The Work of Architectural Photographer Leonardo Finotti

The architect-turned-photographer captures Rio de Janeiro’s best angles in his monochromatic series of snaps

Words: Aylea Skye

When observing architecture and landscape through still images, there can be an inclination to overlook the composition, and, rather to reflect on what lies within the photograph. However, the manner in which we observe an architectural and landscape photograph is deciphered by the person behind the lens: the photographer.

He or she artfully constructs a perspective, angle or standpoint that captures the architectural achievement and surrounding landscape in a sensitive manner that is successful aesthetically. We asked architectural photographer Leonardo Finotti about his journey from architect to architectural photographer and his recent Rio Reenquadrado series of photos.

You graduated in architecture, why did you shift your focus from design to photography?

I studied both architecture and photography. By the time I had finished my architecture degree I managed to do my final work with photography. The real decision was made when I travelled to Italy and finally moved to Lisbon. There I started shooting landscape architecture and never stopped.

You often work in conjunction with architects, how does this compare to capturing architectural achievements of the past?

Naturally it is a good thing to have the architect around, to understand their intentions and desires, but in the end it is not that different. For me, to shoot for a client or to shoot for personal work is a similar process. Of course, when you have a client, you deal with others’ expectations, you need to deliver. But when I am the client, so to speak, I am very demanding as well.

For the past couple of years you’ve been working on the photo series Rio Reenquadrado. What inspired you to build a series around Rio’s landscape?

I have two lines of work that coincide in the Rio series. On the one hand, I keep to rigorously exploring modern architecture; on the other hand, I like to track those informal and anonymous landscapes you can find in Latin American cities. Rio stands out in modern architecture – think of Niemeyer, Burle Marx, Reidy, and many more. It has this informal side – one can say this wild side.

Besides, I like to structure my work in series. For that line of work, I usually partner with Michelle Jean de Castro, who is involved in the design of the installations. In the black and white squared series, I felt like rephotographing my own work, since the originals are in colour and rectangular.

The Rio Reenquadrado series does not focus exclusively on architecture. Was this your original intention, or did it develop organically when the project commenced?

At the beginning, all the series develop organically. I didn’t know that this was going to be a series until a few years ago, but some of the images were taken 10 years ago or more. Revisiting the archive allowed me to reflect on the series, and I then went back to Rio and shot what was missing.

In Rio, landscape and architecture are often merged, and Roberto Burle Marx takes a lot of responsibility for that. Art is also very present, mainly in the form of murals.

Is it significant that the series is shot on black and white film?

Black and white is a way of structuring all information and highlighting its essence.

Your work has taken you across the globe. How would you say Rio’s architectural landscape differs from that of other cities?

I have an ongoing project on Latin American modern architecture, which has been exhibited several times and published by Lars Müller. In that series you can find few patterns; Rio’s modern architecture differs not only from that of the rest of Latin America, but also from that of São Paulo or Belo Horizonte. In Rio, there is always the presence of landscape, even if it is a little garden. In many of the scenes that look natural in my photos, most of them are artificial landscapes, such as Flamengo Landfill [a park constructed on a landfill site], Copacabana sidewalks and Tijuca Forest.

Which Brazilian architects and photographers have inspired you and your career?

This is always hard to answer. Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s consistency inspires me. His conviction in the power of architecture is moving. As for photographers, when I started my career I had a master who trusted and trained me: Thomaz Harrell.