It’s not easy to catch Fernando Guerra for an interview. The Portuguese photographer – who in 1999 founded the studio FG+SG together with his brother Sérgio – is always on the move, photographing life around the best Portuguese and international architecture.
To celebrate his career, his passion and his vision, the video production agency Building Pictures has produced a documentary in which he stars – “The Flying Photographer”. It will be screened for the first time in June at the Arquiteturas Film Festival in Lisbon, an event now in its seventh year.
Sara Nunes, who directed the film, followed Guerra around the world for a year and talked to some of the architects the photographer counts among this clients: Isay Weinfeld, Arthur Casas, Márcio Kogan, X-Architects, Álvaro Siza and Carlos Castanheira.
We spoke to Fernando Guerra about his work, daily life and his passion for capuring architecture in use, three aspects that are united and inextricable in his work.
Can you tell us about your work process?
Each day Sérgio informs me of my agenda. He tells me where I will be, and my upcoming projects for the next week or the next month. But for me, the project only starts to resonate when I find out who I will be working with on site. There is complete freedom in the work I do yet at the same time it is based on a collaboration with the architects and the people who engage with the building. It’s an organic process, my tool is the camera and the result is the image.
The most significant part, however, is working with people to capture a moment and create a memory within the building. It always comes back to people, my relationship with the architect, how our friendship grows through time and how this inspires the images.
What is the most difficult aspect of architecture to represent?
Architecture that is made for profit or just function. People engage with these buildings differently, even on a subconscious level and there is no story for me to capture. It’s not just boring; it becomes difficult to shoot.
I am instinctively drawn to buildings that are built on hard work, love and a passion for the design process. Not just because of the building itself but because you can immediately see how people connect and interact with the place, and in the process, we are rewarded with something special and this is what I love to work with.
To walk around site with the architect for the first time and sense a mixture of pride, nerves and excitement… it’s priceless. This is when my job is a joy and the best moments are there to be documented.
What time of day do you prefer to photograph?
You can discover an image at any time of day. In that sense it’s not about the best time of day or waiting for something to happen. There is always something happening, people are always interacting with buildings. It’s about being alert, switched on, constantly looking for the moment and ready to capture what you find.
Because of this, my photography schedule is ‘all day’ (and every day). It’s a cliché to say it’s a way of life, but it’s true. I’m hungry for pictures and making them. If you stop searching, you stop improving and you are only good as your last effort. This is the challenge but it’s what I love about my work.
Have you become friends with any of your architect clients?
Through time, I’ve become friends with most of the architects I work with. In the beginning, we have the same goal and the same ambition. This creates a bond, an easy connection which is based on trust. With time, travel and new jobs together we naturally become friends. Good friends.