Edited by Odeta Catana, photography editor
Could you please tell us a little more about yourself.
Where do you live?
I live in Diano Marina, a small seaside town in Liguria, Italy. In winter there is none and during the three summer months it fills like an anthill. Guess where part I like most? Then live in a lot of different places, which brings me to the fantasy and dream.
How did you start taking pictures? Usually there is always the old story of the boy who finds his grandfather’s camera, did that happen to you as well or not?
I’ve always done little art things, from drawing, writing music for a magazine, to play in small bands without hope. Then one day I started taking pictures with a compact camera of some vinyl toys that I collected, re-creating an environment depending on their characteristics, and from there it all started. From toys to real people.
Where does your inspiration comes from?
Music inspires me a lot. I listen to music since my mother bought me the 45s during our walks when I was just a child. I am inspired by people and particular locations (and not always in this right order), photos of others and movies. There’s not a real inspiration behind my photos, they are driven by melancholy, the bittersweet of life, I like simple things, the little/big miracles of nature that happen every day.
In a portrait, what is important for you?
The subject is – of course – important and the context where the shooting is done. And that feeling that you can establish between photographer and model. It’s an encounter between two people, a share that allows the creation of something, an exchange.
What kind of relationship do you have with your subject when you shoot?
It depends on the type of work, whether they are customers or if I have personally asked the girl to be able to photograph for a certain project. In general I really care to talk and joke with the subject, to put her at ease and know her a little. If you do not know her at all, I ask to see before the shooting even just for a coffee, so we know something more of it. Often – joking about – I think that the photographer must be the figure between the priest and the gynecologist. (!)
Do you think it’s important to follow a school to learn how to shoot?
I am completely self-taught and therefore I would not know what to say about it. If I think of school rules and patterns, I think it is not a good thing. Personally, my photography is very instinctive and he lives on that. Probably the teachings are useful as a photographer and not learning how to take pictures.
What’s the photo you want to take and you never did?
Everyday I try to take a picture that I’ve never done before. It’s the main stimulus. I am a guy who gets bored pretty quickly of things, of people, of their banality and are always looking for new things that surprise me. I would like to photograph Jean Seberg, but it will remain absolutely a dream!
What’s your photo-mission?
I shoot for me, mostly. It’s my passion. To fulfill that desire to create that I have inside. And if my works like and are appreciated, I’m obviously happy and this reaction leads me to improve myself and to invent something new, from time to time.
