About

I have had my first camera when I was 14 years old. It was a present from my parents for my first degree.
It was a wonderful present for my results in studies. It was a Yashika FX2, fully manual. It was a heavy black body camera. It had the essential things only; shutter speed, diafram and film speed dials. It had a primary lens. I love the 50mm f1,4. I remember that it costed 800.000£ and my family had to work for 1 month to earn that money. I have never seen a camera before. All about it seemed hard for me so it was a magic black box. Everything about its work wasn’t so clear and I couldn’t imagine what happened inside that black body. I started to use it as soon as possible and I remember that my first attempts were disappointing. There was anyone to help me or anyone to give me any suggestions. about how a camera works. I tried to play with the shutter speed deal but I had full white or dark pictures at the end. After a couple of rolls I changed my “strategy” hoping in good results. It didn’t gone as well. Playing with diafram ring/dial improved my pictures. I started to see something inside my pictures. Even my first blurred photos began a good photos for me. Unfortunately there was another essential aspect about parameters which make a photo; the film speed or ASA, but I didn’t understand it yet. So I soon left my camera in its bag for a long time. It was 1989 and I was 15 years old.
Then, in 1995 or 1996, something happened. I didn’t know why but I felt that something was missing and meanwhile I started to see everything in a different way. Something started to push myself out of a normal vision. When I saw some people I saw a mood where that subject was in too. Now I need to feel this. If I meet a little crazy girl walking I suddenly start dreaming on a kind of set where she could be shooted; colorful, sparkly, outdoor, shaking etc. I really think that everything has to say, everything has a story to tell me and I had to catch them as they showed themselves to me.
I have needed to have my camera on my hands again. So I picked it up and I started to use it after 8 years. This time I started reading a lot about Photography, magazine and web site are the most important resources for my knowledge. Web is a great sharing place for digital photography. At the beginning, I started everything I liked in order to improve my technical aspects, but people are my favorite subjects in my pictures.
Everyone is a special one, everyone is different from another one and this is magic for me. To listen their story, to know their dream…this is amazing. So, after thousand photos I started to pay attention on how they dress, how they move, all this fascinates me. Walking through the street going shopping, talking each other ….nothing is more interesting that this life’ show.
Today I spend lots of time in Photography. I’m a portrait, glamour and nude photographer, so I mainly work with models. I love to have an idea and to make it real through my camera, my skills, my personal vision. I love to talk with my models and this is the first, and the most, important step too. My first aim is to feel what they want, consequently I should talk a lot with them.
I paid attention about technical aspects in my first works. In this way I reached good results but they hadn’t got nothing else. Photos could be done in academic way but could be poor of soul, they could be without any kind of emotion. In fact I started to look for my style, so I left any technical aspect and I started to show the story behind my muse or realizing an idea.
Technical aspects aren’t a matter anymore. My shooting technique is very simple. I don’t like to use flash, strobes, grid and any other fittings up. I prefer to use one camera, one lens and one, or two, reflectors. My motto is “ easy is better”.
Working with few devices allows me to keep in mind my scene, my goal and my final picture. In this way I have much more flexibility, speed and I haven’t got any lack of attention during my work.
Why I love photography?
Photography makes me feel good, every time. When I shoot I am focused in my vision through the lens. Models are my muse and they are a focal point in my mind. Photography is something where people could be much more important then you could suppose. Model began important for a photographer because she let you see her as she is and a photographer began important for a model because he is who show her to the world as she is through his eyes. This means enhancing your muse as you can.
For this reason, at the end of a shooting time, I’m very tired. Pictures taken are not so important part because the most important thing is what remains of a shooting experience; faith, respect and a pleasing time are your recognitions for your work.
When I come back home after a shooting time I feel tired but satisfied and this is what I want in my life.
My Yashika is still inside a bag. A new digital camera takes her place now.