Portare un fotografo in India è come accompagnare un bambino a Disneyworld. Da qualunque parte ti giri tutto è fotografabile. Ricordo come fosse ieri, la prima volta che ho messo piede in India. Eravamo nel 2004 ed ero stato incaricato da un’azienda del gruppo Fiat di documentare la loro presenza industriale nella regione. Stordito dal viaggio, stanco e assonnato ho avuto il mio battesimo con quella insolita realtà. Di solito gli aeroporti si somigliano un po’ tutti e le prime avvisaglie, che ti trovi in un posto diverso rispetto a quello da cui sei partito, le hai uscendo in strada aspettando il transfer per l’hotel. A New Delhi nel 2004 no! La città si riversava come un’onda anomala all’interno dell’edificio aeroportuale rendendo vani gli sforzi della sicurezza di dare una parvenza d’ordine alle operazioni doganali. Venditori di tutto, improbabili viaggiatori, intere famiglie in attesa, animali di ogni genere si mescolavano a piloti e hostess in transito in un coloratissimo abbraccio. Ora non è più così e gli effetti della crescita economica del paese negli ultimi anni si vedono già dall’arrivo. Grandi ed efficienti scali internazionali hanno sostituito i loro più folkloristici predecessori. Basta però spostarsi di pochi chilometri per ritrovare i paesaggi e le situazioni che ho voluto mostrare in questo libro. Sono stato travolto dalla forza dei colori, dal disordine indecifrabile dei luoghi, dagli odori forti delle spezie, dai suoni dissonanti delle città, dallo sfarzo dei palazzi dei Maharaja e anche dal tanfo e dal degrado come mai mi era capitato prima. L’india è un paese strano dove grazie alla religione che fa da calmiere sociale convivono realtà distanti anni luce. Non è difficile, soprattutto nelle grandi città, vedere chi ostenta grande ricchezza a fianco di chi non ha di che vivere. Forse sta proprio in queste contraddizioni il fascino di un paese che da sempre è, nell’iconografia dei romanzieri, sinonimo di avventura. L’India sta cambiando velocemente e a sta facendo i conti con la modernizzazione che cerca di spazzare via le tradizioni. E’ un paese pieno di storia e di luoghi d’interesse artistico e il passaggio di culture diverse, a partire da quella Araba fino alla colonizzazione degli Inglesi, ne ha fatto uno dei luoghi più affascinanti da visitare. Ho viaggiato in India per cinque volte scegliendo per ogni viaggio una regione diversa. Gli Indiani amano essere fotografati e le situazioni in cui sono stato coinvolto sono state spesso sorprendenti. Tranne rarissimi casi, non mi sono mai trovato a disagio o in pericolo. Spesso ho avuto il piacere di essere accolto nelle loro case per condividere un “biryani masala” o un “chay” e in quelle occasioni ho avuto modo di apprezzare meglio l’ospitalità, le tradizioni e la cultura indiana. Sono un fotografo professionista da più di 30 anni e mi occupo di fotografia pubblicitaria. Questo progetto, o meglio questa serie di appunti di viaggio, è iniziato quando ancora la fotografia digitale faticava a imporsi. I primi scatti li ho realizzati con la mia amata Mamiya RZ67 passando poi a una strana macchina panoramica Fuji GS617 formato 17x6 noleggiata per l’occasione e finendo con una Canon 35 mm digitale. Ho iniziato a fotografare a 14 anni con una macchina vendutami da mio fratello, responsabile della mia scoperta del mondo attraverso un obiettivo. Da allora non ho mai smesso di scattare, prima per hobby e poi per lavoro, e di considerarmi fortunato perché ho fatto della mia passione un mestiere che amo. Non sono un fotografo integralista e mi piace tagliare e modificare le mie foto e per questo curo personalmente la post produzione delle mie immagini. A essere sinceri però in questo libro mi è stato facile non farmi prendere la mano perché per il più delle volte le fotografie funzionavano da sole. Avevano solo bisogno di uscire dal cassetto.
