One subject, 365 views
Tunisio’s 365 project: A picture a day of the Barra Lighthouse, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Built in 1698, the Barra lighthouse in Salvador, Brazil, is the oldest lighthouse in the Americas. Every year thousands of visitors climb the tower via a spiral staircase to admire the bronze lantern and take in the panoramic views from the top. Capturing an unusual photograph of a popular landmark is always tricky, but things get a whole lot harder when you decide to do it every day for a year! ‘i had been photographing major sites in my city and sharing them online for a few years when i decided to focus on the One lighthouse, 365 Clicks series,’ says tunisio Alves Filho, who posted the first picture in July 2011. ‘i decided to photograph it as a personal challenge with the goal of coming up with unique angles of one of the most photographed locations in my country.’
As the days went by tunisio used the changing tides, weather, vegetation, sea life and surrounding buildings to create new compositions. ‘ the main challenge was coming up with fresh angles after the obvious ones had been taken,’ he admits. ‘On day one every angle was new, but by day 300 it was getting tricky.’ On a few occasions it took tunisio hours to find a composition he was happy with, but the joy of being outdoors was enough to ease any frustration. ‘On such occasions i put down my equipment and waited for inspiration to arrive,’ he explains. Over time tunisio found he had to step out of his comfort zone. ‘Sometimes i had to approach strangers on the street, or ask for access to restricted locations,’ he reveals. ‘But when you are constantly photographing you unintentionally develop your skills, and up your game. You learn how to get the most out of your equipment, and you find yourself noticing things that were always there, but you never noticed before.’
tunisio posted his One lighthouse, 365 Clicks images on his website, and was spurred on by the positive feedback he received. ‘Sharing the photos online, interacting with other artists, and receiving good feedback was a great motivator,’ he suggests, ‘especially when it came from people i had never met who reached out to me. Knowing that my work was inspiring others was very heartening.’ the thought of giving up never occurred to tunisio. in fact, he enjoyed the whole process so much he decided to continue photographing the lighthouse after the 365 days were up. ‘i’ve been photographing the building for seven years now,’ he explains, ‘only now i do things more slowly, posting weekly instead of daily.’ images from the One lighthouse, 365 Clicks project can be found on tunisio’s website, while more recent shots of the lighthouse can be seen on his instagram account.