When photographer Ricardo Barros arrived in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in June 2023 after living in the Princeton, New Jersey area for 43 years, one of the first things that he noticed was how many unique individuals strived to help and empower others in the community and how much of its architectural history remains from the industrial era.
The images featured in “Ricardo Barros: Off the Hill: Portraits from the Fitchburg Community,” on view through March 31 at the Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library at Fitchburg State University, all have multiple layers to them, from the person being captured to the accompanying scene around them. Barros’ process isn’t just to go and photograph someone. “I learn about the people and conjure up an image to make of them,” he said.
“My Fitchburg portraits shine a light on people who deserve to be seen,” said Barros, who I describe as a documentary portraiture photographer. “I hope that my photographs and their stories will motivate others to join us in becoming agents of change.”
“Peter Capodagli, Historian and Collector, Boulder Art Gallery” features a man on a bicycle driving past a beautifully kept Victorian home. “He’s driving a historic bicycle — an Iver Johnson 1932 Truss Frame Roadster; Johnson was a 19th century industrial tycoon, who gained his wealth through the manufacture of arms and bicycles — by his house,” Barros said, noting that he waited several months till the right time of year when the tree foliage was at its fullest to get the shot that he wanted.