Taking a photographer to India is like taking a child to Disneyworld. Wherever you look around everything is worth a picture. I remember as if it were yesterday the first time I set foot in India. In 2004 a company of the Fiat group entrusted me with a picture story for evidencing its industrial activity in the country. Dazed by the journey, tired and sleepy I had my initiation to that uncommon reality. Airports usually look the same everywhere; going outside waiting in the street for the transfer to the hotel means having the first feelings that make you understand you find yourself in a different place in comparison with the one you have left. New Delhi in 2004...no!!! The city poured like a tsunami into the air terminal making the security agents efforts fruitless while they were trying to give an appearance of order at customs control. People selling anything, improbable travelers, entire families waiting for something, any kind of animals blended with pilots, flight assistants in transit in a colorful hug. Now it’s no longer like this, the effects of the country’s economic growth in recent years are clear from the arrival. Big and efficient international hubs replaced their folkloric predecessors. It’s enough moving some kilometers away to find landscapes and situations that I wanted to show in my book. I was overwhelmed by the power of colors, by the incomprehensible disorder of places, by the strong scents of spices, by the cities’ conflicting sounds, by the sumptuous Maharajah’ palaces and also by stink and decay I never experienced before. India is a peculiar country where strongly differing situations meet together thanks to religion that plays the role of social balance. Mainly in big cities it is not difficult to see people showing off richness next to those who can hardly make a living. All these contradictions are probably the fascination of a country that has always been synonymous of adventure in the novels iconography. India is changing very fast and is coping with modern development that tries to erase its traditions. It is rich in history and artistic sites, the transit of different cultures, from the Arabs to the British colonization, have made of it one of the most fascinating places to visit. I travelled 5 times to India, choosing each time a different region to explore. Indians love to be photographed and the circumstances that involved me were often surprising. I never felt uneasy or in danger, except for some very rare cases. I often had the pleasure to be invited at their homes for sharing a biryani masala or a chay; in those occasions I better appreciated their hospitality, traditions and culture. I have been a professional photographer for more than 30 years mainly specialized in advertising photography. This project, or better said, these travel notes started when digital photography was hardly becoming popular. I had my first shootings with my beloved Mamiya RZ67 then I switched to a Fuji GS617 size 17 x 6, a strange wide-angle camera rented for a specific occasion and ended by having a digital Canon 35 mm. I started shooting at the age of 14 with a camera sold by my brother who is responsible for my discovering the world through an objective lens. From that moment on I never stopped shooting; at the beginning it was a hobby, later it became a profession. I never stopped considering myself lucky because I turned my passion into a job I love. I am not a “strict” photographer, I like cutting and modifying my pictures that is why I personally take care of the post production process. To be honest in this book it was easy not to make changes because most of the time my images worked well by themselves. They just needed to come out of the closet.
Taking a photographer to India is like taking a child to Disneyworld. Wherever you look around everything is worth a picture. I remember as if it were yesterday the first time I set foot in India. In 2004 a company of the Fiat group entrusted me with a picture story for evidencing its industrial activity in the country. Dazed by the journey, tired and sleepy I had my initiation to that uncommon reality. Airports usually look the same everywhere; going outside waiting in the street for the transfer to the hotel means having the first feelings that make you understand you find yourself in a different place in comparison with the one you have left. New Delhi in 2004...no!!! The city poured like a tsunami into the air terminal making the security agents efforts fruitless while they were trying to give an appearance of order at customs control. People selling anything, improbable travelers, entire families waiting for something, any kind of animals blended with pilots, flight assistants in transit in a colorful hug. Now it’s no longer like this, the effects of the country’s economic growth in recent years are clear from the arrival. Big and efficient international hubs replaced their folkloric predecessors. It’s enough moving some kilometers away to find landscapes and situations that I wanted to show in my book. I was overwhelmed by the power of colors, by the incomprehensible disorder of places, by the strong scents of spices, by the cities’ conflicting sounds, by the sumptuous Maharajah’ palaces and also by stink and decay I never experienced before. India is a peculiar country where strongly differing situations meet together thanks to religion that plays the role of social balance. Mainly in big cities it is not difficult to see people showing off richness next to those who can hardly make a living. All these contradictions are probably the fascination of a country that has always been synonymous of adventure in the novels iconography. India is changing very fast and is coping with modern development that tries to erase its traditions. It is rich in history and artistic sites, the transit of different cultures, from the Arabs to the British colonization, have made of it one of the most fascinating places to visit. I travelled 5 times to India, choosing each time a different region to explore. Indians love to be photographed and the circumstances that involved me were often surprising. I never felt uneasy or in danger, except for some very rare cases. I often had the pleasure to be invited at their homes for sharing a biryani masala or a chay; in those occasions I better appreciated their hospitality, traditions and culture. I have been a professional photographer for more than 30 years mainly specialized in advertising photography. This project, or better said, these travel notes started when digital photography was hardly becoming popular. I had my first shootings with my beloved Mamiya RZ67 then I switched to a Fuji GS617 size 17 x 6, a strange wide-angle camera rented for a specific occasion and ended by having a digital Canon 35 mm. I started shooting at the age of 14 with a camera sold by my brother who is responsible for my discovering the world through an objective lens. From that moment on I never stopped shooting; at the beginning it was a hobby, later it became a profession. I never stopped considering myself lucky because I turned my passion into a job I love. I am not a “strict” photographer, I like cutting and modifying my pictures that is why I personally take care of the post production process. To be honest in this book it was easy not to make changes because most of the time my images worked well by themselves. They just needed to come out of the closet.
