The landscapes, sceneries, perspectives, horizons and panoramas are endless at TheVagar. Colours mix with flavours. Sensations blend with smells. And you have to capture the essence of each of these elements.
For all of this and much more, we went to find out the tricks of those who do this work with mastery, passion and courage. Here, at TheVagar. He is Jorge Silva, the photographer who makes magic with the resources of this wonderful space, through the lens of his camera. In the highlands, he is better known as Juja, and with his friends from his student days, as Siberia. He loves to go out to discover, nature and the Interior of Portugal. Serra da Estrela is his refuge and this is where he finds his inner peace.
1. You studied Tourism, you work in a bakery and you dedicate yourself to photography. Are you a man of many passions?
It's funny that the passion for photography begins at university. I studied Tourism in Seia. But, since I was a child, the passion for photography was in the air. However, the real interest began in 2005. This is when the learning starts and you can believe that every day you can learn something new. I am not a professional, but in general people like my work and I have been awarded a few times in photography competitions. In 2019 I start a personal photography project, together with my girlfriend, which is an Instagram page: the @viagensnointerior. The main goal is to showcase Beira Interior and the riches that it hides.
2. How did the opportunity to photograph TheVagar arise?
I studied with Marta and André and we created a friendship that has lasted for 20 years. Of course, each one went their own way, but we always kept in touch and that's where the opportunity to photograph TheVagar came from. Marta was following my work and got in touch with me. She told me about the project, and of course I was super excited and accepted the challenge.
3. What most motivated you to enter this project and why?
The thing that motivated me the most was the friendship I have with André and Marta, but combining a tourism project, with so much potential, to my personal photography project, would always be an added value. The @viagensnointerior is no longer unnoticed and helping TheVagar to reach further, through photography, is in itself more than enough reason.
4. What is the biggest challenge you have faced at TheVagar and how did you overcome it?
I think all the work done at TheVagar has its challenges, as there are many different themes. But I believe that finding the ideal light is the most challenging, since the essential element to photography is light. Afterwards, each work will have its own adventures, but these will be the memories that will remain from the creation of TheVagar.
5. How do you evaluate the relationship you have established with Marta and André, as well as the rest of the TheVagar team?
Simple and pure friendship. There we all work with our hearts and dedication. After all, TheVagar is a little bit of all of us. At the end of it all, what's most gratifying is that we all leave there with a smile on our faces with every single work done.
6. How has TheVagar allowed you to grow as a professional?
As I mentioned above, I'm not a professional, I just have a very special passion for photography. Here, and I think that as in everything we do, we are always learning and we are always looking to do our job better. I believe it is this incessant search for ideas and techniques that makes us grow daily.
7. In your opinion, how important is photography for the success of a tourism business?
Nowadays we live in a digital age, where we are constantly overloaded with millions of images of anything and everything. In a tourism business, photography is our image, it's what we want the client to feel when they open TheVagar's gallery. I think we have been able to show that, as all the photography is done in a genuine way in Serra da Esperança, the place that hosts this project.
8. All creatives have their own signature that is left imprinted on their work. Where can we see yours in TheVagar's photos?
I can't say I have my own signature. I just try to follow the line of simplicity. Then, in the field, each work is a work and I have to adapt to the scenarios that are proposed to me in the best way. I always try not to take a "banal" photograph. Of course, sometimes this can happen, but I try to explore different angles and perspectives.
9. More than a TheVagar partner, do you consider yourself a TheVagar customer?
Yes, I consider myself a TheVagar customer. Nowadays, differentiation is an advantage, and I think TheVagar has a lot of points in its favour in this respect. Another reason is that TheVagar will allow us to disconnect from the world, relax in harmony with nature and recover energy from the stress we accumulate in our daily lives. I think a stay at TheVagar will be much more than just "sleeping in a hotel".
10. Tell us the biggest adventure that happened during the photography sessions at TheVagar that you'd like to share with us.
There are always adventures and that's also what makes theVagar team so special... but, in particular, I had one with the drone, that, due to the sun, for a moment, I stopped seeing it and believe me it scared a bit. Otherwise, and despite waking up every day at dawn to go to work, only this project to make me get up at 6am on a Sunday morning to go to work. It has been a pleasure!
Thanks Jorge! Without you, TheVagar wouldn't be so pretty!