ABOUT
I throw myself passionately at life. And life often smiles back. When that happens, I like to have my camera ready.
I am Roman. Innately loud, generally mirthful and almost always jovial. Being bilingual, I can also be loud in the American version of the English language. I am at my very loudest, though, when speaking the most universal of languages: photography.
Fluent in several different photographic tongues, I speak color and I speak monochrome (iLingo for black-and-white). Of course I speak rectangular; almost all photographers do. On the other hand, I am one of the few who can also speak square. Square is a more stately, more stationary and a somehow more photographic language. Verbally, I have also been known to stammer in French and stutter in Spanish.
My camera compares what I place within the frame to something like half a million photos it has stored in its chippy brain. Big deal. In my own as-yet unchipped brain, there must be at least three times that amount. Counting only the ones I shot myself. And, that figure keeps soaring. All those times I have pressed the shutter button matter. Each click has something to suggest regarding the choice of subject, the framing, the focus, the exposure. Above all, they suggest the timing. And getting the timing right is by far the most essential factor in almost any kind of photography.
The subjects? Anything, really. The crowded streets in the largest, most untamable cities and the most desolate landscapes in the dustiest of deserts are easily among my favorite hangouts. And of course, I can and do photograph everything else in between. Street photography, however, is what really turns me on. Life’s little things unfolding in a day-to-day, apparently insignificant manner. And here I would like to pay a tribute to Robert Doisneau and to Henri Cartier-Bresson, to mention but two absolute masters of the trade. They have left some of the most significant pages in our contemporary history, for which we can never be grateful enough.
When you can make (“take” is inaccurate, as it is a creative act) a photograph of a perfect stranger going about her or his daily life, possibly half way around the world; if you can do it in a way that is accurate, honest to truth; if you can do it in a manner that is aesthetically pleasing and always, always in the utmost respect of the subject portrayed, then making photographs of anything else is easy. Fashion, portraiture, industrial photography, weddings. It’s all very easy, although sometimes boring, and it helps pays the bills.
Subject matter apart, what I really, really like, is a story well told. Quietly, wordlessly, eloquently – by imagery. This I have learned in my (oh, too many) long years sitting behind the desk as the director of fotografare, Italy’s (then) best photography magazine. Long years of being the man who shakes his head and breaks people’s hearts and ambitions by telling them that their photography is, frankly, crap. When those people are over twice your age, it’s not a fun job.
Thankfully, while still young enough and not yet completely cured of the traveller’s bug, I shook my head one good, last time. I looked around. I took a leap. No longer am I the man at the desk, choosing other people’s photographs and telling them how they should be shooting to begin with – I am now the man behind the camera.
In what is a perennially ongoing process, I have developed a sense of what works, photographically. I can sometimes perceive when a situation has the quid I like to call the “wow factor”. I have honed my ear to the sound of a ball bouncing or a child laughing. Because these are telltale signs that something wonderful is taking place. It is a miracle, happening, unscripted. And sometimes – if you develop and trust your serendipity – it’s happening right around the corner. It’s something universal, and fleeting. Therefore all the more wonderful. All the more worth capturing. This is what I most like to photograph. Some call it life.
Alessandro Ciapanna
109 Responses to “ABOUT”
Alessandro! These are truly amazing. You have incredible talent
So glad to see you’ve finally started your blog
Well done and keep it coming
X
Bit of a late reply, Gemma, isn’t it?
Thanks for stopping by, and for leaving the very first, lovely comment on my blog. Hope all is well with you 🙂
Great Alessandro!
I hope to see soon other photos on the road talking about you and your travel experiences.
Micaela
P.S. my “matriciano english” is always the same!!!
Hello, Micaela. A very late thank you for your lovely comment 🙂
Hey Alessandro..thanks for the ‘like’on my blog…….
I’ve still got a few rolls of Tmax that I shoot on every now and again…..just for old times sake…
Keep Bloggin’
i started with t-max but soon moved to older, grainier tri-x. slightly overexposed and ever so slightly underdeveloped. lots of grays with deep blacks and crispy whites, but it’s been a while now…
i only ‘like’ what i really like, so it is me who thanks you 🙂
Here in the UK you can still buy stock of both Tmax and TriX on the internet. I shot a roll of Ilford XP2 a short while ago pushed to 1600asa and that was cool. Unfortunately I no longer have a darkroom so have to get it commercially processed which takes the fun out of it a little.
Still great to go back to film every now and again…
🙂
Wonderful images, Alessandro and a nice self-portrait.
🙂
Excellent photos and background story. keep it up
thank you 🙂
Dear Alessandro,
Your photos are phenomenal. I’m such a sucker for shadow photography and I loved your recent post.
Appreciate you liking my pictures and taking the time out to visit my blog.
Take care,
Yousuf
wow, thanks, yousuf 🙂
Thanks a lot for your support on Great Western Rust, it’s much appreciated….
my pleasure
alessandro, che bello, che bene che fa leggere persone che si presentano così semplicemenet…e le cui foto rispecchiano questo amore per la semplicità (vedi gli alberi ammazzati a roma!).
Grazie
grazie di cuore.