Portare un fotografo in India è come accompagnare un bambino a Disneyworld. Da qualunque parte ti giri tutto è fotografabile. Ricordo come fosse ieri, la prima volta che ho messo piede in India. Eravamo nel 2004 ed ero stato incaricato da un’azienda del gruppo Fiat di documentare la loro presenza industriale nella regione. Stordito dal viaggio, stanco e assonnato ho avuto il mio battesimo con quella insolita realtà. Di solito gli aeroporti si somigliano un po’ tutti e le prime avvisaglie, che ti trovi in un posto diverso rispetto a quello da cui sei partito, le hai uscendo in strada aspettando il transfer per l’hotel. A New Delhi nel 2004 no! La città si riversava come un’onda anomala all’interno dell’edificio aeroportuale rendendo vani gli sforzi della sicurezza di dare una parvenza d’ordine alle operazioni doganali. Venditori di tutto, improbabili viaggiatori, intere famiglie in attesa, animali di ogni genere si mescolavano a piloti e hostess in transito in un coloratissimo abbraccio. Ora non è più così e gli effetti della crescita economica del paese negli ultimi anni si vedono già dall’arrivo. Grandi ed efficienti scali internazionali hanno sostituito i loro più folkloristici predecessori. Basta però spostarsi di pochi chilometri per ritrovare i paesaggi e le situazioni che ho voluto mostrare in questo libro. Sono stato travolto dalla forza dei colori, dal disordine indecifrabile dei luoghi, dagli odori forti delle spezie, dai suoni dissonanti delle città, dallo sfarzo dei palazzi dei Maharaja e anche dal tanfo e dal degrado come mai mi era capitato prima. L’india è un paese strano dove grazie alla religione che fa da calmiere sociale convivono realtà distanti anni luce. Non è difficile, soprattutto nelle grandi città, vedere chi ostenta grande ricchezza a fianco di chi non ha di che vivere. Forse sta proprio in queste contraddizioni il fascino di un paese che da sempre è, nell’iconografia dei romanzieri, sinonimo di avventura. L’India sta cambiando velocemente e a sta facendo i conti con la modernizzazione che cerca di spazzare via le tradizioni. E’ un paese pieno di storia e di luoghi d’interesse artistico e il passaggio di culture diverse, a partire da quella Araba fino alla colonizzazione degli Inglesi, ne ha fatto uno dei luoghi più affascinanti da visitare. Ho viaggiato in India per cinque volte scegliendo per ogni viaggio una regione diversa. Gli Indiani amano essere fotografati e le situazioni in cui sono stato coinvolto sono state spesso sorprendenti. Tranne rarissimi casi, non mi sono mai trovato a disagio o in pericolo. Spesso ho avuto il piacere di essere accolto nelle loro case per condividere un “biryani masala” o un “chay” e in quelle occasioni ho avuto modo di apprezzare meglio l’ospitalità, le tradizioni e la cultura indiana. Sono un fotografo professionista da più di 30 anni e mi occupo di fotografia pubblicitaria. Questo progetto, o meglio questa serie di appunti di viaggio, è iniziato quando ancora la fotografia digitale faticava a imporsi. I primi scatti li ho realizzati con la mia amata Mamiya RZ67 passando poi a una strana macchina panoramica Fuji GS617 formato 17x6 noleggiata per l’occasione e finendo con una Canon 35 mm digitale. Ho iniziato a fotografare a 14 anni con una macchina vendutami da mio fratello, responsabile della mia scoperta del mondo attraverso un obiettivo. Da allora non ho mai smesso di scattare, prima per hobby e poi per lavoro, e di considerarmi fortunato perché ho fatto della mia passione un mestiere che amo. Non sono un fotografo integralista e mi piace tagliare e modificare le mie foto e per questo curo personalmente la post produzione delle mie immagini. A essere sinceri però in questo libro mi è stato facile non farmi prendere la mano perché per il più delle volte le fotografie funzionavano da sole. Avevano solo bisogno di uscire dal cassetto.
