Publisher: The Unknown Books
Website: http://theunknownbooks.net/
Copies: 50 (30 regular edition copies and 20 special edition copies)
We still have some copies of the book in the links below:
http://theunknownbooks.net/Saudade-Special-Edition
http://theunknownbooks.net/Saudade
Fábio Miguel Roque - Tell us a bit about yourself.
Nick Tauro Jr. - I have been taking photographs seriously since I was about 13 years old, when I took my first photo class in high school. I continued to pursue photographic studies in college, ultimately receiving a BFA degree in photography. Though I spend my days as a creative director in the advertising world, photography continues to be my passion, and has become even more so in the past 5 years, as I’ve devoted more time and energy towards it.
FMR - Who or what are your main inspirations?
NT - The photographers I am most inspired by are Robert Frank, William Klein and Daido Moriyama. I’ve also be more recently drawn back to the work of Nathan Lyons, whose book “Notations in Passing” has been very important to how I perceive the way photographs can work together in a sequence to create an almost subconscious narrative.
FMR - How do you define your photographic style?
NT - Well, I certainly have a reverence for the classic style that Robert Frank and William Klein pioneered, and I think that my personal style reflects this. I love black and white imagery, the contrast and grain. I would not consider myself a “street” or a “documentary” photographer, as I believe my work is more about my personal perception of the world, and less about any particular subject. I hope my style gives the viewer some insight into who I am as an artist and as a person.
FMR - What kind of camera do you use?
NT - The majority of my shooting is done with a Canon6D digital SLR, but I also have numerous film cameras that I still use. Anything from a simple Olympus point and shoot, to my wonderful Leica R4 or my Polaroid 250. I also always have my iPhone with me, and generally shoot with that in addition to any “real” camera I happen to be using.
FMR - Where are you based? And how does this define your work?
NT - I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. I find the environment here definitely has had an impact on my work. The light is so unique here; it paints things with such a beautiful, sharp quality. On top of that, the open spaces of the Southwest have been a constant source of inspiration for me. I love to wander the back roads and find traces of man’s presence against the backdrop of a landscape that is relentlessly unforgiving.
FMR - Why do you choose Portugal to do an art residency and why Porto?
NT - In 2014, I formed an international collective of photographers called Latent Image Collective with the intention to align myself with like-minded photographers around the world. One of our founding members happens to be you! (Fabio Miguel Roque, who is based in Sintra, Portugal.) One of the intentions of the collective was to encourage members to meet and collaborate with each other. So, I began to look for opportunities that might enable me to travel and work in Portugal. I discovered a monthly art residency in Porto called De Liceiras 18, to which I applied and was invited to attend. During my month in Portugal, I was able to meet and work with you (Fabio) on two occasions. It was the manifestation of the idea behind the formation of the collective, and was instrumental in helping me create the body of work that became the “Saudade” book.
FMR - Does this country influence your way of shooting?
NT - I fell in love with Portugal fairly quickly upon arriving in Porto. I found that it immediately influenced how I was shooting. I felt visually stimulated wandering the streets, especially early in the day. The varied environments that I explored in Portugal certainly exuded a strong connection to the past, despite the encroachment of 21stcentury globalization. I believe the Portuguese people generally seemed to retain this connection as well. This was most evident to me on the city streets, in the architecture and through the daily rituals that I witnessed firsthand. It appeared vastly stronger than in much of the rest of the EU that I had personally experienced.
FMR - What the word "saudade" mean to you?
NT - Initially, I was intrigued by the idea of “saudade,” having learned that it was a uniquely Portuguese trait, and I was curious to see if it was something tangible that I could document. I quickly recognized that my own personal experience of “saudade” seemed to arise and manifest itself when immersed in my new, unfamiliar surroundings. I came to understand that I possess a predisposition for reveling in melancholy and nostalgia, which ultimately created the mental space for me to make these photographs. I felt as if I had inherited “an indolent dreaming wistfulness” from my surroundings and its inhabitants.
FMR - Does the book reflect your month here or just a story inside a bigger story?
NT - I actually wasn’t thinking about creating a book at all when I originally planned my residency in Portugal. My hopes were focused on having a sabbatical, where I could rejuvenate my creativity at my own pace. But once I fell into a daily routine of shooting, I realized that I was compiling a body of work that I would want to share somehow. The opportunity to publish a book of the photos through The Unknown Books was a pleasant surprise for me. The publication of the book also lead to a solo exhibition of the photos here in Albuquerque, which, again, was furthest from my mind when I first arrived in Porto. Now, I’m seeing the body of work that I created in Portugal as a first step towards similar projects I’d like to pursue in other cities around the world.
FMR - Where do you see yourself in the future? Like next year?
NT - I am really motivated right now to shoot more and more. I am hoping to do more travelling for extended periods of time so I can create similar projects to the “Saudade” book. I am currently exploring possibilities to shoot in Sicily, or in Eastern Europe. But I also continue to shoot close to home in New Mexico, and have a collaborative project in the work right now that will hopefully lead to
another book or exhibit in the near future.
FMR – The next question is about Latent Image Collective. How did you come up with the idea of building up a photo collective? Are you happy with it so far? Do you have big plan for the collective future?
NT - The idea for the collective emerged because I was feeling somewhat isolated out in Albuquerque, and I really wanted to forge deeper bonds with fellow photographers, as a means to keep myself enthusiastic about shooting, as well as looking for new opportunities to collaborate. I reached out to photographers in locations to which I had either previously travelled, or places I hoped to visit some day. Most of these contacts came via our mutual following on Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram. Member photographers are located in Portugal, Scotland, Russia, Italy, Austria, Spain as well as in my home state of New Jersey and my adopted hometown of Albuquerque. Besides sharing a similar aesthetic, I was looking for collaborators who shared a desire for connections with other photographers, opportunities to collaborate on group-themed projects, sharing of ideas, and most importantly, the chance to travel: meet up and work on projects together, in person. In essence, this collaborative project would create and nurture mutually beneficial, cross-cultural bridges.
I am thrilled with the results of the group, thus far. We have a great website, we have worked on numerous theme projects together, and have had a number of gallery exhibits, including one here in New Mexico.
We are looking to expand the group selectively in the coming year, to extend our global reach into other areas of the world; perhaps Asia, the Middle East, Africa, or South America. And I’m hoping we can work on a print publication of the group’s work at some point, too. Plus, I’m hoping for more face-to-face meetings between members.
FMR - Any final thoughts?
NT - Life is short. Don’t waste time doing things that aren’t important to you. Align yourself with people who share your passion and your vision. This will help you circumvent the gatekeepers and enable you to get your work out in the world. When all else fails, do it yourself.
