on me this interest in photography when I was a kid and she got me my first camera when I was around 6 years old (a Kodak Star 275). So I always keep that interest in the film and developing and waiting to see how the images came etc. Also I like the sound… that CLICK of the old cameras. The sound of the Hasselblad, oh my God! (by now you are thinking this guy is crazy haha).

Tell us a bit about your shooting process and things that make you click:

My work arises through an ambulatory process in the city on a daily basis and more connected to architecture, but also in the most simple light or element in a private location.

The city is the site of an ongoing activity, routine or impulsive rhythmically to the extreme concentration of always intense, frantic human activity acts. So by moving my ciclopic eye (camera) to the sky I break this concentration of my formal routine and horizontal view and find more interesting forms and details of our life that we are not used to find. At the same time I think this evidence a certain human scale between the body and the architecture I photograph.

It has a documentary character that focuses in the materials, forms, colors, light and creates a contemplation of the unnoticed and the beauty of the ordinary.

Despite my work comes from a very ambulatory procedure in the city in my day-to-day and in a busy way, I try minimizing the content of the image making it simple and clean as possible with smooth lines. I accentuate a depth of space and the real space through the use of diagonal angles. I try to transmit a sense of calm but at the same time create a state of unrest in the people who view the photographs, making them think or even question what could be further the margins of the image.

Because of my fast walk everyday my photographic composition us not a careful one, but a millimeter sloppy composition I always respond to the individual architecture and on-site light variations, never working with additional light sources, through the use of 35mm film point and shoot cameras that provide a fast shooting and a continuous shoot and walk, allowing an interconnection between city life and photography.

Do you have any favorite photographers?

I like photographers from Dusseldorf School: Bernd and Hilla Becher, Laurenz Berges, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth and Jörg Sasse.

Say something to our readers, if you please:

Yeah, I tell everyone to read a lot before photographing! See what has been done and how you can had a diferent personal view of key areas and projects.

Pedro de Passos links: Website | Flickr | Facebook | Tumblr

Note: All images appearing in this post are the exclusive property of Pedro de Passos and protected under the International Copyright laws. Their copying and reproduction in any manner is strictly prohibited without the express permission of the owner.