Jorge Chagas

Photography is more than capturing what’s in front of us. It’s often about recognizing that multiple realities are happening at the same time — and that the image is the meeting point between them.

In this photograph, I didn’t just capture the look in this woman’s eyes. I captured her essence, the glass that separates us, the reflections that interfere, my own gesture as I took the photo, and everything those elements together evoke. There is her reality. Mine. And the one that exists in the space between us — made of layers, distortions, overlaps, emotions.

Photography allows us this: to understand that reality is never absolute. Each person in the image brings their own story, their own moment. The photographer adds their gaze, their intention. And whoever sees the image later brings yet another interpretation.

This photograph is about that. About how reality, on its own, isn’t enough to tell the whole story. It’s in the intersection of what we see, what we feel, and what we imagine that an image becomes truly meaningful.

Title - Eyes Soul 

This photo was taken in the morning at the Praça do Comércio area in Lisbon. That area is always full of countless stories — it's a place where the city and the Tagus River meet, which inevitably transports us into an infinite number of narratives and realities. I really enjoy observing everyday life, and many times I try to step into the shoes of the subjects I photograph, imagining what they might be experiencing or thinking at that very moment.

In this particular photo, the timing was perfect — the camera and the subject’s gaze met, where photographer and photographed “encountered” each other in the same space and time, and everything seemed to flow in perfect harmony.