The Enchancted Ones

PHOTOGRAPHY

Sep 3

In The Enchanted Ones, photographer Stephanie Pommez invites readers into the mystical world of the Ribeirinhos, the river dwellers of the Brazilian Amazon. Shot entirely on 35mm black-and-white film over three years, her work captures the profound bond between nature, myth and community. Centering on traditional midwives, the book unveils a culture where ancestral knowledge, storytelling and the unseen converge, blurring the boundaries between reality, memory and imagination.

Photography Stepahnie Pommez

Stephanie Pommez’s three-year engagement with the Ribereinhos (river dwellers) living along the banks of the Amazon, documenting traditional midwives, was featured by National Geographic and Arte. Shot entirely on 35mm black-and-white film, her documentary work reveals the mystical state of a unique confluence of indigenous, Portuguese and African cultures whose lives are shaped by water and forest. They live in a watery world deeply connected to nature and a culture of myths that blurs the lines between truth, reality and time.

The Enchanted Ones, Encantados are the mythical shape shifters who inhabit the water and forests their tales address the metaphysical forces that charge life. Pommez’s photographs deliver a lyrical portrait of the midwives who not only deliver life, but also are the keepers and weavers of the myths that help to sustain the delicate balance of life.

“I have a very strong bond with nature. I can tell when she is reproducing, when she has just given birth, when she is smiling, when she feels pleasure. The tree is like a woman.”

“She lived by the river’s edge and at night she could hear the Boto*, moving under her house. It came to her in the shape of a man and seduced her. Over time, she gave birth to two Tucuxis**. The midwife baptised and released the creatures back into the water.”

— from a traditional Amazon River myth

* Boto: name given to the river dolphins native of the Amazon region.
** Tucuxi: A species of freshwater dolphin.

The photographs evoke a sense of mystery and tradition. Pommez uses overlays from archival images to suggest the coexistence of multiple realities. Transparent paper in the book creates a ghostly effect, allowing the images to hover between worlds. A photograph of a midwife standing in a doorway suggests her role as both healer and spiritual guide. Another image shows a snake over the river, referencing the Cobra Grande, a mythical serpent that emerges to transform or destroy.

The Enchanted Ones is more than a visual journey. It is a tribute to the stories passed down through generations, preserving a fragile cultural heritage. This book moves beyond documentary into the realm of the imaginary, capturing a world where the seen and unseen coexist.

The Enchanted Ones,
by Stephanie Pommez
Published by Kehrer Verlag, August 2025

The book can be ordered here

About Stephanie

To find out more about Stephanie’s work, visit her website or follow her on Instagram

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In The Enchanted Ones, photographer Stephanie Pommez invites readers into the mystical world of the Ribeirinhos, the river dwellers of the Brazilian Amazon. Shot entirely on 35mm black-and-white film over three years, her work captures the profound bond between nature, myth and community. Centering on traditional midwives, the book unveils a culture where ancestral knowledge, storytelling and the unseen converge, blurring the boundaries between reality, memory and imagination.

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The Enchancted Ones

“I have a very strong bond with nature. I can tell when she is reproducing, when she has just given birth, when she is smiling, when she feels pleasure. The tree is like a woman.”

“She lived by the river’s edge and at night she could hear the Boto*, moving under her house. It came to her in the shape of a man and seduced her. Over time, she gave birth to two Tucuxis**. The midwife baptised and released the creatures back into the water.”

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