Here below is a basic short intro (for those that are in a hurry) But if you have spare time and you want to know more about me, read the intro and then scroll down for a deeper view (only then you'll understand the meaning of the picture above)

The more I know the people I have to photograph, the better the final result will be. But they too must know me, and it is important they feel comfortable while they are being photographed. For this reason, the relationship I establish with my clients plays a fundamental role in my work. Photographing a couple or an entire family, as well as being a job, evolves into an experience to be lived with them, made up of people, places, stories and emotions, and sometimes even of flavours.

Once the work is done, I have ended up establishing a sincere friendship with many of my customers. A friendship that has continued into the years that followed.

My documenting style can be summarized as photojournalistic, and this means "never direct" and "never interrupt the flow of the events". My goal is to capture natural moments and to focus on the details that matter the most... such as a restrained tear, a shy smile, or the emotions of the people closest to you.

I don't like to pose my clients in forced or unnatural postures. I prefer to photograph them while they're living and enjoying a true and candid moment...this will allow me to deliver to them photographs as truthful as possible.

It takes all sorts

When I was a little boy, everybody wore bell trousers with knee patches that often needed to be stitched, the milk was sold only in glass bottles, people listened to their 45 rpm records through portable turntables, and I remember that every time I complained about something, such as having to wear corduroy trousers, my mom would tell me over and over, the old Italian saying "il mondo è bello perché è vario", literally translated "the world is beautiful because it is varied". More or less it is the Italian version of the English saying "it takes all sorts (to make a world)".

My mom wanted mainly to emphasize that people have different characters, opinions, and abilities, and that I have to accept this, unconditionally. And also, that I had to wear those horrible corduroy pants.

I grew up admiring the people for their diversities, at the point that the crazy outfits of Boy George (back in the 80s) looked just normal to me.

The breach in the wall

I wasn't a person who talked a lot, often introverted and shy with new people.

I was probably 10 years old and one day I asked my brother (who is 10 years older than me) to show me how his SLR camera works. He had a new shining black & Silver Fujica, full manual. He quickly taught me the basics of photography (aperture, exposure, ASA) and he showed me how the mechanics works inside the camera body, the curtain, the diaphragm, the mirror, where the photographic film should be placed, and then how to focus a subject (yes, manually).

I remember I was a bit confused regarding certain small numbers written on the camera body and on the lens, but I was just amazed. Through the viewfinder it was like looking at the world from a breach in the wall, which is actually a perfect place for a slightly shy person to be in.

Years later, my brother bought a new semi-automatic SLR, and that shining Fujica became my first SLR camera (thank you Lucio for that gift).

Things changed in the meantime, the new fashion was the cuffed trousers (and unfortunately, even in velvet).

Tarmac

Many years later, I found myself walking behind this imaginary wall, observing things and people in the street and photographing the contrasts of big cities and the incredible diversity of the people.

In their faces, I have often found beautiful and sweet looks, but also a lot of sadness, pain and bitterness. I have spent hours watching those looks on the monitor of my computer.

I am one of those people who doesn't remember easily the names of others, but can remember very well their physiognomy.

Sometimes, in the street I meet people I had photographed years ago, and am able to recognize them almost immediately. Some of these people seem happier and some others not. I even remembered that one of them had become a father.

Send me an email

Occasionally, when I believed it was worth it, I would give my contact info to the people I had just photographed, inviting them to send me an email (if they wanted to), so I could later send them their photos (being that I considered those pictures theirs, and not mine).

And that's how I ended up meeting a lot of interesting and nice people from all over the world.

You never stop learning

I learned only later, that they were a Canadian couple on their honeymoon. This day was their last day of vacation in Greece, and they would be flying back home in a few hours.

I sent them the photo by email. After all, it was a beautiful picture, and I could not imagine the value it might have had for them.

The following Christmas, Bryan sent me a picture of Nadia holding my photo mounted on a canvas. To them, that image is the summary of their honeymoon, of their trip to Greece, an important and personal memory to hang on a wall at home. It was very touching.

What I learnt from this : street photography is very interesting and fascinating, but at the end if you only collect thousands of pictures on your computer, it diminishes its value. When you share the photo with the portrayed people, it acquires a whole new meaning. Sharing is the key, even in photography.

Conclusion (the last effort)

For several years now, I'm a full-time photographer, and the period of street photography (until late at night) is long gone. I still sometimes take a ride on the street with a DSLR in my hand, even if most of the time I'm on the road holding, hand in hand, one of my two wonderful little girls that my wife blessed me with.

If you've come to read this far I can only thank you for spending so much of your time on this page, just to know me better. Everything I wrote is my first move to come closer to you. You may now say you know me a little bit. If you wish, let's get in touch.