The weather was not too bad, considering it was the second of january, [...]]]> Yesterday I spent the day in Venice with my friend Giorgio. Despite the fact that my hometown is just 150km far from one of the most amazing cities in the world, I hadn’t gone to Venice since I was a teenager.

The weather was not too bad, considering it was the second of january, it was freezing cold but not too rainy. It was cloudy, therefore the light was perfect for taking portraits in the narrow streets of the city center, and so I did.

I planned to use only two setups: Nikon D90+85mm f1.8 MF for close-ups and Fujifilm Finepix X100 for wider shots. I also had my Nikkor 50mm f1.4G with me, you know, just in case…

forget the gear and be flexible

The main trap when you have two cameras/setup or many lenses with you is to adapt your setup to the surroundings. It’s ok if you are shooting landscapes or nature. You put on your wide lens for a gorgeous sunset or you go telephoto for details. Same story if you are shooting with a model. You have time to adapt your gear to the light and the subject.

After the first hour I realized that I was spending too much time thinking about which camera was fitting the scene, rather than clicking the shutter to catch the moment. So I decided to apply a simple timeboxing rule: 30 minutes with a camera, 30 minutes with the other camera, adapting myself to the gear and not the opposite.

The result was much better. I took amazing portraits and great landscapes because I was focusing on how to deliver the best shot with the camera I was holding, rather than switching from one camera to the other.

Here three shots, with different setups, but with the same spirit.

Nikon D90 - 50mm - ISO 400 - f2.8 - 1/250

Nikon D90 - 85mm - ISO 400 - f2.8 - 1/250

Fujifilm Finepix X100 - 23mm - ISO 800 - f4.0 - 1/280

The full set of pictures is available on Flickr and stay tuned because more stuff is coming!

Feedback is more than welcome, leave a comment or share this blogpost if you like.

This is my 2011 in pictures. Happy 2012!!!

This week on my podcast I talk about rules and photography with Teymur Madjderey @icedsoul. We also discuss about Hipstamatic and Instagram, traditional photography and MForMurder. I also picked a name for the podcast: “The Sartonialist”. Not sure I will keep it, but let’s see…

Enjoy!

This is the transcript of my opening speech of Shodan:

I decided to do something that is very far from my comfort zone. Because my photography is not about printing stuff on surfaces. My photography is about taking moments into a digital form, and that’s it, apparently.

I started to take pictures [...]]]>

This is the transcript of my opening speech of Shodan:

I decided to do something that is very far from my comfort zone. Because my photography is not about printing stuff on surfaces. My photography is about taking moments into a digital form, and that’s it, apparently.

I started to take pictures as a kid. I was introduced to it by my father and at home we had ten or maybe twenty thousand pictures on slides, that were projected on wall during Christmas time, killing by boredom instantaneously the entire family.

At that time I was using his gear and I got the knowledge on how to use his camera. But my photography didn’t start there. It started five years ago, when I bought my first digital camera.

I tried to figure about what happened during those twenty years. From when I started until I started again. The difference between analogue and digital photography is only about the support. You don’t get poisoned but the chemicals during the development process and at the same time you’re not showing a picture that is going to be forgotten inside a drawer.

From the very beginning, five years ago, I decided to use a very open license for my work. I distribute everything using the Creative Commons License.

Basically you can take any of my picture from my online collection and you can use it yourself. Just mentioning the fact that I’m the author, you’re allowed to do whatever you want. You can print it, you can sell it, you can remix it. Traditionally it’s something that a photographer would never allow. A traditional photographer would never allow people to remix his work.

But this is our world, the world of remixes. We take something and we want to make it better and I don’t wont my work to have an end. I don’t want any of my picture that you see there to be the final product. You can take a picture with your phone and redistribute yourself. You can post on twitter, you can publish it on your blog or you can just keep it for yourself if you like it.

Inside the room (of the exhibition) you are allowed to take pictures. Usually it’s not allowed to do so, during an exhibition. But I want you to enjoy my work and redistribute it. I want my work not to be the end but the beginning of a process.

The name Shodan comes from there. It’s the first level as a black belt in traditional japanese martial arts. It dos not mean that you are a black belt and your job is over, it means that you are ready to start the real exploration of the art.

