About
If you prefer quality over quantity, with a deep passion for storytelling, capturing the essence of life’s moments through both film and digital, along with technical dive-deeps, you came to the right place.
Why Camera Clara?
The former name of this publication was “FotogRAFia”, and although it looks good on screen (with the pun to RAF [my name] in there and everything), it was confusing for English speakers to pronounce at photowalks and in person, because people usually thought it was “Photographia”, with “Ph”, leading to confusion and wrong links.
Fotografia means “Photography” in English, and since I have both English and Portuguese speaking friends in this community, I wanted something more bilingual and accessible. That’s why I’m changing the name to Camera Clara.
And here’s the really exciting part: I got incredibly lucky and found that cameraclara.com was available!
The name is inspired by the camera lucida1, an optical drawing device used by artists and early photographers to trace images. “Clara” means “bright” or “clear” in Latin, Portuguese, and Spanish, so it carries that same spirit while being my own take on the concept, while being easily to pronounce in English (it’s a person’s name).
I think it’s a beautiful name with deep roots in photography history and philosophy.
The name also carries special meaning because of Roland Barthes’ influential book Camera Lucida (which I super recommend reading if you are serious into photography), a deeply personal meditation on photography, memory, and loss.
Barthes explores what makes photographs powerful and moving, examining the relationship between the photographer, the subject, and the viewer. It’s one of those books that changes how you see photographs forever, and it felt right to honor that legacy with the name for this publication.
About the Author
I'm RAF, a Brazilian photographer based in NYC who finds inspiration in the vibrant energy of everyday surroundings and cherishes the art of street photography on film.
I'm not a bot, not a machine, and by far, not an AI thing (as you will realize by reading the posts). In fact, here's a picture of me, in a very picturesque shot:
Beyond photography, in Camera Clara, you can expect finding my insights like the intersection of analog and digital processes, the philosophy of editing, technical dive-deeps about negative developing, scanning, conversion, and editing, and how photography helps us define our artistic language, along with some nice photo sharing.
Whether I’m wandering the streets of New York or documenting family moments, my goal is always the same: tell you a story.
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Here’s some good content to start with:
