Skip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
The Week Logo
Subscribe & SaveSubscribeSubscribe to The Week magazine and save.
Give a GiftGive a Gift
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Business
  • Speed Reads
  • Cartoons
    • Tech
    • Photos
    • Puzzles
    • Books
    • Instant Opinion
    • Pros and Cons
    • Where They Stand
  • Magazine
  • Newsletters
Skip advert

Beauty amid the beasts

A Portuguese photographer finds a disappearing tradition in Portugal's forests and fields

Picture of Sarah Eberspacher
by Sarah Eberspacher
March 27, 2015

(Antonio Pedrosa) "The only limitation for this grant was that the photos be made in Alentejo, an area in the south of Portugal," Pedrosa, 44, says. "But that was perfect, because Alentejo is the best hunting area in the country. For half a year, the inhabitants in this desolated area live to hunt — many of the fields and forests are maintained just for the sport."Pedrosa arrived in Alentejo and discovered a culture far different than the trophy-gathering colonial hunters in Africa who had inspired his series. "Men with huge knifes in the belt, and the hunting dogs running toward the rifle hunters," he says. "It was that medieval view, that I've experienced in hunting paintings, that I wanted."

(Antonio Pedrosa)

Skip advert

(Antonio Pedrosa)But such ancient hunting traditions aren't thriving under modern pressures. The financial crisis gripping much of Europe has not spared Portugal, and hunting — once a family tradition for those living in rural areas — is now an unsustainable expense for many. After all, it costs money to maintain a gun license, secure a place in the hunting grounds, and even drive out into the tangled, unsettled areas where the deer and boars roam. Many hunting families have been forced to moved away from their rural, ancestral villages for the promise of better luck in Portugal's cities."The typical Portuguese hunter, even if he does not live in the rural areas, was born there and experienced hunting since a young age, as part of a family tradition," Pedrosa says. "Now, most of the families who move to the city can't keep that legacy alive."

Skip advert

(Antonio Pedrosa)

Skip advert

(Antonio Pedrosa)

(Antonio Pedrosa)Pedrosa followed a motley crew of individuals from different classes and backgrounds. Before moving out into the field, the diverse group of men would gather to sip soup together at long, bare tables. On one such day, Pedrosa noticed Ana Parreira, a lone woman in the sea of testosterone, and he approached her for a portrait.Parreira, a dog handler, was the only woman Pedrosa would meet in the several months he shot the series. The image of her standing with the dogs in perfect symmetry on either side is regal, despite her having just spent a long day moving across sodden, muddy land. She looks almost defiant, daring anyone to question her dedication to the fields — an attitude echoed by her fellow hunters.

Skip advert
Skip advert

(Antonio Pedrosa)

(Antonio Pedrosa)

Skip advert

(Antonio Pedrosa)These hunters have a palpable dedication and clear kinship to the fields. And so they traipse, through fog and across tough terrain, to sound the horn that sends the dogs out into the vegetation — to hunt one more day, at least.

Skip advert

(Antonio Pedrosa) **Check out more of Antonio Pedrosa's work via his website, and follow him on Instagram and on Facebook**

Skip advert
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email
  • Life
  • World

Recommended

Officials: Russian strike on Ukrainian shopping center kills 13
The shopping center in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, after being hit by missiles.
attacks

Officials: Russian strike on Ukrainian shopping center kills 13

Russia hits Kyiv with missile strikes as G7 leaders meet in Germany
A destroyed apartment building in Kyiv.
happening in ukraine

Russia hits Kyiv with missile strikes as G7 leaders meet in Germany

6 dead, 200 injured in Colombia after stadium stands collapse during bullfight
Collapsed stands in El Espinal, Colombia.
under investigation

6 dead, 200 injured in Colombia after stadium stands collapse during bullfight

10 things you need to know today: June 26, 2022
Joe Biden and Jill Biden
Daily briefing

10 things you need to know today: June 26, 2022

6 excellent homes in Minneapolis
House
Feature

6 excellent homes in Minneapolis

Sievierodonetsk falls to Russia
Smoke rising from Sievierodonetsk
russian victory

Sievierodonetsk falls to Russia

Mass shooting at Norway gay club leaves 2 dead, 21 injured
Memorial for victims of Oslo shooting
islamist connection suspected

Mass shooting at Norway gay club leaves 2 dead, 21 injured

10 things you need to know today: June 25, 2022
Pro-life protesters celebrating outside the Supreme Court
Daily briefing

10 things you need to know today: June 25, 2022

Most Popular

Pfizer says Omicron vaccines produce stronger immune response
Man walking past Pfizer ad
another shot

Pfizer says Omicron vaccines produce stronger immune response

What we pay for when we pay for a gallon of gas
Money.
Briefing

What we pay for when we pay for a gallon of gas

Sen. Ron Johnson draws lawyer, Pa. congressman into fake electors plot
Sen. Ron Johnson
'just a delivery boy'

Sen. Ron Johnson draws lawyer, Pa. congressman into fake electors plot

Skip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Kiplinger
  • The Week Junior
  • MoneyWeek
  • The Week UK
  • Subscribe
  • Subscriber Login
  • Give a gift
  • Classroom subscriptions
  • Customer Services
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility
  • Ad info
  • Newsletters
  • Privacy Preferences
  • Do Not Sell My Information

The Week™ is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site at https://futureplc.com
The Week™ is a registered trade mark.
© Future US LLC, 10th floor, 1100 13th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005. All rights reserved.

Follow us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter
Skip advert