How many emotions are contained in a click?

I was thinking about it when I found an EXA I analog camera stored in my father’s desk drawer. It dates back to the early 60s and is still in perfect condition. 

Ranieri and I were just born. This allows me to deduce that he has chosen to buy his EXA I with loving attention, to immortalize the most exciting moments related to the birth of his first children! 

I can relive those moments and those emotions with the same intensity in his eyes, thanks to the black and white photographic memories he left me. 

Like the one of us twins who run in the snow with the sled. It is the photo that best describes our childhood, our deep bond and our uniqueness.

As I grew older, I found that there are more valuable legacies than any material asset.

Passion for photography is one of them. I inherited it from my father. We never talked about photography from a technical point of view, neither of us had the professional skills to discuss exposure times, focus or light.

What we shared over the course of a lifetime were all those emotions linked to every single memory contained in the films developed.  

A gesture, a smile, a look.

Watching, waiting, feeling, communicating, and capturing that unique moment in life, unrepeatable, strong and moving. That magical click that stops time and makes it eternally yours. 

This is how I live and feel photography. It is the medium that allows me to express myself, to get in touch with the world, to discover it and to bring back something special to remember and share.  

My old Canon was my best companion during my many trips.

I have visited many countries around the world, but the one I like best is India. Its colors, vibrations and smells are extraordinary and very powerful.

I still remember that sudden ray of sunshine revealing the beauty of a woman in the chaos of the city, hidden behind her veil.

Just as I remember with extreme clarity the princely gesture of an Indian girl I met at the Red Fort in New Delhi, a shot that I then converted to black and white to give more importance to her gesture than her dress. 

Every moment lived and every movement and gaze captured will remain forever in my memory.

The power of photographic storytelling.

The best thing about photography is the experience of waiting. Today, with the transition to digital, it has been lost, because the result is immediately under your eyes. 

Only those like me who have been lucky enough to have an analog camera in their hands for some time can understand the emotion contained in waiting to discover if we managed to catch that specific moment.  

A real magical ritual was performed in the dark room. I remember the strong and acid smells of the solutions, the calm and sure movements, the silence marked by the timer. And then, as if by magic, the slow surfacing of the images on paper, as if they slowly came to life.

This weekend I want to share special memories with you.

This weekend I decided to show you the shots that best tell my life, through a particular “object-subject” and “analog-digital” path where I was involved, both as a photographer and as the subject photographed.

If you are interested in learning more about this topic, I invite you to visit my Instagram profile.