Love the last line…thank you for visiting ghummakkad and keep blogging!
thank you
🙂
I still haven’t figured out what to write about myself!! Or indeed if I should !! You’ve written well.
thanks. wrote this in five minutes flat and never read it again since. perhaps i should…
thanks for the visit 🙂
Hey, thanks for showing interest in one of my posts; I really appreciate it!
I can see you are into black and white photos. I’m a sucker for monochrome but I haven’t really tried doing a black-and-white shoot. Maybe I’ll try that one of these days.
Have a nice day.
Regards,
Mykz
thanks, mykz
Hello Alessandro – thank you for visiting my blog yesterday…and for letting me know you were there. I do apprecitate your thoughtfulness in leaving a comment for me.
I have enjoyed touring with you on your site…loved the shots from Nambia…all the red sand, tree skeletons, and shadows. Thank you for sharing your world. Scott 🙂
thanks, scott 🙂
You’re welcome.
Thank you for commenting on my post! Charcoal is my choice too but here in the Foothills the possibility of an ember getting loose would have serious consequences. Stuck with gas for a while! You take care and nice site you have here!
i didn’t realize charcoal could pose a threat – too bad. thanks for the kind words 🙂
Ciao Alessandro! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Love your images, black and white is so powerful…
thank you.
Nice stuffs! ….and really enjoyable. 🙂 🙂
thank you, ahmed 🙂
🙂
Amazing photographs, thanks for sharing them. It’s great fun being on the road isn’t it? Sending aloha from Hawai’i
hawaii… oh wow – thank you!
aloha 😉
Because I find your blog exceptionally creative and inspiring, I am nominating you for the Kreativ Blogger Award. Whether you decide to accept or not, I just want you to know how amazing I find your posts!! Thank you for inspiring us. http://serendipityplus.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/kreativ-blogger-award/
fiztrainer dearest. i am truly flattered by your nomination. but i am really not a computer person. especially, i am not big on rules. so i’ve tried to figure out what getting an award entails, and realized that to be wp-correct (?) i would have to post this that and the other, and spend more time at the screen rather than chasing my camera around…
please understand if i decline your nomination. but allow me to wallow in the grace of your exceptional compliments. you, darling, have made my day 😉
Great work. I love the way you take sets of photos with a theme. Thanks for liking my post.
it was my great pleasure – thank you so much 🙂
Thank you for visiting my blog and liking my pictures, I sure did enjoy looking at yours!!!
you’re welcome and thanks! 🙂
Thanks for liking my recent post Flatiron Building.
i enjoyed it – not e asy to have anew take on such a photographed building… 🙂
I mentioned you and your blog as a candidate for the “Versatile Blogger Award”:
http://picturebandit.wordpress.com/awards-auszeichnungen/
Namaste
P-B
thank you dearly, picture-bandit. your nomination is a good as the award itself.
however, to keep my blog simple and clean, i prefer to blog my photographs, and those only. so, thank you very much but no thank you. i really hope no offense will be taken as none is intended…
namaste! 😉
Hi Alessandro, (I spelled it right this time) I just nominated you for the Sunshine award for your amazing blog. Because of your eye, I see Rome without lifting a finger! -Amy
i thank you from the deepest of my heart, amy.
the same happened last week, when picture-bandit nominated my blog (above), and i really haven’t changed my mind since then. i hope you understand and please, take no offense, as none at all is intended.
again, thank you 🙂
Hi! Just stopping by to let you know I nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award!
http://spiritualworldtraveler.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/one-lovely-blog-award/
thank you very much. please read above
alessandro 😉
I love the Roman accent!
i don’t, really. but it came in my dna so i’ve learned to live with it… 🙂
thank you!
Well I learned what little Italian I know in Rome so it is easier for me to understand. 🙂
Salutoni! Your images are wonderful 🙂
what a nice compliment – thank you 🙂
I enjoyed reading this introduction a lot… something did not click right at first and it was obvioiusly your language and your Italian name, but then you explained it …. 😀 Written with a wit and style in an impecable language (thank goodness blogs do not transmit accents ;). Your second language is perfect, and your first (universal) one is inspiring. Nice to meet you Alessandro!
how wonderful, paula. it is my pleasure to meet you.
thank you for taking the time to comment. i will be following your witty blog too 🙂
I’ve just seen your slide show 🙂 e posso te dire che sono enamorata de tue fotografie (did not use google translator or checked my dictionary/grammar… scusi – languages and endless chatter are my passion ;). Love your work, and will be back. Baci, Paula
Good for you Alessandro and thank you for the visit and like. You have some wonderful work.
thank you, emilio 🙂
Beautiful photos! And quite an interesting story, I can easily relate to the issue of useless in day-to-day life spoonfed ‘knowledge’.
Glad to strike a note, backpackerina. Seems we like several of the same places 😉
Very awesome photography blog 🙂
Thank you, nightshadehunter 🙂
It sounds like you’ve had many exciting adventures! Where did you live in the US?
Adventures, yes. Intense, yes. Many, no. The most time in the US for me was in California, where altogether – though on different occasions – i have spent about a year and a half.
