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Since my return to my hometown in Sardinia, Italy, after the lockdown, I began hiking alone and with my friends along the paths in the mountains of my territory, discovering places that I did not believe existed.
I spent the lockdown studying Forestry at the university in Turin, and then decided to quit. I felt out of place, I couldn’t fit in, and it didn’t feel right. I loved the practical part, being outdoors, but studying and being in the classroom was nothing for me. This made me reflect about the path I had taken up until then and what I actually wanted, then gathered the courage and made the fateful decision to leave the university, which coincided almost perfectly with the beginning of my passion for photography.
When I came back to my town, I saw the area with different eyes and decided to document everything using an old Sony camera, my phone and an action cam. I realized how intriguing it was to be able to frame every single moment immersed in nature because each shot tells a different story or expresses a special emotion. Fascinated by this way of observing the world, I therefore decided to buy my first proper reflex camera which still accompanies me every single day. Studying and practicing photography I discovered a true passion which makes me happy and ambitious to continue straight towards my goals.
I believe it is important to have your goals clear, so you know where you are heading to, look ahead and are not easily influenced by the opinion of others, or of those who do not believe in what you do. I will continue to improve the quality of my content, because I know every day I can learn something new – and meeting people with different personalities help me grow both as a human being and a professional. My dream is to be able to travel around the world as soon as possible thanks to photography and make a living out of it. I hope to be able to leave for Australia in 2022, a trip I have been planning for three years.
My passion for travelling started a long time ago, when I had the opportunity to visit a European capital, Lisbon, for the first time. I was immediately fascinated by every single corner of the city and thanks to the warmth of the inhabitants, it seemed like I was at home. Later on I had the opportunity to visit other cities such as Oxford, London, Berlin, and especially Madrid where I lived for six months during my Erasmus exchange. So far one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.
Having grown up in a small village in Sardinia of about 2500 people, moving to a city like Madrid for six months was huge. The amount of people in one place was really strange for me at first, impressive. There’s so much possible in such a big city that I had never experienced; taking the metro and get to any corner very quickly, making friends with people from all over the world, hopping on a plane just right next to the city and going anywhere, living with roommates, learning from so many different people, discovering new cultures in one and the same city and share mine… All that combined with immersing myself into a new life, a new environment, a new routine made me look at the world from another point of view. I felt at home, let myself go, and integrated pretty easily. Now I strongly believe that it is important to have these kinds of experiences in life, and I’m looking forward to living more of them, still keeping my roots solid.
"Living in Sardinia is something special, it is like living in a small world on its own, characterized by its own culture, a unique language according to the territorial region and full of truly extraordinary places."
Since I started shooting I had the chance to explore my territory, the Montiferru, a sub-region of central-western Sardinia, which takes its name from the homonymous volcanic massif. I must say that my favorite spots are all here just outside my front door.
From the highest peaks such as Monte Entu and Monte Sos Oggios you can admire the sea, meet wild animals such as mouflons, deer, buzzards and, if lucky, even golden eagles. You can make various excursions following the different tracks and find yourself in front of the jagged rocks of Sos Segados and come across the peregrine falcons. And you can admire the small canyon called Riu Tumbarinu.
In the central-western region of Sardinia there is the Montiferru mountain massif and from Punta sa Chidonza, on days of little haze, you can stare at the beauty and majesty of Capo Caccia in the north part of Sardinia. Then you can visit the various waterfalls that the area offers such as the most famous one called Sos Molinos, which is 30m high, located in the center of a suggestive gorge. And there are the Predas Rujas waterfalls, fed by the Bia Josso river that springs from the Elighes Uttiosos springs, and the Massabari waterfall, all of them reachable after a long hike through a holm oak forest.
You can also visit beautiful places on the coast such as Capo Mannu, an excellent spot if you want to practice surf photography. This is located on the west coast of Sardinia and thanks to the position mainly exposed to the mistral wind and thanks to the shore composition is a perfect spot for practice surfing, windsurfing and kite. Along the same coast you can visit beaches with crystal clear water, for example at S’Anea Scoada, Is Arutas, or S’Archittu – all perfect places for epic shots with a drone.
My island is really special.; you can have a wide range of experiences that you cannot live everywhere. For example, it is an oasis for extreme sports such as mountain biking, cliff diving, skydiving, surfing… Even during winter months on sunny days you can feel the summer mood while surfing at Capo Mannu with a view of the snow-covered mountains located on the east coast. Canyoning is another water sport that is great fun to do anywhere on the island all year around. The mild winter temperatures, the crystal clear waters of the sea combined with the large number of equipped cliffs make it also one of the most popular destinations for climbers from northern Europe.
"And as a result of the variety of landscapes, Sardinia is also a heaven for hikers. You can take paths starting from the mountains, passing between cliffs, waterfalls and tree tunnels to arrive in a few hours at the sea."
Now, it is not hard to imagine that Sardinia has given me the opportunity to experiment and explore different photographic styles such as landscape photography, extreme sport photography, and wildlife photography. This has allowed me to begin to shape my style and still helps me to grow today. Creating visual content has become natural to me; it’s like I’ve always done it. When I’m faced with a certain scenario, I have a clear voice in my head that says: “Something epic will come out.” Inspiration can be found everywhere, you just have to be conscious, concentrate, and create goals every single day.
Through my shots I try to tell a story, for me this is fundamental. My goal is to transmit with them every single emotion felt in that instant. I want to ensure that whoever observes my photos can understand what I felt and identify with it. I believe that it’s not necessarily a photo itself that makes a photo great – it’s more about the story behind that makes that I like a shot the most. One of my favorite stories was created during a hike together with one of my friends. A story about a wild animal of my territory, the mouflon – continually a victim of poachers and illegal hunting. During an excursion a male specimen suddenly appeared on the path, a fantastic animal. We kept staring at him for 10 long minutes without moving a muscle. Through this shot, I was able to convey an experience full of happiness mixed with wonder and fatigue. An experience that few people could live.
Doing photography calms me down, it makes me feel free to express myself. I totally alienate myself from the world the moment I compose a photo – I focus and imagine in my mind what I could create. It’s like being in a bubble of serenity. So before editing a certain photo, I already have in mind what I want to achieve. My style is mainly based on colors that are not too bright nor too saturated, and I prefer to give each shot a faded character, applying certain shades aimed to highlight what is my focal point. For me it is very important to be able to express my way of being and my mood through my photography.
A few months ago, one day, I woke up early to enjoy the sunrise up in my mountains. Once I arrived, the moon was perfectly aligned with the mountains of the opposite coast. The light gave me a perfect view, I had never seen such scenery. I immediately decided to place my tripod and after countless attempts I managed to get a result that I feel really proud of. It has been one of the best moments ever, a situation full of happiness and satisfaction. Witnessing moments like these, feeling these beautiful emotions rushing through my body, noticing the focus of my mind and urge to create… It’s all captured the moment I press the shutter.
"A photo is who I am and what I live. A photo is the magic of a place in one scene where others can relate to or dream of. A photo is a complete story."
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