Alejandro Chaskielberg Argentinian, b. 1977

Alejandro Chaskielberg began his career as a photojournalist, working in local newspapers and magazines. His vibrant use of colour and dramatic worldview are influenced by his time spent as a photojournalist and Director of photography.

 

With The High Tide project Chaskielberg documented the Paraná River Delta near Buenos Aires and the community of islanders who live there. The Paraná is one of the major rivers in South America, running through three countries: Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, and supplies water for more than one hundred million people. He has lived on the islands of the Delta for two years, sharing with the islanders their daily life to get closer to the way they live and work.

 

Shooting only at night, his use of long exposure allows the full moon to play a key role in composition and lighting, while the islanders remained still for up to ten minutes. Combining natural and artificial light he is able to compose images of detailed landscapes that encompass his sitters as well as the surrounding vegetation, water and sky, despite being shot at night.

 

Chaskielberg is a graduate of Argentina's National Film and Audiovisual Art Institute and since first exhibiting his photographs in 2006 he has won numerous awards and grants, the Magnum Foundation's Emerging Photographer Grant and the 2011 L'Iris D'or - Sony World Photographer of the year award to name a couple. In 2008 he was named as one of PDN magazine's 30 New and emerging photographers to watch and was invited to participate in the National Geographic All Roads photography program. In 2010 he was invited to exhibit his project, 'The High Tide' at the Brighton Photo Biennial in the UK, curated by the photographer Martin Parr.