Interview with Antonio Coelho
BIFA 2023 Winner, 1st Place, Non-Professional Advertising, “State of Mind!”
Q: Can you briefly tell us about your background and what inspired you to pursue photography?
That’s an interesting question, I’m actually an electrical engineer in my main profession. However, since I was young I have maintained a connection to the arts, having even maintained an interest in studying architecture.
Photography came my way in 2010 in analogue and I progressed to digital, roughly in 2014. So it’s been 10 years of experimentation in this art. Today it is more than a hobby as I try to create different visions with my images.
Q: What drove you to submit your work to the BIFA competition and your thoughts on how winning this competition impacted your artistic journey?
The competition presents itself as a reference in Europe, like others such as the PX3. The quality of the work is exceptional and quite diverse.
The fact of having achieved victory in this competition, for me, is of enormous relevance as I notice that thther in the gallery presentation or on the internet, through social networks.
Since my work, in this case works, as I had other works awarded with silver, are different worere is a great publicity of the winning works, wheks, in my perception, it was a way of checking if they would have the quality and reach with the jury.
I think I got these options right, which made me quite happy.
Q: Could you describe any challenges you faced while capturing this moment (winning image/s)?
The main challenge of my series was to create something original and different, however this proved difficult, either due to the use of colors that attract attention but keep the series homogeneous, or at the same time by exploring the color circle, taking into account the rules of opposite colors, contrasting but also similar colors, creating harmony in the final results.
Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important factors in creating great images?
The difference. I think that difference or innovation are the key factors in obtaining good images, without neglecting the quality of photographic equipment, or in the absence of great equipment, exploring the best techniques to obtain an impactful result.
Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of photography?
It’s always complicated to answer this question, if we look at photography in a basic and simple way, take photos and save the best ones, that’s enough. When we want to impress, we have to be creative.
Q: What motivates and drives your photography?
The challenge, creativity and the desire to memorize moments for later, through this art. I would like to “climb” in this art and become a photographer with my works very visible, I think that depends on me.
Q: What’s next for you in your career as a photographer?
The competitions that I have won nationally and internationally, such as BIFA, TIFA, PX3, IPA, NDawards, Sony Awards, Xposure, Oneeyeland, among others, have brought the possibility of soon having a book published with my best photographs, almost 100 pages, and soon I will have an exhibition in a European city, which I cannot reveal yet, for obvious reasons.
I am ending a new series that is a mix of photography of architectonic buildings, gradient layers and color, a lot of color.
You can see on my instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/antonio_bernardino_/
The idea will be to learn and grow in photography.
