So, why am I here?

I started turning my passion for photography into something more than a leisure activity when I moved to Palestine in 2004 to work at Bethlehem University as lecturer in economics. Living in the West Bank, I was struck by the Separation Wall which was being built around the city in those very days, and soon I felt I had to take action to document what was unfolding before my eyes. Photographs immediately stood out as the most powerful medium to show how the Wall was changing the Palestinian landscape, cutting through urban and rural areas, and further compromising the perspectives of solving the conflict. In the first half of 2005 I visited almost every site where the Wall was being constructed, and I produced a series of images which have become the core materials of the awareness campaign Un Muro non Basta - A Wall is not Enough, promoted by the Ngo VIS all over Italy. http://unmurononbasta.bethlehem.edu

A couple of other projects followed - namely Stones of Jordan and Inside Out – together with
occasional assignments in Jericho and Gaza. As my interest in photography was growing stronger, I felt the need of improving my skills by attending documentary workshops in India and Morocco. Eventually, I have matured the goal of developing my career as a professional photographer, aiming at observing and interpreting people in their environments.

Should I pick a recent picture showing the kind of images I am looking for nowadays, it would have to be this one:


I took this photo in Essaioura, Morocco, in early November 2008. I feel this image expresses quite well the kind of photography I am after for a number of reasons: it is a wide scene, rich in composition and detail; it includes people; it has a high contrast; it captures an instant – the seagull flying across – in a context carefully studied in advance, but not arranged. In other words, what I like is looking for scenes that catch my attention and, at the same time, that I feel to be almost complete. Then I study the context, try to work out the best exposure, compose my shot and wait for the missing bit to happen. In this case, it is the seagull flying by. Of course I do not limit myself to these kinds of pictures, but I feel particularly happy whenever the missing bit actually happens. Why is it so? Perhaps it is because this kind of photo is capable of catching a unique moment while documenting a context which stands still, out of time, day after day. In my view, the coexistence between action and stillness plays a major role in making an image interesting, rich with meaning.

I generally like to include people in my photos, sometimes as main subjects, sometimes as elements of the scene. Simply, I am very interested in life - at times I feel concerned, attracted, scared, puzzled, surprised... - and I like to explore the people who belong to their places. When it comes to street portraits, I like to establish a connection with people and have a preliminary conversation with them, even if I generally prefer the subject not to pose. Also, I prefer not to twist the camera, convinced that the best angles are already out there and don't need to be created.

I have allowed artistic creativity to surface in some of my work, such as Inside Out, and I would like to keep developing my visual art sensitivity as a resource to make projects more captivating and powerful. Creativity may work as a key to serve a purpose, but it stands primarily as an end in itself.

I am aware that I am moving along a path which might – hopefully! - reach new stages in the future, evolving towards new directions. That is why I consider it extremely important to enrich my knowledge and feed my curiosity by exchanging ideas with a community of professionals, academics and fellow practitioners.

A final note. After some thought, I have realized that this new project does not necessarily mean breaking up with my background. The discipline of economics, in its simplest terms, is a theory of choice. And photography is all about choices. Every image is the unique outcome of tens of choices, from the moment of choosing a certain subject to deciding the exposure settings. So, I do not think I am moving into an entirely new field of work, but rather I see it as refining the focus on the kind of choices I want to make.