Black & silver

Fall in love

[this post can also be seen here]

Silhouette

Layer after layer

Sam

People usually ask me “how do you find those people?”. I don’t find them, I just notice them. I’m eventually more interested in what surrounds me than most people are. In a boy with a school uniform I saw the coolest guy in the Carcavelo’s beach. The common gesture of holding the surf board made the perfect contrast with the tie he was wearing. I don’t find people. I just give them more attention than most people do. In the moment when a Milanese guy writes an SMS, a Madrilenian man walks his dog or a Lisbonian woman holds two water demijohns. Wouldn’t you have noticed any of these people? Wouldn’t you have noticed Sam in one of those Winter days that feel like Summer in Carcavelos?

Paris in black

Milan by night

Promising Portuguese tailors (real ones!)

My favorite moving sidewalk

[Teresa, her jumpsuit and the moving sidewalk can also be seen here]

The pleated skirt

I heard later that Helena has a degree in Pedagogy. She was probably very far from imagining that her photograph would also have such a pedagogic status. 99% of men doesn't know what a pleated skirt is. As I wouldn't have known some years ago if I hadn't created this blog. But tomorrow, when I'll be having dinner with my friends, I believe that each and every one of them will know what a pleated skirt is. And I'm almost capable of swearing that every man that visits this blog will remember that too

Before party

The Yorkshire girl and the New York gent

The charm of golf

Copenhagen and New York at Place Saint-Gervais

Nous profitons de Paris

Julia

In the heart of Lisbon

Jazz festival mood

Mother and daughter in Agatha Ruiz De La Prada mode

Back to Lisbon

I do not know exactly what I feel about this picture but I´m pretty sure if perfection exists somewhere, this gentleman should not be too far away from it

It's all about the details, isn't it?

Yes, we do love shorts

Copenhagen in Berlin

Copenhagen in Lisbon

[to see these Danish girls in panoramic view, please stop by here]

Black, short and tight

Pavlina

"There is no more time, we have to close the book" said Rui Garrido, art director of my publisher, while he looked at his calendar, mentally calculating the time left between printing and the launch date. But I kept drying out his patience "you´re going to love this photo, you'll understand me when you see it". And he kept telling me… "José, there will always be one more photo". And he couldn´t be more right. This is precisely what I keep feeling sometimes. And it's what I felt when I photographed this Greek girl in Lisbon. I felt, that if we were to include moments like this, the book would never be closed



[you can find more of this moments here]

Silvia

If you liked the look you can see more pictures of this moment here. If you liked Silvia you can see more pictures of her here

The Great Gatsby

And at that moment, I found a certain sense in that correlation seemingly stupid between a girl passing in the street and a traffic jam

Gabi

[this post can also be seen here]

Mike (Oporto)

The small details that make us stare at the legs of the ladies passing by

the book

I called Bé. I called Bé because she’s always been present in several moments and because I always felt that she had a special affection for this project ever since its first steps. And that's why, in my first moment at the publisher, that I told her and Francisco about 20 times that the book, no matter the quality of its content, would only make sense as an object of style. It had to be something beautiful at the eye and that made us want to touch it. And when Bé met me at the publisher and I opened the envelope with the book I couldn’t help but release a “fuck”. What I had with me was not just an object. It was the object without none of this would make sense. At that moment the effort of contacting more than 200 people scattered all over the world was worth it. Of having called Pierre, Andrea, of having discovered James’ facebook, of having waited for Aida, Demi and Vittoria’s answers or having explained, personally, in every little detail, everything that Yim’s portrait revealed about his intimacy. Because I wanted each and every one of those people to do more than just appear in the book. I wanted them to feel that they were part of it. But I felt so much more than that. I felt that Rui’s wife would look at the book and forgive him for getting home late or Joana’s kid wouldn’t mind being without his mother’s company on that Sunday. Because, at that moment, all hours of hard work made sense. Every graphic detail with which I tested Rui’s patience or every stupidity that I discussed with Carla. It’s not up to me to decide for themselves if all was worth it or not, but from the moment I saw the book, I felt that all of them – Bé, Francisco, Rui, Joana and Carla – would also think to themselves:

- it was worth it.

This blog has made me live things that otherwise I would have never lived . Things that I cannot explain here or even in the more intimate environment (or so I hope) of a book launching event. I can’t even tell you – as humble as it would be for me to say it – that this book was something I never hoped for. To be totally honest I knew (or thought I knew, some days are better than others) that this book was bound to happen sooner or later. I knew that I would get an e-mail someday. And the day Francisco came to me I almost told him “hey man, what took you so long??”. But I felt something more important than that in this book. For now, this book is one of the few things I can brag about in my life. Every little thing I did with this blog I did it because it made sense to me. And, if I think about it, with a certain pride. This book embodies that pride. A beautiful body.

The book was launched in Lisbon, on April 17th at Buchholz bookstore. In Porto, on April 21st. And there will be a book signing session at Feira do Livro in Lisbon. The idea of the word “autograph” and my name in the same sentence makes no sense to me. But I’ll be there with a pen and – more important than that – with the availability and good mood for those that feel that I’m worth spending some time with. Which, I must add, seems like a really bad decision but – since I can’t decide for Bé, Francisco, Rui, Joana or Carla if all was worth it or not – it won’t be me telling you what you should do or not do of your life

love,

Zé

Daniel & Shon (Madrid, Retiro)

Brazil in Paris

[this post can also be seen here]

Brazil in New York

José Antonio - the lyric singer

Mickey

... in Barrio Gótico

[this post can also be seen here]