Award-winning Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado dies at age 81, his institute says

SAO PAULO: Brazilian photographer and environmentalist Sebastiao Salgado, known for his award-winning images of nature and humanity, has died at age 81. Instituto Terra, which was founded by him and his wife, confirmed the information Friday, but did not provide more details on the circumstances of Salgado's death or where it took place.

"Sebastiao was more than one of the best photographers of our time," Instituto Terra said in a statement. "His lense revealed the world and its contradictions; his life, (brought) the power of transformative action."

Salgado's life and work were portrayed in the documentary film "The Salt of the Earth" (2014), co-directed by Wim Wenders and his son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.

Salgado lived in Paris for many years and started to fully dedicate his time to photography in 1973, years after his economics degree.

His style is marked by black-and-white imagery, rich tonality, and emotionally-charged scenarios. Impoverished communities were among his main interests.

Among his main works are the recent series "Amazonia;" "Workers" which shows manual labour around the world; and "Exodus" (also known as "Migrations" or "Sahel") which documents people in transit, including refugees and slum residents.

Salgado and his wife, Lelia Wanick Salgado, founded Amazonas Images, an agency that exclusively handles his work.