Bruno walked through historic villages photographing (and talking) with strangers

With a camera in hand, Bruno Costa always introduces himself to people who cross his path in the same way: “I’m a photographer and I’d like to take a portrait of you”. He has been doing this for around four years, when he decided to start publishing photographs of strangers on social media.

The 29-year-old from Setubal started taking photographs when he was still a kid: he was 14 years old and had just received a camera. A fan of mountain biking and cycling, he captured images of his colleagues taking part in the races — and it was at that time, around 2009, that he began to fall in love with this art. The obsession grew to such an extent that now everything in her life revolves around photography.

“Later, my mother offered me a DSLR [máquina digital] and I started making videos. After finishing the 12th year, I took a degree in cinema and television”, he tells NiT. Until about five years ago, I captured a little bit of everything, from cars to landscapes, but I started focusing more on people when I decided to make content for the Tik Tok.

The videos have become a phenomenon on the social network, where they already have 200 thousand followers, and have been innovating since day one. He took photographs of people he saw on the street, especially in Lisbon or in the Setúbal area, where he lives. Recently, another idea came up: taking a trip to the historic villages of Portugal and talking to the older residents, who know the place like no one else.

“Since I started the project, I have always tried to innovate the content. I remembered doing something related to older people and taking the opportunity to get to know some of the oldest villages in Portugal”, he confesses.

In November last year, he set off alone on a week-long adventure and made stops in villages such as Piódão, Castelo Rodrigo, Monsanto, Belmonte and Marialva.

“It also ended up being an excuse, I’ve wanted to do something like that for a long time. Since I was 16 years old, I have had a huge desire to travel backpacking and stroll through places in nature.” The methodology was practically the same as what he repeated on the streets of Lisbon and Setúbal: he approached residents, talked to them and asked them if he could take a portrait.