Taking a photographer to India is like taking a child to Disneyworld. Wherever you look around everything is worth a picture. I remember as if it were yesterday the first time I set foot in India. In 2004 a company of the Fiat group entrusted me with a picture story for evidencing its industrial activity in the country. Dazed by the journey, tired and sleepy I had my initiation to that uncommon reality. Airports usually look the same everywhere; going outside waiting in the street for the transfer to the hotel means having the first feelings that make you understand you find yourself in a different place in comparison with the one you have left. New Delhi in 2004...no!!! The city poured like a tsunami into the air terminal making the security agents efforts fruitless while they were trying to give an appearance of order at customs control. People selling anything, improbable travelers, entire families waiting for something, any kind of animals blended with pilots, flight assistants in transit in a colorful hug. Now it’s no longer like this, the effects of the country’s economic growth in recent years are clear from the arrival. Big and efficient international hubs replaced their folkloric predecessors. It’s enough moving some kilometers away to find landscapes and situations that I wanted to show in my book. I was overwhelmed by the power of colors, by the incomprehensible disorder of places, by the strong scents of spices, by the cities’ conflicting sounds, by the sumptuous Maharajah’ palaces and also by stink and decay I never experienced before. India is a peculiar country where strongly differing situations meet together thanks to religion that plays the role of social balance. Mainly in big cities it is not difficult to see people showing off richness next to those who can hardly make a living. All these contradictions are probably the fascination of a country that has always been synonymous of adventure in the novels iconography. India is changing very fast and is coping with modern development that tries to erase its traditions. It is rich in history and artistic sites, the transit of different cultures, from the Arabs to the British colonization, have made of it one of the most fascinating places to visit. I travelled 5 times to India, choosing each time a different region to explore. Indians love to be photographed and the circumstances that involved me were often surprising. I never felt uneasy or in danger, except for some very rare cases. I often had the pleasure to be invited at their homes for sharing a biryani masala or a chay; in those occasions I better appreciated their hospitality, traditions and culture. I have been a professional photographer for more than 30 years mainly specialized in advertising photography. This project, or better said, these travel notes started when digital photography was hardly becoming popular. I had my first shootings with my beloved Mamiya RZ67 then I switched to a Fuji GS617 size 17 x 6, a strange wide-angle camera rented for a specific occasion and ended by having a digital Canon 35 mm. I started shooting at the age of 14 with a camera sold by my brother who is responsible for my discovering the world through an objective lens. From that moment on I never stopped shooting; at the beginning it was a hobby, later it became a profession. I never stopped considering myself lucky because I turned my passion into a job I love. I am not a “strict” photographer, I like cutting and modifying my pictures that is why I personally take care of the post production process. To be honest in this book it was easy not to make changes because most of the time my images worked well by themselves. They just needed to come out of the closet.
Taking a photographer to India is like taking a child to Disneyworld. Wherever you look around everything is worth a picture. I remember as if it were yesterday the first time I set foot in India. In 2004 a company of the Fiat group entrusted me with a picture story for evidencing its industrial activity in the country. Dazed by the journey, tired and sleepy I had my initiation to that uncommon reality. Airports usually look the same everywhere; going outside waiting in the street for the transfer to the hotel means having the first feelings that make you understand you find yourself in a different place in comparison with the one you have left. New Delhi in 2004...no!!! The city poured like a tsunami into the air terminal making the security agents efforts fruitless while they were trying to give an appearance of order at customs control. People selling anything, improbable travelers, entire families waiting for something, any kind of animals blended with pilots, flight assistants in transit in a colorful hug. Now it’s no longer like this, the effects of the country’s economic growth in recent years are clear from the arrival. Big and efficient international hubs replaced their folkloric predecessors. It’s enough moving some kilometers away to find landscapes and situations that I wanted to show in my book. I was overwhelmed by the power of colors, by the incomprehensible disorder of places, by the strong scents of spices, by the cities’ conflicting sounds, by the sumptuous Maharajah’ palaces and also by stink and decay I never experienced before. India is a peculiar country where strongly differing situations meet together thanks to religion that plays the role of social balance. Mainly in big cities it is not difficult to see people showing off richness next to those who can hardly make a living. All these contradictions are probably the fascination of a country that has always been synonymous of adventure in the novels iconography. India is changing very fast and is coping with modern development that tries to erase its traditions. It is rich in history and artistic sites, the transit of different cultures, from the Arabs to the British colonization, have made of it one of the most fascinating places to visit. I travelled 5 times to India, choosing each time a different region to explore. Indians love to be photographed and the circumstances that involved me were often surprising. I never felt uneasy or in danger, except for some very rare cases. I often had the pleasure to be invited at their homes for sharing a biryani masala or a chay; in those occasions I better appreciated their hospitality, traditions and culture. I have been a professional photographer for more than 30 years mainly specialized in advertising photography. This project, or better said, these travel notes started when digital photography was hardly becoming popular. I had my first shootings with my beloved Mamiya RZ67 then I switched to a Fuji GS617 size 17 x 6, a strange wide-angle camera rented for a specific occasion and ended by having a digital Canon 35 mm. I started shooting at the age of 14 with a camera sold by my brother who is responsible for my discovering the world through an objective lens. From that moment on I never stopped shooting; at the beginning it was a hobby, later it became a profession. I never stopped considering myself lucky because I turned my passion into a job I love. I am not a “strict” photographer, I like cutting and modifying my pictures that is why I personally take care of the post production process. To be honest in this book it was easy not to make changes because most of the time my images worked well by themselves. They just needed to come out of the closet.