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Thomas Monsorno
@thomas.monsorno
Photographer based in Italy
I am an outdoor photographer based in Bolzano, South Tyrol, also the place where I grew up. As nature was close to us, you can imagine that I spent a lot of time outdoors with my parents and friends when I was younger. Regularly we would visit the beautiful mountains in the heart of the Italian Alps. Being inspired by nature documentaries on TV as well, my childhood dream was to work with these kind of production companies and travel the world. I started to search for the visual creators and I was certainly inspired by the work of artists like George Steinmetz, Steve McCurry or Jimmy Nelson. In recent years, as Instagram became more popular, I discovered the work of international photographers such as Chris Burkard, Benjamin Hardman, Nick Bondarev or Ray Collins. My enthusiasm for photography kept growing. Besides, appreciation for nature was instilled within me, since ever, as well as my love for sports.
"So this together shaped me as a photographer over the past years. From the very beginning I tried to involve different athletes into my photo projects and depict them in a natural habitat."
"My buddy Benjamin Kofler (highliner, slackliner) definitely helped me to get that started. I have accompanied him as a photographer to numerous highline projects in and outside South Tyrol."
Denis Piccolo, publisher of The Pill Magazine and photographer, gave me the opportunity to regularly publish my work in his magazine a few years ago. In the beginning I only realized personal photo projects, but I received more and more positive feedback from my environment and finally the first orders. That was of course a great motivation to put even more time and energy into photography, which manifested in wonderful opportunities to combine some trips with free photo projects. For example, I went to Nazare, Portugal, to document the big wave surfer scene with my friend Matteo Pavana. In Scotland I did a highline/slackline project at the Old Man of Storr and in cooperation with my friends Benjamin Kofler and Mattia Felicetti I went to Basilicata, Italy, for another highline project in Castelmezzano.
"All those projects generally achieved a large reach and a very positive response. And above all, they were experiences to never forget..."
For instance, the day at the Old Man of Storr. After a successful shooting, we drank our well deserved beer. It was around 11pm on a warm summer night when Benjamin suddenly said that he wanted to go back on the slackline before it got completely dark. Matteo and me got our best shots of the entire trip in those 10 minutes.
"As the sun turned the horizon orange, the dark silhouettes of the bizarre rock formations of the Old Man triumphed in front of us."
And in the middle of the rock in front of the horizon you could only see the black, narrow line and Benjamin, who balanced over the line in almost complete darkness. It was a moment of intense happiness; having successfully completed a project, as a team, in such a special place.
In the beginning, money was an issue. As a student you don’t have much money to invest a lot so that has been quite a challenge. Little by little I got commercial projects which were paid by the client. In the meantime though, I financed personal projects out of my own pocket. This is inevitable and at the same time very important. Personal projects allow you to implement your own ideas beyond commercial interests, which stimulates and enables you to develop yourself technically and creatively.
"So I believe that even though it’s great to get paid gigs, planning some time for my own projects is essential for me."
Photography hasn’t been my main occupation until a year ago though. I have been working in sports marketing for several years and fortunately, I have always been able to incorporate and implement photography, or my knowledge, in some way into my work. Having different experiences and a strong passion, I decided to start my own business last year: Hightides Communication. Making a living out of photography is not easy – as many are probably aware of – but it can work when putting 100% of your passion and dedication into it. Not just today, but every day again.
"It is an investment of many hours, but it will definitely bring you somewhere good. I am grateful it worked out so well for me."
"We collaborate with some well-known companies in the sports / outdoor sector and realize photo and video projects, plus other marketing projects for them."
Fortunately, we often have a wide creative scope and freedom when it comes to realizing such projects so we are not really restricted in our creativity, making each project very fun to work on. I work together with some friends that I have met in the past few years. Everyone works as a freelancer on their own projects, but if there is the possibility we will try to realize larger orders together as an agency. It is very inspiring to work with several people from different areas in an office, because you can get tips and advice from each other.
"There are very talented and motivated filmmakers, producers and photographers and exchanging among us or brainstorming as a team is amazing."
As an example of projects we work on, I was in Russia (Lake Baikal) for two weeks with the producer Lukas Kusstatscher from Watchsome in February to realize a campaign for a well-known outdoor brand with the professional Swiss climber Dani Arnold. The goal was to find new ice climbing routes and climb them. We found several new routes and he was able to complete them together with his climbing partner Martin Echser. Since we deliberately chose February as the time for the trip, we knew that it would be cold. Sometimes it was very hard to be outside on the ice for many hours with what felt like a temperature of -45 degrees. The climbers, the photographer, the video maker and the equipment have been under a lot of strain.
"In the end we got through everything well, achieved our goals and were able to bring great content home with us."
"This trip has impacted me deeply. The vastness of the landscape, the size of the lake and the people on site impressed me a lot."
I will never forget when we were driving with over 50km/h over the ice and nobody is 100% sure whether the ice will hold you. The feeling that the ice might be strong enough and you could break through the ice every moment is very strange. Like when you skate over the ice and it suddenly makes this noise and you startle every time.
The ice is constantly in motion and you never know exactly where the sounds come from, whether you should be afraid or not… All together it was an amazing experience, totally different from any other. We also spent a few days on Olhon Island, from where you can explore very interesting photography spots. It is truly a paradise photographers!
"The combination of travel and photography has brought me amazing experiences and values that are part of me now."
My personal development has been closely related to my photographic development in recent years. Through photography, many interesting people, new friends and wonderful places could be discovered. All of this has brought me a lot personally, because all these new experiences, people, and places are a source of inspiration and enrichment. But I am still far from seeing myself as a trained photographer. You can always learn something new as a photographer and the more projects you realize, the more ideas will develop for the future. There are countless opportunities! My experience tells me that you should always keep moving and be curious, be present with your heart and soul and not try to force anything. With enough patience, dedication and openness, everyone will make their way.
"Just be yourself, be honest and kind, people will appreciate it. For me, this is much more important than professional development or being the best."
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