{my pittoresca Amazon}

from the project: “My Pittoresca Amazon”

Every photographs has its own story. Or: every photographer has a story to tell.

Ask any photographer and he or she will confirm this. And, as a bonus, you will hear many stories; some amazing ones, perhaps; even half-made-up stories. This one of mine is, therefore, not (much) different from any other. I have no proof, but it’s true!

Here is the story of this photograph: our research boat, the Amanaí – from the National Institute for Amazonian Research, INPA, Manaus, AM – anchored in this location on the left bank of the Alto Solimões on a morning in May 1982 with the aim of purchasing fish to renew the food stock in the boat’s kitchen. This was very early, maybe somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00 in the morning. No more.

Now comes a detail: a detail that is not yet possible – and perhaps never will be – in photography: recording smells, odors. The air gave off a delicious smell of fried fish. This smell is very consistent with the diet of the riverside people of the Amazon of eating a lot of fish. In the photo, a little smoke is even slightly noticeable coming out through the cracks in the house, which is the only proof of the delicious smell I smelled while taking this photo.

The photo also shows two piles of cassava – the famous cassava tree here In Brasil – one next to the house and another, larger one, next to the canoe anchored on the bank of the mighty Solimões River. Another item in the diet of these people, widely used in cuisine throughout the Amazon region.