By now he was no longer a boy with a camera in his hand he was a man with his lover.įollow him on Facebook, Tumblr, his professional Instagram, and his personal Instagram.
In Brazil, it is common to see ‘GLS’ for gay events, which translates to Gay, Lesbian and Sympathizers (a term for heterosexuals), and is often printed on flyers for parties. And he began shooting more photos of his boyfriends naked as well. Rio is a gay hub in Brazil, with its beautiful gay-friendly beaches, clubs and bars as well as its annual carnival and gay pride. He fell into it naturally, taking photographs of people both dressed and undressed. He loved the old photographs of his family, but he had no training at that point he was just drawn to it.Īs he graduated with a fashion major, his interest increased. Since he was a teenager he had been interested in photography. Hélio was born in northeastern Brazil, but now lives and works in São Paulo. He tells us, “Photographing for me is not an exercise, it's an exorcism.” Passion seems to burst right out of Hélio’s images. His subjects perform as acolytes, willing to go to extremes to help him get the image. Some of his photos are shocking, some breathlessly beautiful, but they are always very fresh and spontaneous. Brazilian photographer Hélio Beltrânio is a poet with a camera - less like a romantic and more like a mid-century Beat poet.
