Last month Abduzeedo organized a very cool event here in our hometown, the Photoshop Battle. At the event we had the opportunity to meet several creative professionals and their work. One of these persons I met was Roberta Gewehr, who works at StudioMe. She introduce me to a beautiful project from Claudio Meneghetti, the photographer behind StudioMe. As soon as Roberta explained the project to me I loved it... and when I saw the images I was even more sure that I had to share them with you.

Meneghetti's Autoestima project was exhibited at the Galerie d'art François Mansart, in Paris and it was also exhibited at the Guatephoto in Guatemala. The project captures people who live in the streets of Porto Alegre (our hometown) and makes a before and after showing the difference of a physiognomy when a person is been taken care of.

In my opinion this is not only beautiful, it's deep, interesting and very inspiring... so enjoy Claudio Meneghetti's work.

In their silence, the photos of Claudio Meneghetti speak, or rather, whisper. In a series of subtleties, they tell it is possible to see before and after at the same time. Before: hunger, cold, dirt, fatigue, lack of direction. After: food, bath, sleep, self-esteem.

The characters in the photos, street dwellers of Porto Alegre, express the delicate – but no less severe - change that arises when self-esteem is enhanced. Effigies take shape in shadow and light, going from the shadow of abandonment to the light of the encounter.

Captured in a spontaneous and natural way, these models are people who live on the fringes: under bridges and marquees, under the burden of prejudice. Claudio Meneghetti photographed them when they arrived at the shelters - hungry, tired, lost - and after receiving assistance, thus eternalizing the fine line that rescues dignity and respect. He perpetuated life, which goes by at the blink of a shutter and, therefore, deserves a closer look.

I also would like to thank Roberta Gewehr from StudioMe for her attention with this post.