Tag: 2023

Surrendering to slowness, reflections at the end of 2023

Posted in Personal & othersTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

Each stage of life is different and life can challenge us at all stages but obviously there are rougher times. Shall I resume my last decade, the words that come to my mind are “slow, tiring change” and “prolonged battle phase”. This decade proved to be the busiest, toughest and most challenging period of my life. My fears and insecurities have come to the surface and seemed to overwhelm me, more members of my family have passed and I have also experienced some minor health issues. I have felt more difficult to love myself and to accept my limits. I have felt stuck, emotionally and physically, and I have felt ashamed of this.

That challenging time isn’t over yet, however I have now got the hopeful feeling that this oppressive and overwhelming phase is slowly fading away and I am regaining courage to open up to life. 

Would I be in the position to give some advice about how to pass through difficult times? I can say that I have learnt that almost often growth happen in silence and in the small, annoying difficulties that we experience in everyday life. These kinds of hardships, repeated in time, will make us endure over time. During these past years, accepting myself for who I am and accepting to surrender to slowness has been hard, especially for my overachiever, rebellious side who wants to reach an idealistic image of myself that doesn’t exist. Accepting hard times or situations is difficult, but it is also dealing with those inner parts of ourselves that we perceive as weak or faulty.

I have allowed myself to find some peace of mind and to focus on my needs by acting, giving myself new projects. We cannot really change our nature but, if we are mindful, we can work on it, we can smooth it. Hope and will are meaningful motivational factors.

Dark times are the true “teachers” in our life, and that every person we meet or every event that we face have a meaning in our journey. Even in my darkest moments I have always been aware that there was a joyful sparkle in me, this little something was pushing me forward. There is beauty in a bad life chapter as this prepares us to something positive that will come next. And finally I pushed myself and took part in a Marketing webinar for photographers 🙂 Happy new year folks!

Cathal [Edinburgh, 2023]

Posted in portraitureTagged , , , , Leave a comment

Cathal is a friend from Northern Ireland who lives in Dundee. He came to Edinburgh and was very keen to visit the Botanical Garden, as he had never been there before. I offered to take some portraits of him, after some convincing, he accepted 🙂 He is one of the less complicated and most open minded people I have the pleasure to know. He is proverbially calm and humble, he is stedfast and has a positive attitude towards others. He inspires confidence and is trustworthy! He is a digital artist and an IT guy who always provides me with first aid for my blog which is (annoyingly enough!) a constant work in progress!! A couple of details that you can easily spot while scrolling down his pictures: 1) how outstanding Cathal’s deep blue eyes are?! 2) the yellow-orangey-reddish color cast of the leaves provide a strong, breathtaking background 3) how good is my old Nikon F801s?! 4) any encouraging feedbacks about the B&W ones?

York on film [2023]

Posted in Travels and landscapesTagged , , , , Leave a comment

I recently had the chance to spend a long weekend in York with the girls. The vibes of this city are unique: everywhere you can savour bits of history in its narrow and twisting streets, as well as in the local architecture. I mean, what did not happen in York?! York as a community for the Vikings; as a crucial and defensive crossing point between England and Scotland; the origin of a branch of the house of Plantagenet, that was involved in the war of the Roses. York also as birth place of Guy Fawkes. And York Minster stands out of one of the most amazing buildings in Northern Europe! The walls are worth a long walk and…somebody believes that the city centre inspired JK Rowling to create Diagon Alley in her Harry Potter books. The National Railway Museum did produce interest for some (so many trains in one huge hall!). Rowntree’s Kit Kat was invented there too!

What else can I add…I took these pictures with a 1992’s Nikon F801s film camera. A very grateful Thank-You to the lovely staff of York Camera Mart that helped me remember how the camera worked!

Captain Stéph, below!

Elena seen by ph. Martina Biasetti [Parma, 2023]

Posted in Personal & others, portraitureTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

For my 40th, I treated myself to a photo session with the highly talented Parma-based Martina Biasetti. When I look at these pictures, I think: “They are wonderful!!”. They are stunning and a valuable piece of art, I find. Martina captured the best in me. With these shots, she valued me a lot and that’s not just because she did a clever editing. In the poses, using light and shadows, out-of-focus effects, the choice of colours and use of black and white, she has brought out the best in me. I don’t recognise my usual faults 🙂 I LOVE this photo-shoot! And if something is beautiful, it’s worth sharing…Thank you, Martina, you did such a great job!!

Kristjana and the boys [Parma, 2023]

Posted in Kids & familiesTagged , , , Leave a comment

It was a joy to spend an hour with beautiful Kristjana and her boys at the park, and I am honored to say that I took photos of all three of them when they were babies! Having three sons makes you the queen of the house and feeling loved in such a special way as mom, but it comes at a price… there is a constant liveliness around you, sometimes uncontrollably exuberant!! What else can I add? The little one stole the show from his brothers and proved to be… the almost perfect model!! And I confirm that the middle son is the trouble maker, but as he is silent, he rarely gets caught…Enjoy these loving memories dated July 2023!