This is how I feel about photography. I always carry a camera with me and I feel now, with my first exhibition, that I’m entering the world of photography. Don’t take this as the work of an experienced photographer, but as the work of a beginner.

I spent two months in that room, I cut my fingers fixing the lights and unboxing the pictures. I lived that room very much. Because of that I wanted that room to be part of the exhibition. You will find keys next to every picture and you can use those keys to open the boxes and know more about the pictures.

Now it’s your turn to enjoy the room and the exhibition.

I’m spending two weeks of vacation back in Ravenna, Italy, my hometown. I decided to spend my holidays here because during the last few months I travelled a lot, and once I’ll be back in Vienna my non-stop-travelling will start again. The plan was to come here, relax and spend some days with my [...]]]>

I’m spending two weeks of vacation back in Ravenna, Italy, my hometown. I decided to spend my holidays here because during the last few months I travelled a lot, and once I’ll be back in Vienna my non-stop-travelling will start again. The plan was to come here, relax and spend some days with my family that I hadn’t seen for a pretty long time.

Being here on holiday is giving me the opportunity to see this city with a new peace of mind and the same streets I used to walk on during my childhood are completely different now through the glass of my camera. I’m unexpectedly surprised by the beauty of this place.

These are the postcards about my new experience, enjoy.

Questa è la location, qui le altre foto.

Auguri mia cara

Durante la visita alla Biblioteca del Sacro Convento Francescano di Assisi, in occasione del nanosocial dello scorso weekend, ho avuto modo di scattare qualche foto che rielaborata in HDR ha dato risultati notevoli. L’architettura, insieme ai panorami, si presta benissimo a questo tipo di processo digitale.

Grazie Palmasco per questa foto.

[Info HDR]
Nikon D700 – f/3.5 – 1/100 – ISO 3200 – 24mm – no tripod – no flash
HDR elaborato su singolo scatto con due correzioni raw +2ev -2ev con PhotomatixPro e Photoshop per la [...]]]>
Basilica di San Vitale a Ravenna

[Info HDR]
Nikon D700 – f/3.5 – 1/100 – ISO 3200 – 24mm – no tripod – no flash
HDR elaborato su singolo scatto con due correzioni raw +2ev -2ev con PhotomatixPro e Photoshop per la finalizzazione.

L’arma era la mia D70S configurata in f/22 2.0s ISO 200. Si punta il 18mm verso l’alto e si scatta a caso, sperando che il temporale scarichi il fulmine al momento giusto. La caccia elettrica ha avuto un [...]]]> Ieri mentre rientravamo da Parma a Ravenna in autostrada, ho insegnato a Paola a catturare i fulmini.

L’arma era la mia D70S configurata in f/22 2.0s ISO 200. Si punta il 18mm verso l’alto e si scatta a caso, sperando che il temporale scarichi il fulmine al momento giusto. La caccia elettrica ha avuto un buon esito e ben tre esemplari di fulmine sono stati catturati.

Eccoli qui:

Quale vi piace di più?

Per le varie teste di Binetti che passano di qui: Art.7 Legge Decalogo

Ho sempre dichiarato che non mi sarei venduto al business pubblicitario e ho difeso fortemente la mia scelta di non avere pubblicità su questo blog. Inoltre mi sono sempre dichiarato contrario al mercimonio della propria immagine. Fatto sta che alla fine ci sono caduto [...]]]>
Picture by SilverSkies07 on DeviantArt

Ho sempre dichiarato che non mi sarei venduto al business pubblicitario e ho difeso fortemente la mia scelta di non avere pubblicità su questo blog. Inoltre mi sono sempre dichiarato contrario al mercimonio della propria immagine. Fatto sta che alla fine ci sono caduto anche io.

Dopo aver predicato bene e razzolato male per mesi e mesi mi trovo nell’impossibilità di smentire quello che Tommaso ha mostrato al mondo.

Se solo Tommaso avesse un vero blog invece di un misero tumblr, gli farei personalmente i complimenti nella sezione commenti. Ma non si può, purtroppo.

Per tutti coloro che vogliono avere qualche anticipazione sul RomagnaCamp.
Questo è il luogo in cui si svolgerà il barcamp.

Corriere di Romagna – 3 Aprile 2007