Luca is a full time photographer based in Italy. As a child, he was using an old analog camera from his mother, taken pictures that didn’t really came out well. It wasn’t until he met Rene, a friend passionate about photography, that brought his attention back to photography again. After searching for places near home and capturing them, Luca went further away to discover what’s out there.
Now he has traveled to many countries and won several awards, among others the Kuwait Photo Contest, HIPA, WPO, Epson Pano, ND Award, and Oasis. However, Luca’s goal with photography has never been to win awards or be the best. Instead, he cares about the conceptual and imaginary landscape that only the soul can understand. He goes beyond ‘seeing’ the landscape to become part of it and this is what he hopes to convey with his photos. For him, connecting to nature and listening to what the world has to say is the most important. It is exactly that what he wants to capture and not just the geographical landscape.
Nowadays, Luca organizes and guides various photography tours and workshops in different countries, so if you would like to learn more about his vision of photography after reading this interview, get in touch with him or visit his webpage!
Welcome Luca! First, can you tell us what lead you into the world of photography?
I traveled a lot with my parents since I was very young and I used to take pictures with my mom’s camera. It was very hard to find good compositions when it’s not a digital camera and it didn’t go very well. Then I had a period in which I didn’t pay much attention to photography, until I met Rene, my ‘photography friend’, about 10 years ago. We started to explore around our homes and photograph sunsets, trees and piers, going every day a little bit further from home. Now, about six years later, I have traveled to many places in the world, won several photography awards and I am leading photography tours.
On your webpage is written: “Photographer and explorer, he investigates his most intimate vision of the landscape through photography, in his works Luca does not refer to the geographical landscape, but to the conceptual and imaginary one that only the soul can understand” And also: “It is not simply a matter of seeing the landscape … but of being part of it.” Can you commend on this?
Ya… Right now, we are all photographers. Everyone can take a picture and 99% takes pictures to prove themselves to others, to show others that they have an amazing life or a beautiful body. They don’t feel the landscape. We don’t need more ‘ Lonely Planet’ photos.
How do you convey the conceptual and imaginary landscape that only the soul can understand in your work, beyond the geographical one? And what happens to you when you are not simply seeing the landscape, but becoming part of it?
The book tells us something about us, something we had forgotten, something ancestral, magical. This is also what happens when you listen to a song, when you finally really listen to it and it seems written for you. Though the song existed for a long time, it wasn’t the right time or you were too busy to really understand it. It’s all a matter of time; many things already exist, but they wait. Or we wait. ‘Becoming part’ means being on time. It means that you are in the place where you should be, not for fame or for money, but to be able to listen to what the world is whispering to you, to free yourself from all those things that actually don’t matter, and to connect to nature, to the core, to that what really matters.
It’s quite simple… A feeling is more important than the rest. You can see people running to take a hundred pictures of a sunset to subsequently post a hundred Instagram stories, but meanwhile they lost the feeling. They were not connected. Just stop looking for money, we are all dying, so don’t waste your time.
How would you describe your editing style and how did you develop such editing style?
This year I have changed my editing style. Years ago I was on Lord of the Rings mood, but right now I prefer a more natural mood. I always prefer saturated colors, but more natural.
You have won several international photography competitions, such as Kuwait Photo Contest, HIPA, WPO, Epson Pano, ND Award or Oasis. How does it feel to have won so many competitions?
What do you think is the secret behind your winning photos? What makes a photo a good photo according to you?
I think the key is to find new perspectives. We should observe, but not copy. Even the classic locations can have unexpected surprises, we just need to search and be committed to what you are doing, to what you want. Photography is not like filling a sticker album; it is giving one’s own vision of a landscape. You have to say something with a photograph and besides a good composition and use of light you have to convey something: emotions and feelings.
You give photography workshops in different places, can you give us some insight in the things you teach people during these workshops/trips?
My goal is to teach to take time, to care about composition because it’s a very important thing. Off course I teach technical practices, theory and post production but here are some other lessons I hope everyone remembers from my workshops:
Don’t be lazy, look and look again for new perspectives and feel the photo;
Never take a picture because you saw that one on Instagram and you want the same;
You are not travelling to fill up an album, you are travelling to enjoy and to see the world’s beauty.
As a photographer, I am sure that you feel attached to all your photos. All your pictures represent unique moments of your life. However, among your works, do you have any picture that you really like? What is your favorite photo?
What is the most beautiful thing that travel has allowed you to do?
I would say that there are a few ‘most beautiful things’. First, to meet people and makes friends all over the world. Secondly to learn about different cultures and traditions and to see how they are incorporated in daily life and the environments. And finally, to understand that we are all a little part of a huge landscape.
Imagine yourself at the beginning of your professional career as a photographer. What four pieces of advice would you give to yourself?
That would probably be these ones:
1) Don’t run
2) Don’t copy and don’t photograph for likes
3) Do what you love and love what you do; money doesn’t make you happy
4) Don’t run, again.
Is there any artist/photographer who has inspired your art?
There are two photographers that are a great inspiration for me: Marc Adamus and Ted Gore.
Probably you have lots of places on your wishlist to visit and photograph! Any new projects coming up or countries you will be visiting soon?
My next projects will be in Java, Indonesia and the Himalaya, Nepal. But honestly I don’t follow specific plans or goals. I take the tent and the equipment and I go. I will see day by day what happens, I go with the flow and I love following my intuition and instinct.
“If you are having trouble figuring out what you are passionate about I think it can help to look back on your childhood. Almost every little kid can tell you what they want to be when they grow up.”
“My favorite thing about portrait photography is making the other person feel that they look good with the final product. Shooting my friends is my favorite, being able to give a friend some quality photos from that one time we did this one thing is a great feeling.”
“I spent nearly the last three months living on the road. And it has definitely changed my perspective and lifestyle. I wanted to put myself out of my comfort zone. Being active and in the outdoors is a very important part of my life.”
“Being outside is definitely what keeps me alive and happy. Fresh air and moving my body get my mind off of everything. Sometimes you have to put down the camera or not even bring it and take in the views.”
“Nowadays photography is the perfect excuse to travel and explore the world. When photography is involved, everything is more exciting. I really like to combine tattooing and photography while I travel.”
“Many people think that traveling alone is super scary and unsafe, but with the right mindset and intuition you’ll be far away from any potential danger.”
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