Carlos Serrao named as Hasselblad Master for April 2006

Press Release:
Each year Hasselblad appoints twelve new photographers as Hasselblad Masters. The selected photographers represent both documented and well-established photographers as well as imaginative, ambitious photographers at the beginning of their careers. The selection is based on factors such as level of ambition, wealth of ideas, and photographic technical skill and respects both the traditions of photography and the need for renewal. One prerequisite is that the photographer must have used a Hasselblad camera to take the selected images.

The Hasselblad Masters represent photography at its finest; at its most inspired, most communicative, most beautiful. They are young, old, western, eastern, classical, experimental, traditional, modern, and futuristic. They have perhaps one thing in common though: they are masters at conveying an instant, an emotion, with images. Masters of the art and craft that is photography.

To showcase the new Hasselblad Masters, various activities take place throughout the year including articles in the press, participation in campaigns, etc. A new Hasselblad calendar is also produced every year featuring images from the twelve participants. The Hasselblad Master photographer for April 2006 is Carlos Serrao.

Carlos Serrao
There seems to be a shared characteristic between Carlos Serrao and the spirit behind what he sometimes portrays. He often photographs athletes who know they are only going to stick out from the crowd if they constantly seek to improve on performance; they have to add just that little extra. Carlos also realises there is normally room for improvement in his chosen field too, always having to add that little extra. Perhaps that is why he is attracted to action and sport. Nike, the international sportswear and accessory giant, were attracted enough to Carlos work that they not only asked him to cover their activities in the 2004 Olympic Games, but they asked him to handle their part in the 2006 Football World Cup as well.

Carlos Serrao hails from Miami Beach, USA, but has settled in New York. He had an early interest in the visual arts, making super-8 films until he discovered 35mm photography. He kept an active involvement through college and just kept on his pursuit of improvement.

Carlos Serrao chooses to work 100% digital nowadays with an H2 and a Hasselblad back, It has allowed me to control much more he says and adds, the systems are improving everyday. As sport and action photography appear strongly on his agenda, choice of equipment capable of rapid handling would naturally be a feature on top of the list. He rarely uses a 35mm camera anymore as he thinks the H1 and H2 handle like 35mm cameras anyway. Apart from this important aspect, reliability and lens performance are also mentioned as essential characteristics that he demands.

In some of his sport and action work in a studio environment, you can see the amount of planning that would have to take place of course. Its interesting to hear therefore that an early influence was Anton Corbijn; hardly famous for sports and action, I liked how he could make a great shot with just a Hasselblad and two lenses, and make the most out of whatever location he was in. Perhaps this early influence left a mark though as portraiture and fashion work also feature in Carlos portfolio. Magazines such as Time, Mens Journal, Esquire, GQ etc like to use his work and his list of subjects includes several celebrities. His client list also includes more corporate names such as IBM, Gatorade, Sony and Delta Airlines, to mention a few. The wide scope of clientele provides him therefore with the opportunity to photograph a range of subjects and people from fashion models to rocket scientists, which he likes. The best thing about this job is the access to people and things you wouldnt get to meet or experience otherwise, he adds.

Carlos Serrao says that six months after every shoot he feels he could do it better if he had the chance again. It is that attitude to your work, the continual reappraisal and improvement, that produces better results which in turn produce awards such as PDN top 30, Commarts 1998, PDN Self Promo 1st Place 2005, PDN 1st Place Digital Imaging 2004, and a D&A Award 2003.

Theres a portfolio site for you to browse through if you want to see more work from Carlos Serrao:
www.carlosserrao.com.