GAUCHOS

• Prize
  Silver in Editorial/Personality
• Photographer
  Karolina Wojtasik

A national symbol of Argentina, present-day Gauchos live nearly identical lifestyles to those of their ancestors three centuries ago. This lonely, nomadic lifestyle consists of living off the land and the cattle that they tend. As I continue to explore South American cultures, my focus is to find and document communities continuing to live in a manner that is connected to the earth on which they live, mirroring their parent cultures of the past. The Gauchos project is a extension of my Runa Simi from last year in that I further explore a culture of indigenous herders. However,my approach to color, tones and lighting were a bit different for the Gauchos; I employ muted tones and desaturated lighting as a means of articulating the isolated, solitary nature of their life's work.