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Valerio Sbriglione
@vsphotoscape
Landscape photographer based in Italy
I was born and raised in the Northwest of Italy and with my dad, who is still today both a photographer and mountain lover, I used to hike through the Italian Alps. The epic landscapes of the highest peaks and the deep forests of the Alps between Italy and France impressed me as a young boy and this sensation never disappeared when growing up. My passion for mountains and landscapes has been growing year after year, until it reached a significant point 4-5 years ago during my first travels to the Dolomites. I did some amateur photography and video and the craft began to really trigger my interest.
"This shared passion for the mountains and photography brought me and my dad closer together."
In the beginning because I had a lot of things to ask him about gear, shooting techniques, etc. I must admit that he had a lot of patience with me, especially when my craving for shooting made me ask him to go out together even on cloudy and rainy days. Meanwhile we had many shooting sessions together and it has always been amazing – besides photographs, we created unforgettable memories. When my passion started to become something more, I received lots of support from my dad and the rest of the family.
"Without any doubt the most defining moment of my photographic activity happened in Scotland in 2019."
Until then I had a good passion for landscapes and photography, but not outstanding. During this trip though, while looking at the incredible Scottish landscapes, I felt that something was changing. I felt a strong need to develop my photography skills and testify as best as possible through my lens what I could see with my eyes. The Highlands was a total immersion into the wild – the region has something magical, the light was so special I fell in love with every single corner of it. And the Isle of Skye was so wild and emotional, I could not believe how beautiful it was. Even the persistent rain was totally insignificant in front of that gorgeous place.
"Since then, photography keeps my mind busy most of the time."
Planning almost all my hikes and my travels according to my photography desires, studying the theory of photography, editing photos to gain practice and insight and of course comparing and deciding on the best gear for my needs. I also opened my Instagram account that now can count on a real and good active following, and an official website with a webstore for my prints. Today I keep learning and studying – there’s always something new to unpuzzle and I am unceasingly searching to expand my portfolio. As soon as it is possible I would love to travel north to the Scandinavian countries as I am totally missing that experience so far.
Last year I took one of my favorite astro photos at one of my favorite mountains. I was on the top of Col du Mont-Cenis (France) at night, in a total darkness. I could not even see the big lake that the eye is drawn to when you are there during the day. I was stunned by the innumerable stars in the sky. It was so clear that I could see the Milky Way with the naked eye. I was standing in the dark for almost an hour, admiring the beauty. Once I came back to life, I started to shoot that incredible Milky Way…What a night!
"It was in 1990 I think that I first visited this mountain."
Ever since, I keep on returning to this spot every year, several times. It’s only 1,5 hours drive from home and moreover, it’s absolutely a wonderful spot both for landscape photography and Milky Way shots. Another of my favorite spots is located in the Dolomites. During my latest trip there this summer, after an almost 3-hours hike from Pordoi Pass, we finally reached the top of “Sass Pordoi” which is also called “Dolomites balcony.” You can have a 180 degrees view over the peaks and it is more than epic. It is hard to put the camera down there, every inch is photogenic!
"Whenever I am editing my photos, I usually try to obtain a "fairy" and "dreamy" mood - I’ve always been a big fan of fantasy and ancient cultures."
Besides, in my photos it is all about separation: colors, layers, lights and shadows, sharpness. I aim to separate everything in order to get a three-dimensional photo with a big depth. Then, I like to accentuate the lights on the main subject: a peak, a waterfall, a lonely tree, etc. I think that we must use technique to accentuate the best elements of a good shot rather than trying to get a beautiful shot we weren’t able to take with the camera itself. This is why I always dodge and burn, depending on the shot how I do it, to accentuate the lights and the shadows. Also, the addition of glow and orton effect are very important to give an atmospheric mood to the shot, but I always work on local adjustments. The same for radial filters; I love those and use them a lot to increase the attention on small elements within the frame. Lastly, I often play with the white balance in order to get more separation on the colors.
"I feel I have evolved a lot in my editing, as a result of my energy put into learning about the techniques."
I started to study on my own, as mentioned before, but after a while I decided to assist a photography course for beginners in my city. It was so educational and allowed me to learn the basics in a correct way. After that, I attended several online lessons, masterclasses and one to one sessions with outstanding photographers. And there are many photographers that inspire me still today to keep learning, such as Max Rive, Daniel Kordan, Mads Peter Iversen. Since some time now, I have started to get requests about either private workshops and editing lessons in Lightroom/Photoshop. In the first place, I offer a full-immersion day(s) from how I start to plan the shooting to getting my shots in the field. Then I show how I handle my editing workflow and which techniques I use the most. I also do editing sessions on Lightroom and Photoshop in person or online.
I am proud of what I have done and learnt so far. Surely my girlfriend was the biggest help I could have as she always supported me and had a lot of patience while waiting for me to take shots. I must also thank my parents who are so helpful, always being there for me with any question or doubt – especially my dad. Last but not least, I must thank my first teacher and now close friend Marco Saracco, for teaching me the basics of this art in such a solid way. He is an awesome professional photographer specialized in my hometown.
"Landscape photography has brought me so much until today."
Challenge, excitement, friends, breathtaking views, beautiful memories, and above all, passion. I believe that we can really feel 100% at our best when you have nothing but nature around. I think that it’s nature that fills me up with an insatiable energy to be the best version of myself, whatever happens.
“There’s no success or failure in nature.”
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