Liu Minxia, Zhang Hao

    mllmx@msn.com

    ON a hot and humid summer afternoon, Romario Severino stood beside a tripod in a pavilion in Meilin Park, Futian District, for hours before meeting reporters.

    Small and beautiful birds were what he was waiting to catch in his camera lens. Every year, Severino sends photos of Shenzhen birds to world-level competitions, and he has won many prizes.

    “I want to take pictures of other wild animals, but you can’t find them in Shenzhen. So birds seem to be the only choice,” said the 52-year-old Brazilian who has been living in Shenzhen for six years.

    Severino said he flies to other places, including Europe, Russia, Bali and Bangkok, to take photos every year, but always comes back to Shenzhen, and he plans to live in Shenzhen for as long as he can.

    “Shenzhen is a very diverse city. It’s also safe and convenient. With the subway and the buses, I have no problems going anywhere here, and I never get lost,” he said.

    “I also have no problems with the food in Shenzhen. Not just because of the variety available, but also because of the similarities between Chinese food and Brazilian food. We also eat a lot of rice in Brazil. The meat is the same, but we chop it differently.”

    Taking pictures of birds is not an easy job, according to Severino. “sometimes you wait for the whole day, but you still don’t get a nice picture,” he said.

    “You need to wait for birds to show up, know the speeds of different birds; some of them can fly really fast. Protection against mosquitoes is also needed while waiting. Some of us put on a professional outfit — hats, shirts with long sleeves and trousers to keep away mosquitoes as much as possible.”

    Severino said he always goes to Meilin Park, Honghu Park or Fairy Lake Botanical Park for photo shoots with a group of bird lovers he knows. “It’s nice to find so many people who share the same hobby as you. They always share everything on WeChat, such as the best spots at each park to take photos and what time of year the birds come back.”

    Severino said he always carry his camera everywhere he goes, though it’s heavy. “You never know when you might capture the best moment.” Compared to fashion photography, Severino’s focus is on taking street photos.

    “Fashion photos require a lot of post processing work, with the help of Photoshop, which I don’t really like,” he explains. “On the other hand, street photos better capture reality.”

    Severino’s love for photography started long before he came to Shenzhen, and he has traveled the world taking photos.

    Besides being a professional photographer, Severino also works as a language consultant since he can speak five languages: English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

    “I lived in Europe for years,” he said. “There, the more languages you speak, the easier you live. However, Mandarin seems harder for me because people here don’t speak Mandarin solely, but other dialects also. Sometimes when I think I’m starting to understand them, they suddenly switch to Cantonese. I’ve been trying hard, though, and have made a lot of Chinese friends here. Now, I even introduce some of my Chinese friends to other Chinese friends!”