Laura [Parma, 2023]

Posted in portraitureTagged , , , Leave a comment

This happens when your friend could be a model or could work in the fashion industry, as her photos look like a fashion shoot! It was a pleasure working with Laura, we took the time we needed and we found some quiet, perfect spots in the riverbed of the creek. The light in the middle of the morning. At mid-morning the light started to be harsh, but, surprise surprise, I used my flash light (What is this unknown device?!) and the outcome is pretty much enjoyable! Thanks also to Laura and her quiet, refined elegance!

Carlotta and the boys [Parma, 2023]

Posted in Kids & familiesTagged , , Leave a comment

Why time flies by so quickly?! Carlotta is a friend of mine. We met the first year of University and we spent the Erasmus year in France together, I have seen her graduate, I have been at her wedding and I have been at the hospital when she delivered her babies…one of them is now a down to earth teenager whilst the other one is a lively, chatty chap! They live in the hills south of Parma and the kind of freedom and also the sense of discovery that their place gives to the kids is priceless. I was real glad to spend a couple of hours with them and, thanks to the boys, I got acquainted to the rabbits and the chicken! Enjoy these loving memories dated summer 2023!

Laura & Ludovica [Parma, 2023]

Posted in Kids & familiesTagged , , , Leave a comment

I carry Laura and Ludovica in my heart, these girls are precious to me! Laura is a beautiful woman and is a person of good will, strong, courageous, determined, honest. We have known each other since the University years and I was privileged to witness her to achieve the milestones of her adults life and to be part of it, her wedding, sharing family concerns, seeing her getting her first house and puppy, taking photos during her Yoga training and now…admiring her beautiful baby girl!! At the beginning of summer 2023 we met in a country field in Marore, where we easily took some motherhood portraits. Ludovica revealed to be a smart observer, funny, cheeky and affectionate. She definitely is a momma’s girl! Enjoy these loving memories!

Arianna, Diletta & Davide [Parma, 2023]

Posted in Kids & familiesTagged , , , , Leave a comment

Diletta & Davide are old friends of mine who have been together…forever! They make a good and balanced couple, by loving each other and working efficiently as a team! And…where is an happy couple, not too far away there is a brave and shining daughter who has a bubbly personality, so here you go Arianna!! Would you believe that I have known her since she was in the belly of her momma?! Look at her now…she is bright and happy and uncomplicated! Arianna was pumped at the ida of being taken in photos and was 110% cooperative! It was a pleasure to take some portraits of this family in a park close by. Enjoy these lovely memories dated June 2023!

and a few mobile shots from behind the scenes, thanks Davide!

Angela [Paris, 2023]

Posted in portraitureTagged , , , , Leave a comment

Angela is beautiful in person and beautiful in colour photos, but in black and white photos she is even more beautiful. There is a magical and “eternal” touch in her black and white portraits. She is beautiful and very strong, she is involved in many projects. Positive and proactive, she comes with a great smile and the sacred “fire of art” is part of her personality! Enjoy these great shots dated June 2023!

Floriane [Paris, 2023]

Posted in portraitureTagged , , , , Leave a comment

My goodness, she’s beautiful and so full of life! Floriane is a mix of optimism and initiative, she’s a real force of nature! We met in 2006 in the library of Rabelais University in Tours during my Erasmus year and became friends! Since then, although we have lived in different countries, we have always stayed in touch. Since 2011, the last time we saw each other in France, we met again in 2021 in Scotland (she came to visit me) and now in 2023, in Paris, where I treated myself with a trip-in-advance of my 40th birthday. Taking portraits of Flo is easy, partly because she has a delicate, spontaneous and lively femininity, and partly because it was like a game! Enjoy these lovely images!

Livia & Amelia [Parma, 2023]

Posted in Kids & familiesTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

We were lucky to chose the right day for this photo shoot and these girls took the whole thing quite seriously! In fact, Elisa asked me to take some portraits of her daughters and picked the only day of the week when it did not rain so that we named it: “Dry Monday”!

I hadn’t seen her kids for 5 years so, needless to say, they had dramatically grown up! Livia was an inquisitive and driven teenager, whilst Amelia, who started primary school, was a “concentrate” of life: her main quality was being cool and funny! At the beginning Livia wasn’t pumped up about this photo session and for a teenager I totally get that, you just want to stay quiet in your “own world”, not being involved in projects organised by strangers! However, she was completely thrown in by the cheerful spirit of the shoot, also thanks to Amelia’s affectionate and sparkling exuberance!

I was amazed to notice how much these sisters , despite their age’s gap, are so serene and content. They both have strong and bubbly personalities, this credit coming from having such caring and attentive parents!