Mortadella & Rambos Gallery
Salvador de Bahia, Brazil 2019
® Cynthia Johnston
Salvador…
Bluest of seas and skies …Ebullient laughter, brilliant eyes and smiles. Salvador with energy about to bust loose. It can go either way.
Yemanja and her treasures overflowed…
our time on the night sea, Yemanja stirring the seas to acknowledge the gifts she was offered, sailors swimming with offerings of flowers. Little did I know that I put my heart in the sea that night and there it will remain for a while.
Our able teacher, Ernesto, led the way for us. Never taking anything for granted, he worked hard every hour of the workshop. It was humbling – such an accomplished successful artist who worked so hard. So who am I that I shouldn’t do the same?
Thank you, Ernesto, for the magic we encountered. Thanks to Massimo as well. What a kind and talented colleague to have on such a journey. Cynthia Johnston
® Massimo Bortolan
It’s quite hard to respond to people – friends and family – who ask me “how was the Brazilian workshop?” … I reply with a smile, and I begin with “incredible…”. So, it’s easy to understand how difficult actually is to describe, in few words, what the Bahian workshop with Ernesto meant to me, how many emotions I lived, how many lessons, both photographic and life, I learned in 10 days.
Doing a workshop with Ernesto, to me is like entering a new dimension, start living a new parallel life where strong experiences, and magic, poetry and laughs, grow and merge together to create such a deep and profound adventure. I hope I gave the idea. And photography, that I do love so much, is a living part of that. As a “photographer” you have the chance to learn sooo much, every single moment, every single day. Many mistakes, though which growing and maturing, always searching for the quintessence of photography, the “grace” of a moment.
I cannot be grateful enough to my bicentennial Master Ernesto J! We laughed and hugged when I shared my thought: Ernesto, during his magic workshops throughout the years, has lived so many experiences, and adventures, and gifts, that a “normal” person cannot even live in 200 years … so I do see Ernesto like a young bicentenary, whose adventures he’s so happy and proud to share. And, if we’re lucky enough, we can even live and share with him during his workshops. Seeing is believing.
I feel so lucky to have met you Ernesto, and lucky for having been so crazy in getting involved in the workshops of Peru and Bahia. You’ve enriched my life, not only my photography.
A big thank you to sweetheart Cynthia as well, you’re such a great person! It’s been so good to meet you and share so many things with you; I do hope to meet you again… So, take it easy… and best of luck with your photographic project, such a very high level project, brava!
Ernesto, thank you so much. I’m already dreaming for the next. Big hug from “Mozzarella”! Massimo Bortolan
