Salgado, Sebastião

(born Feb. 8, 1944, Aimorés, Braz.) Brazilian photojournalist. He briefly pursued a career as an economist before switching his focus to photography in 1971. Over the next decade he photographed stories such as the famine in Niger and the civil war in Mozambique. In 1979 he joined the prestigious Magnum Photos cooperative for photojournalists, and two years later he gained prominence as a result of his photograph of John Hinckley's attempt to assassinate U.S. Pres. Ronald Reagan. By the mid 1980s Salgado devoted himself almost entirely to long-term projects that told a story through a series of images, often focusing on the homeless and downtrodden. Among his critically acclaimed books of photographs are Other Americas (1986), Workers (1993), and Migrations: Humanity in Transition (2000).

Find more information on Salgado, Sebastião. Upgrade to Britannica Online for more on Salgado, Sebastião.