Thanks, Andrea! 🙂
Some are better than none. 🙂
That’s thrilling! My little sister is at university there right now. Did you get to travel elsewhere in the US?
– Andi
Very interesting photos! You’ve got another follower! 🙂
Regards,
Aan
Thanks, Aan – much appreciated 🙂
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your blog and to let you know that I’ve nominated your blog for the One Lovely Blog Award. 🙂
http://atouchofthedivine.com/2012/10/18/award-time-2/
Thank you very much Michelle – much appreciated. Please understand if i prefer not to abide by all the rules that this entails. I’ll just bask in the glory of nomination.
Again, thank you for such a flattering message 🙂
beautifull photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you, Dini.
Stay tuned for more of the same, and perhaps better… 😉
I enjoy traveling vicariously through your photo galleries. They tell a story about not just the “Top 10” of a city, but what that city feels like. Because of this, I nominated you for the Inspiring Blog Award http://amiramelody.wordpress.com/2012/12/16/inspiring-blog-award/
Thank you so much for the nomination – i am truly flattered, Amiramelody.
My lack of fondness towards all the rules that come along with the honor of an award, however, kinda make me rather want to leave it to a big thanks, and a virtual hug. No offense, just plain limited attention span (and computer time).
Again, thank you dearly. 🙂
Hey no worries about that and no offense is taken! It is a task to complete! I just wanted to reach out and recognize those who give me inspiration! I look forward to your future work!
In college some year ago in the 90’s I use Kodak’s T-max black and white film, oh do I remember those days, I miss the dark room. I think I am same way could not be in the corporate world it is boring I am a freelance graphic designer and love art very much. You have a great blog. Goto meravigliose un saluto Doris.
foto meraviglioso (hit wrong key)
Thank you very much for your flattering comments, Doris. Un grande saluto anche a te! 🙂
Thanks for liking my blog.
My great pleasure, Lynn.
Love your images!
T-Max was an awesome film! Especially for portraits!
Thanks for stopping by my blog and following!
Thanks, Photobycraig. I love your work.
Your photographs are amazing, Alessandro. And I am humbled that a great photographer like you actually liked my photos.
Thanks for the lovely words, Evon.
Thanks for checking out my site. I appreciate the kind words. I really enjoyed your work. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing, Victor!
Thanks so much for stopping by and for liking ‘Sunlit Dancer’ – you have some wondreful images here yourself – thanks again – your support is greatly appreciated!
It is my great pleasure, Stan!
I discovered your blog for the first time today and have only scratched the surface … but I will come back another day to explore more …
I hope you find what you see enjoyable. And please don’t hesitate to comment if you’d like to know a little more on any one particular image or photo essay. Thanks!
You have an inspiring blog Alessandro and no doubt much talent. I’m Italian/Australian and am heading to Rome for the first time in December. I’m looking forward to taking lots of photos while there for two weeks. I can’t wait and will use your blog to give me ideas. Ciao 🙂
Thanks heaps! December is a longish way away, but if i’m here when you are, i’d be more than glad (heck, i’d be proud!) to walk you through some of the more classic spots of the city center… 😉
I’ve been loving your work. Takes me to a different place, far from rural New York! And I enjoy the snappy captions as well. Nice to see a photographer with a sense of humor.
Hey – a sense of humor goes a long way, much as does a smile. These are my real tools of the trade. The camera is just an accessory. Thanks for your kind words, Jean.
Absolutely spot on! Agree absolutely..and very practical too when you say that portraiture, fashion, wedding photography help pay the bill…for an expensive interest like photography, that’s vital!
I find people are more inclined to pay for a photograph of their house, their face, their creation or their product than they are of my favorite subjects: deserts, strangers, crazy places…
Thanks, Know-All!
Wonderful Photos! You have a great eye for the scene behind the scene. 🙂
Thanks, everything comes in layers. Look deeper, and there’s always more… 🙂
Questo blog è semplicemente meraviglioso! Complimenti per il tuo lavoro.
Gabriele
Grazie, Gabriele. Commenti come questi sono di grande incoraggiamento.
Good morning Alessandro!
I must tell you I have not seen a lot of posts…In general I like to see one or two and then I go to the “About” page trying to feel something …Well! Yours is the most beautiful “About” page I have ever read!!! It transmits joy, hard work , search and passion above everything…Passion for life, passion for photography….So, here I will stay…
Oh, my! What a wonderful comment. Thank you very much and i hope you enjoy what you might find…
All the best!
Just happened to run into your blog. You have got a beautiful blog running here. Loved most of your photgraphs. Its very subtle . I guess I will be hanging around here a lot. 🙂
Thanks for the lovely comment, Prasad. Welcome aboard and I hope you enjoy what you see. 🙂
The way you describe your relation with photography is so pure and deep… This is the best About page in WordPress so far, and I’m happy to have found it. Do you still love in Italy?
Thatiana
Thank you very much for the lovely comment! Yes, i still live in Italy most of the year, though i set aside a few months for travel…
Alessandro
Great. Just keep going 🙂
Those telltale signs and sounds, we live for them. Lovely work.
Thank you very much, Tim!