monochrome – GOSHOOTIT

2020-05-272020-05-27

How I went back to the origins (and tardiness) of analog photography.

Back in September 2017 I bought an Intrepid 4×5 camera, a wood-made modern version of the original view camera – the kind of camera that has been around for more than a century, and that is as simple as it gets: a lens, a base to hold the entire structure and a ground glass where to frame and focus. Many companies still make them (e.g. Toyo, Linhof) and, although developments in technology exploded since the first daguerreotype in the first half of the 19th century, the concept behind them have not changed much.

2020-05-172020-05-17

How I had time (during the COVID-19 lockdown) to re-scan film strips.

As many people during these last few months, I mostly stayed at home working and focusing on my hobbies. Other than making new drawings on ProCreate and watching tons of movies from my never-ending watchlist, I mostly dedicated time to photography.

2019-08-192019-12-27

How I shot pictures (sometimes on request) underwater.

One month ago I had the chance to exchange a lens that I was not using anymore for an underwater camera – the Minolta 35DL – in a camera shop, and I took the deal. I immediately used it a few days later during a pool party that a friend threw in his house on Elba. Before that, I never used an underwater camera – at least that I can remember – and the results enchanted me. Once I got back in Milan I immediately developed the two rolls of film that I shot in such occasion.

2019-03-162019-12-27

How we channeled all the stimuli (and the heat) in the never-ending city of NY.

New York is an immense city. It’s the so-called “city that never sleeps” – and that’s my favorite nickname for it. We went there for a 14-days trip, and that still wasn’t enough. Considering that at the beginning I was planning for only 10 days there, I’m happy that Giuditta convinced me to add more days and that we had the chance to spend the most time possible in such a wonderful and multi-faceted city.

“Over the great bridge, with sunlight through the girders making a constant flicker upon the moving cars, with the city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money. The city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, ‘The Great Gatsby’

2018-11-072019-12-27

How I always end up having more and more pictures (and thoughts) to share.

By developing and printing pictures in the weekends and spare hours at the end of the day, I noticed that more and more extra pictures are piling up – waiting for some recognition. Single pictures that don’t fit into any themed article I share on this blog, but still portray a moment of everyday life – which i mostly spend with a camera around my neck or in my pocket. Some of these pictures even date back years, while others are more recent and just were previously underappreciated and only now noticed. Since sorting through sleeves of negatives is time consuming – as much as setting up the dark room is – I need to focus on discipline and consistency. And I have to accept that I might not ever be able to print all the pictures I take. Luckily, this thought does not frighten me: I believe that such acceptance of the incomplete power that all of us have over the events of life is an underlying element of any aspect of life itself; accepting the limits of what can be done. Therefore, time management and satisfaction. I have tons of hobbies and interests, and I’m happy even with the little I can get out of any of them. Having at least some pictures to look at, to remind myself of the moment I took that picture – in a visually appealing photograph, giving me the chance to see, or at least imagine, the life of the people portrayed in it – is enough.

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2018-03-162019-12-27

How I spent my winter holidays in Paris with my girlfriend (and a total of 5 cameras).

Ahead of this trip, I went to Paris only few times and did not manage to create enough memories of it: the first time was about 20 years ago, so I was too young to fully comprehend the experience this city gives. The second time was for just one night in 2014, while driving back from our theatre company’s show for the Camden Fringe Festival. Therefore this can be considered my first proper visit in Paris – and its beauty stunned me nonetheless. Looking down on the city from midway to the top of the Tour Eiffel and from the verge of Montmartre, and viceversa getting glimpses of the sky through the glass vaults of the passages: not something easily done anywhere.

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2018-02-012019-12-27

How two friends and I went (along with heat and typhoon Noru) on my third trip to Japan.

I suggest reading the article listening to this great piece of japanese jazz – to sync your mood with what we felt during the trip.

Since any of my first two trips to Japan (i.e. in 2012 and 2015) were not enough to satisfy my hunger for experiences in that amazing country, I decided to head back to the narrow streets of Tōkyō and other cities once again. As I did during my previous trip, I went with people I care a lot about and with whom I can share my interest for the country. We chose a wide array of cities to visit, and added Kanazawa and Aomori to my usual tour plan. Moreover we all went on the trip with cameras – and a total of 25 rolls of Ilford HP5 and 10 cartridges of I-type instant film to shoot in a 24-days trip – so everything pointed to it being first and foremost a photo-voyage.

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2017-08-232023-09-22

How I had (a rough time choosing 15 pictures for) an exhibition with a friend.

Back in June 2016 me and a friend, Pietro Consolandi, decided to consider making a joint photo exposition – focusing on the pictures we took during our respective trips to Japan in that same year: I went with a friend for new year’s eve holidays while he went later in spring by himself.

We both had also previously been to Japan – my first trip was by myself, his in a group – and we shared the belief that a certain degree of knowledge of a country is required to enjoy it. I don’t mean that one has to have a complete understanding of the place one is travelling to, but the aim of the trip should not be just discovering it: it should not be solely history and social matters, but even just the everyday dimension of how the inhabitants live their own streets and country.

Speaking for myself, I tend to try being invisible – not to catch what they wouldn’t want to show a tourist, but just to be perceived as one of its own by the country itself, the shops, the streets and the poles, being given the chance to experience the same calmness and silence one feels when at home.

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2017-01-162019-12-27

How I managed to print pictures in my bathroom (against all odds).

Feel free to advance any critique, as all the images included in this article are taken by me. Only two are not, and the author is cited.

It’s been more than two years since I first decided to only shoot film [ITA], and things are yet to be completely mastered. On my way to pursue a personal creative style, I started developing film in bigger batches, and on a steadier routine. I experimented with more developers (i.e. HC-110) – and more will come (i.e. Caffenol C-H) – while I moved to another home. Until the day one thing came: a Durst M605.

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2016-06-072019-12-27

How I ‘hiked’ (but mostly ate) my way through Japan in 15 days.

All the images included in this article are taken by me, therefore feel free to advance any critique.

I first went to Japan in 2012. It was by myself and some of the trips I had were part of organised tours: I deeply enjoyed my experience, but also felt that I failed to get the whole experience that the country had for its visitors.

Last summer I finally managed to organise another trip to Japan: I wouldn’t have been by myself, it would have been for 15 days – instead of just 10 – and we would have also visited Hiroshima – other than Tōkyō and Kyōto which I already stopped at in 2012.

Me and a close friend of mine wanted to get in touch with the rather subtle realm of what we think Japan is like. Such an idea usually involves mostly food and temples, while it rules out the imagery of Japan as a land of dark ages’ warriors, modern buildings and anime. Speaking for myself, the country lays between those extremes, and it resembles what’s depicted by photographers such as Moriyama Daido, Shomei Tomatsu, Nishimura Junku and Hashiguchi George. I think of Japan as a land of narrow alleys, unglorified open spaces and publicly open people.

Continue reading “How I ‘hiked’ (but mostly ate) my way through Japan in 15 days.”