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Marco Lopes
@marcolopesphotography
Landscape photographer based in Switzerland
My passion for photography and travel began at a young age, transporting us on one of my trips with my parents to Egypt in the early ’90s when I was still 7 or 8 years old.
My parents always loved photography and my father quickly realized the importance that a camera would have in the future as it would allow us to perpetuate all those adventures and moments. Combined with an interest in technology, he bought the first analog camera with zoom, a FujiFilm 3x compact camera, and it was at this point that my discovery of photography began and where my passion derives from.
Years later, and after several trips as well as thousands of photos taken, a moment arrived in which my mind was enlightened, and by consequence, my life. This is when I realized the importance and impact that travel and photography have on my well-being and my day-to-day life. Ever since I have had a desire to perpetuate adventure – and to share my insights and experience with the world.
"As I have never been good with words, I found in photography a unique and very personal way to record and tell through images my perspective of the world."
I lived in the Netherlands before and my home country is Portugal (where I went back to at the beginning of the pandemic), and although I love the diversity of those countries for photography too, it was Switzerland that evoked change. I also chose to go to Switzerland after the pandemic because I wanted to build a mountain portfolio. In the Alps, I keep fond memories of the past and I knew there would be great adventures, adrenaline, and enjoyment (along with challenges and growth) waiting for me in this country, in its mountains. I went with a goal and Switzerland gave me all the space to work on it.
I have often been and still am petrified by the magnificent pure state of nature there, the greenish lakes whose icy waters descend the mountain with a raw and constant cadence, the squirrels always slender but willing to get closer, those cute and happy cows you can only find in Switzerland…But there is one thing that undoubtedly impresses me the most, the magnitude of the mountains that makes me feel insignificant and at the same time emanates such powerful and positive vibrations. It is like you are never satisfied, it is as if you want to reach the top of each one of them.
"Photography is present in my life in all I do; I look at photography not only as art but as a way of being in life."
It is a reflection of feelings and emotions, which are transported from the moment the image is captured to the post-production, until the last result. The whole process works for me as a therapy.
From my motto – “HeArt Over Mind” – one can extract two ideas, two perspectives as well as two ideals. Heart Over Mind, I believe, is the best philosophy for living life. A life more linked to feelings and emotions, living in a pure, simple, and loyal (to myself) manner and less systematic, programmed, and mindless. This is the approach I adopt in the way I live and that makes me dream constantly about new adventures.
On the other hand, there is the notion of “Art Over Mind”. Although Art ought to be free and expressive, we all know how volatile, ephemeral, and unpredictable the artistic world can be, seducing us sometimes to be more brains and less creative. I keep this motto dear to me so as to never lose direction and loyalty to what I believe.
I love nature, I love landscapes – because it is sincere. It never cheats me. It never jests. It is cheerfully, musically earnest. I lie and rely on the landscapes of Earth. Our planet offers much more than just beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Each one has a different story to tell. The landscape – the story – belongs to the person who looks at it. But photography for me is not looking, it is a feeling. If you can’t feel what you are looking at, then you are never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.
I believe that much of the photograph is made in-camera. For this reason, when I edit, I try to approach the reality of what my eyes saw – because much of what I wanted to convey is already there. However, I am conscious of the power of editing. Sometimes, it gives me a certain enjoyment to be more creative and let this creativity flow in order to achieve diverse results.
It is my intention to present, through the medium of photography, intuitive observations of the natural world – which may have meaning to the spectators. We all interpret and give meaning in different ways to what we hear and see, saying a lot about who we are – which is perhaps even the most interesting aspect of Art.
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