We Are Alive Agency

Today’s Brand New Art is photography duo ‘We Are Alive’. This name seems poignant, Marina and Pedro, a couple from Sao Paulo have the kind of lifestyle that would make anyone feel like quitting their job and picking up camera and a map... I guess unfortunately for most of us you have to have some talent to back you up. Luckily talent isn’t something We Are Alive are short of, describing themselves as a ‘photo agency’, they cast and style their own models (mainly just from Instagram), do their own creative and art direction, and only then does the photography element come into play, creating images that look spontaneous, natural and as though maybe they’ve just stumbled across a cool girl sitting topless in the middle of the road. The thing that makes them different however, is their passion for travel. Picking up trinkets, models and stories on the way, Marina and Pedro travel for travelling’s sake, with no need for a destination (or a bed for the night), they go from city to city and country to country simply for the journey and the pictures. If you happen to be a model in the USA or South America and want to travel with them for a few days, ‘creating some cool shit’, then feel free, We Are Alive are currently recruiting for their next adventure. If you’re not, well maybe just read our interview below and have a quick daydream…

Introduce us to your work in three words…

Fresh, raw and real.

How did the We Are Alive agency come about? Give us your backstory…

We are a couple. We basically went on a road trip across the US in July 2014 (from NY to LA in 40 days and 8000 miles) and we realised how cool would it be to have a few models posing for us in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and so. The images and the places are so strong visually. So, six months later we road tripped across Uruguay and decided to start shooting girls along the way. We Are Alive agency was born there.

You guys spend a lot of time on the road, do you have a permanent base or just carry on travelling?

We are based in Sao Paulo right now ‘till december, when we go north again; US, Canada and Alaska shooting girls, roads and landscapes. We have this dream of road tripping through Canada. We plan to stay some time there, even if we don't find too many models like you would in the US or Europe. After that we may road trip through South America or Europe. We don't know yet. We plan to travel for 2 or 3 years. We wanna see what happens. Besides that, we're going to Europe for 20 days next July after a few years away. We are planning to shoot some models we dig and meet some artists we like. It’s the first time we are going together, as a couple, and with our agency.

Do you have a favourite place to visit?

We like to move, go places, see things and keep going. We have to move on, but we dig the US for the different kinds of cultures in the same country. Take New York vs Los Angeles, for example it’s kinda similar to Rio de Janeiro vs Sao Paulo in Brazil, our home country. Different cultures, different people. When you road trip a lot you start to realise that doesn't make sense to travel some place, like New York, London or Paris, and stay there for 15 days. There’s so many people and places to see. Our favourite place is the road. The freedom that comes with it. The feeling that the worlds is ours, that we can go anywhere we want. But anyway, one place? New Braunfels, Texas is a magical spot, filled with good memories for us.

I love that you collect trinkets and sell them! It feels like allowing people to join in your journey. Where do you normally find these and how do you decide what to buy?

We usually buy one thing or another for our personal use. Sometimes because we love it, sometimes just to sell it cause it’s unique somehow, and sometimes to use it in a photoshoot. Eventually, since we try not to hold onto things, we decide to sell it. We mostly find the stuff we sell on flea markets and vintage stores across highways and secondary/forgotten roads. But the idea is to sell cool things, not to buy cheap and sell for some bucks.

You also shoot girls, I noticed on your site you have a sort of open casting call. Do you normally find your models this way?

It's a great way to find interesting people on the road but we also find a lot of our models on Instagram. The open casting call is based on the trip schedule to December. We are going through a lot of states, and we wanna meet a lot of models, and, of course, the ones that we love the most.

Your images feel very spontaneous, does a lot of planning go into aspects like styling or do you try to keep it casual?

We like to keep it very casual on a certain level, it requires a lot of planning before the shooting but when it’s happening we let it flow. We like to do our styling in collaboration with the model, giving a bit of her personality and style to the photos. We always use personal stuff from the model and most of the times we don't use H/MU professionals. We respect them a lot, we know they are very important for the fashion industry, but they are not always necessary for the type of work we do.

It says on your website you’re planning a new road trip, what do you hope to achieve on your travels?

We basically wanna go places and see people. We wanna keep moving, doing what we love, enjoying our youth. Maybe one day, if we travel far enough, meet ourselves! :)

Can you give us your best tips for a great roadtrip?

Well, first thing is to travel for travel's sake, not to go anywhere. And not knowing where you’re gonna sleep is always super funny (well, it is for us). We believe that what really matters is the trip and how you do it, not the destination. We also like to travel light. When you have a lot of options in life, in any way, always makes things less spontaneous. In the end it’s always too much planning vs. basic planning. We've been down both roads and it depends on where you find yourself spiritually these days.

The theme for our next issue is ‘Muse’, do you have a muse or inspirational character?

We have several muses, girls we love to photograph over and over; luiza Pereira, lead singer of Brazilian band Inky; Geiza Rodrigues, one of our favourite models in Brazil; Alissa Salls, Brazilian new face that might be the next big thing , and of course, our dog Sofia. But we wouldn't say they are inspirational characters, but partners in our creation method - even Sofia. We also have some platonic muses, girls that we haven't had the opportunity to shoot yet: [Mackii Shaye}(instagram.com/littleoyster) and Sarah Brannon.