ABOUT

Before devoting my life to academia, and earlier still to the practice of law as an attorney, I had a long photographic journey that culminated in collaborations and appearances in local Italian newspapers featured in my CV. Among the various exhibitions in France, Italy, and Germany, special mention should be made of my participation in a seminar at the International Center of Photography in New York. I have always printed my photographs using fine art techniques and work with a Canon EOS 1VHS, a Zenza Bronica SQ-A, and digital EOS 1Ds MkIII / EOS 5DR cameras. My favorite films are ILFORD Delta for black and white, and PORTRA, VELVIA, EKTAR, and PROVIA for color photography. My first camera was a Zenit-ES, which I still use from time to time.

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To access the photographic galleries, click on the links below.

PORTRAITS

PLACES

COLOUR

To know something more about my photographic roots, read below.

Most of my photographs are in black and white. From the very beginning of shooting with analogue cameras and film, this has been my way of capturing reality. That modus operandi has profoundly shaped the way I see things, even today. In academia, most areas of inquiry exist in shades of grey, so curiosity and open-mindedness are essential to achieving meaningful black-or-white conclusions. Nonetheless, in everyday life, not everything is crystal clear, and most pictures are blurred. It is therefore my duty to remain steady and produce meaningful portraits, both in photography and in research.
My story began when I was 13 years old. I used to shoot with a Zenit-ES on Fuji film. It was love at first sight. My first photographs were overexposed, crooked, and sometimes slightly out of focus, but I was the happiest kid with that camera. As the years passed, I never abandoned my passion for analogue photography, chemicals, and cameras. Later, when I moved more seriously into professional photography, I switched to digital cameras for photojournalism while preserving the pleasure of slow processing and unhurried photography for portraits and personal projects.
My photographic mantra can be summarized in three key principles: composition, patience, and research. Regarding the first, I like to think carefully about the ideal shot, already imagining during the conceptual phase how it will look once printed on paper. I constantly ask myself what the best use of light might be and what contrast should be achieved. Sometimes I wish I could work like Gregory Crewdson, building an entire set for a single photograph and placing everything in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time. In reality, however, all these mental efforts often dissolve in an instant and are resolved within a matter of seconds.
Despite the recent rush of digital photography, analogue photography has taught me a form of patience and a way of seeing that belongs only to lovers of slow processes. Sometimes you feel that the location, the light, or the framing could be right, only to realize that it still does not match the image you had envisioned in your mind. Then you ask yourself: why should I start taking random shots when I am searching for something else entirely? And so you wait—seconds, minutes, or even hours. The light changes, the weather shifts, and eventually the right moment arrives. It is a sensation I experience only with analogue cameras, much like the feeling of placing a vinyl record on a turntable. You do not experience the same emotion by asking Siri to skip to the next song.
I usually note in my agenda the places I would like to photograph, waiting patiently for the right moment. Surprisingly, this often results in travelling with my camera rather than travelling for my camera. At times, I prefer simply to stimulate my perceptions and visual sensibilities instead of taking photographs immediately, waiting instead for the perfect occasion. I remember spending six hours inside the Arctic Circle just to capture a single photograph worth the wait. I also recall the day I spent from midnight to midnight in the New York subway system. It was absolutely worth it, though undeniably exhausting.
So, what guides my photographic journey? As a black-and-white photographer, my eternal guide is light. As Vittorio Storaro taught us, light always allows us to tell a story. It encourages us to seek shadows, contrasts, and unconventional perspectives; to pursue the best composition and framing; and to capture a singular moment in time with a single click. And that is, indeed, one hell of a true story.

I never take myself too seriously.

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