Henri Prestes Talks to Them Frames about his Enchanting Photography
Simply put: the photographs made by Henri Prestes are incredible. His camera is what a brush is to a painter; a tool that aids his creative vision. And the vision Prestes displays seems to know no boundaries, as each of his images and collections offers something fresh and enchanting. To describe Prestes simply as a photographer downplays what we and many others believe him to be: a visionary artist.
During our early stages of life, we’re encouraged to fear the darkness. We’re taught that the mysterious is often dangerous and we’re ushered into scenes of bright light, told that they're more of a safe haven.
Like every talented artist, Prestes breaks all the boundaries society puts in front of us. He takes the darkness, throws in the mysterious, and shows us all just how beautiful these scenes can be. Equally as impressive is his patience. Not too eager to get new works online, Prestes takes a methodical approach to creation, only publishing fresh photography once it’s 100 percent ready to be seen. That’s a mark of respect for his audience, and his craft.
Due to his talents, Prestes’ works have been recognized by the likes of ADC and the Muse Photography Awards. He’s also enjoyed exhibitions at Callao City Arts, Madrid, and The Printspace Gallery, London. We’re confident there’s still plenty more to come.
It’s with great honor that Them Frames offers you the opportunity to get to know Prestes a little better. He kindly agreed to let us interview him, allowing us to learn more about the man behind such impeccable work.
Them Frames: Hey Henri! In the present moment, what’s your biggest motivation to create new photography?
Henri Prestes: My biggest motivation that still keeps me going since I began shooting around seven years ago is the number of possibilities one can explore with photography. I like to come up with different ways to express myself through images.
Sometimes I’m invested in experimentation with editing, pulling inspiration from paintings or illustrations, and trying to merge both mediums.
Other times, I’m inspired by a scene I see in a movie or even in day-to-day life, which makes my mind start to wonder with ideas. I’m coming up with original ways to frame a subject or a landscape or investigating how color has so much effect on our emotional connection to a picture. The potential is endless in this medium and I just want to experiment with it as much as I can.
Them Frames: Your frames are dark, mysterious, and sometimes spooky, while also remaining consistently beautiful. How long have you been developing that style and why is this the look you have gone for?
Henri Prestes: Thank you. I aim to create images with some cinematic quality, and that to me means there’s some indication of a story being depicted in the image but it doesn’t and shouldn’t explain everything to the viewer.
I’ve been deeply inspired by some photographers like Todd Hido who focused a lot on the night aspect of photography. So I tried to do that early in my career, while giving it my own twist. I don’t aim to have a specific aesthetic, I just focus on each image individually at the time and then after a long period of time, the series of images start coming together with a cohesive look and that’s when I know I should stop editing them.
In terms of editing, my main goal is to enhance the emotion of the picture so I pick my selections of color palettes with that in mind. However, color is such a vast subject and it can be interpreted in many different ways for each person. My approach during this process is similar to one of a painter; I push and pull colors around until something feels right with the particular photo. After that base has been set I then fine-tune it over several days, with little adjustments here and there, sometimes weeks go by until I’m at the final edit.
Them Frames: Snow during Spring in Portugal. Should everyone be alarmed? Or is it normal for that to happen from time to time?
Henri Prestes: Growing up in the central region of Portugal, I was used to seeing frequent snowfall during Winter and even Spring. However, in the past 15 or so years it has become a very rare occurrence. Nowadays even during the colder months there are not many snowy days but it happens from time to time, this year it happened during late April and everyone was surprised. I was lucky enough to be near that mountain area. After two days, the temperature rose quickly, melting everything and it was like it never snowed which was a bit surreal to experience.
Them Frames: We love your Perfect Darkness series. How did that idea come to fruition? And can you tell us how you approached making the images?
Henri Prestes: Thank you. The idea for that series was based on exploring the small Portuguese towns and villages during harsh weather conditions like dense fog or heavy rain, which is quite frequent in the small town where I grew up and surrounding regions. I wanted to capture that surreal feeling that only fog can create. It can completely transform the most mundane of places into something otherworldly and I wanted to capture that feeling.
I shot it mostly at night time, exploring the countryside during these moments of quietness. There’s something ominous but also calming about traveling through the countryside in full darkness while also taking advantage of the natural blurriness of fog and rain to create these strange-looking scenes.
Them Frames: Your website notes that you’re currently working on a book. How is that process going?
Henri Prestes: The process is going very well. I’m working with a great UK publisher called Setanta Books, and we are at the final steps of the process and looking to publish late this year. So it has been really exciting to experience, and I can’t wait to show people the book.
Editors note: Since publishing the interview, Henri’s photobook is now available to purchase: Order: We Were Born Before The Wind.
Them Frames: Earlier this year you had a one-month exhibition at the Plaza de Callao, Madrid. What did that feel like?
Henri Prestes: That was an incredible experience that I won’t forget anytime soon. I had never seen my photos in such giant sizes before and it was in one of the main and busiest locations in Madrid. It was in a place I used to go frequently during my childhood while on family trips, as we lived pretty close to the Spanish border, so it felt even more special to me.
Them Frames: A couple of random questions: What do you do when you’re not creating photographs?
Henri Prestes: I’m a big cinema lover so I try to watch as many movies or TV series as I can. I also use it as a way to discover new techniques and inspiration for my photography. I think cinematographers are some of the most incredible visual artists. I’m also very into narrative games, some of the impactful and emotional moments I remember came from this medium, and I have a lot of respect for artists that create these visual and interactive masterpieces. Other than that I also try to work out frequently, which I find helps me be more focused when I need to shoot and edit photos for several hours.
Them Frames: What’s the secret to a strong beard game?
Henri Prestes: Haha, well, honestly I don’t take care of it as much as I probably should, I just let it grow until people stop recognizing me and then I trim it a bit and repeat the cycle.
Them Frames: Some say photographs teach you about the photographer that made them. What would you like your body of work to teach others about you?
Henri Prestes: I feel like isolation is a big part of my photography, and I think some people connect to that aspect of it: the feeling of solitude and melancholy. I hope my work shows that in a world that feels increasingly connected, with the ever-present pressure to maintain a certain social dynamic, solitude can also be seen as a beautiful and powerful thing to experience. And if anything I would like to inspire other photographers to really explore their nearby surroundings. I believe you don’t really have to go to special places to create striking images, even the most mundane locations can be inspiring in unique ways. You can create art everywhere.
Them Frames: Every photographer has their favorite images: Can you share one of your favorite images that you made and tell us why it means so much to you?
Henri Prestes: It’s very hard for me to pick a favorite photo but if I had to do it, I’d choose this piece I called “Burning Winter”. It was taken in one of my favorite mountainous places of my own country, this small secluded village called Penhas da Saude and it was the first time I introduced a person in my landscapes.
Until then I mostly shot desolated environments without characters so it was a big shift in my work. And it’s especially personal to me because the person is a very close relative and one of the people who always believed in my art since I started photography. Other than that I felt I was lucky to catch the sun just at the right spot during a very cold misty day, giving this emotional feel to the image and I think I would have a tough time trying to recreate it again.
Them Frames: Beyond the book and the never-ending stream of superb photographs, what’s next for Henri Prestes?
Henri Prestes: My main goal is just to keep creating art and keep learning and evolving as much as I can. More specifically, I’d also love to experiment with other mediums in the near future, like painting and illustration, and even novel writing. There are so many things to learn and so little time!
You can see more work by Henri Prestes by visiting his website, Instagram and Twitter.
