Legendary photographer Sebastião Salgado dies at 81

Sebastião Salgado, regarded as one of the world's greatest documentary photographers, has died at the age of 81.

The Brazil-born photographer was known for his dramatic and unflinching black-and-white images of hardship, conflict and natural beauty, captured in 130 countries over 55 years.

His hard-hitting photos chronicled major global events such as the Rwanda genocide in 1994, burning oilfields at the end of the Gulf War in 1991, and the famine in the Sahel region of Africa in 1984.

"His lens revealed the world and its contradictions; his life, the power of transformative action," said a statement from Instituto Terra, the environmental organisation he founded with his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado.

Some of his most striking pictures were taken in his home country, including epic photos of thousands of desperate figures working in open-cast gold mines and striking images of the indigenous people of the Amazon.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva paid tribute, describing Salgado as "one of the best... photographers the world has given us".

Salgado's final major project, Amazônia, spotlighted the rainforest's beauty and fragility.

A lifelong advocate for the Amazon's indigenous people, Salgado documented the daily lives of a dozen of the tribes scattered throughout the rainforest - from hunting and fishing expeditions, to dances and rituals.

He spent seven years on an ambitious photographic journey, exploring the remote reaches of the Amazon rainforest and documenting its inhabitants.

The project culminated in an exhibition showcasing over 200 black-and-white images, offering a poignant glimpse into the region's landscapes and communities.

The Amazônia exhibition was displayed at the Science Museum in London and the the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester in 2021 and 2022.

"Sometimes I ask myself, "Sebastião, was it really you that went to all these places":[]}