Tag: blogging

Easter 2026, God’s ministry of presence

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“So I say to you, seek God, and discover Him and make Him a power in your life. Without Him all of our efforts turn to ashes and our sunrises into darkest nights. With Him we can skip from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope. With him we are able to rise from the midnight of desperation to the daybreak of joy” – extract from Strength to Love by Martin Luther King

If we allow Him to, God can act in our lives in powerful ways to transform our weakness into hope and joy. He can equip us with grace, enabling us to overcome what we consider insurmountable obstacles. I believe that this is the ultimate meaning of Easter.

Accepting the very things we usually run away from (various problems, relationships, illnesses) and, ultimately, “surrendering” to the idea of having to die one day is the most difficult challenge we feel called upon to take on. We don’t like surrendering our lives to anything. We like to be in control of things, to be in charge of of situations but yet, we are also the most anxious and depressed version of mankind.

I feel tired of rationalizing my existence and purpose, so perhaps it is time for me to listen to the One who called me into being and who gives meaning to my life through His continuous love. He is showing up in my daily life thanks to creative, powerful, silent episodes of “presence” during this tiring and challenging phase. He is real and is waiting for us.

Life updates [Parma, 2026]

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Life updates from the last weeks:

  • The sensation of being stuck persists. You know when a photo seems to capture your state of mind? The one below (taken yesterday with my IPhone) sums up pretty well this period: finding myself in a tough time, with signs of hope and improvement on the horizon!
  • I am focusing on rebuilding skills, trying to be practical whilst taking decisions. I want to be more consistent in my daily routine.
  • I had an afternoon of shopping last Saturday and came back to buying jeans again (gently but firmly pushed by Raffaella!)
  • The furry babies (hidden by momma’s body in the foto, and close to their aunt), who should join me at home in June, seem determined to grow up healthy and really sweet, as their brilliant breeder is confirming!
  • We are being blessed by an incredibly beautiful spring time, with crystal blu skies often peaking out over the Cathedral. The flowering season is in full swing and the shades of green on the meadows are stunning!

Shall we blog in 2026? [Parma, 2026]

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The other day I asked AI: “Does it make sense to keep a photography blog in 2026?”

The answer was:

Overall, I agree with AI’s reply. I believe that human beings are looking for connection and need continuity. Blogging can become a positive bond that still works in 2026, allowing photographers to be known and to get in touch with more people, as well as it gives them the opportunity to be contacted.

On the other hand blogging is currently a niche phenomenon. It can be effective, but only for enthusiasts or connoisseurs who are interested in a specific sector. Unfortunately, and I say this with regret, nowadays the most popular form of communication happens on social medias, as limited and, at times, as stupid as they can be. On these platforms there is a very diverse audience which vary from enthusiasts to experts.

With a blog, you reach now fewer people but they are of more quality. Blogging turned out to be a constructive experience for me. I opened my first photography blog on WordPress in the spring of 2012 and kept it running for 3 years. It helped me open up to the outside world, bringing out a side of me that I wasn’t aware of. t has helped me discover a love for communication and meeting people, the pleasure of feeling part of a community, albeit a virtual one, of photography lovers. It also made me realise how driven I can be in working on myself and in succeeding. That blog helped me gain an initial audience, and I believe that a large part of my success is linked to it. My problem is a lack of perseverance, but that’s another topic, perhaps for a future post!!

Sunrise & tarots [Parma, 2026]

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On Friday morning, I was captured by the intensity of the colours of dawn, it was a quick escalation of deep, glowy yellows, oranges and reds. It felt like I was in the desert, and yet I was in Via Mazzini!

That same day, I received tarot cards from my friend Daria, premises of good tidings (underneath the video).

Cards drawn:
• Three of Pentacles
• Temperance
• Four of Swords (reversed)

These form a very clear pattern: cooperation → balance → recovery from strain.

General reading (overall direction): this is a repair phase for Elena, not a resolution phase yet. The foundation is being rebuilt. The main dominant card is Temperance which is one of the strongest cards for stabilization and healing.

Overall meaning in the coming weeks:
• Emotional balance returning
• Situations improving slowly but steadily
• Conflicts cooling down
• Recovery from a stressful period
• Rebuilding strength in multiple areas of life

This is not a chaotic or destructive period. It is a controlled healing phase.

What I would say to the old me [Edinburgh, 2024]

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Here I am with an old portrait dated September 2012. I had super long hair and, back in those days, I was in the silly phase of “Fake it till you make it”. I was never deeply in love with my physical appearance and at that time, as I still had acne, I used Photoshop extensively to soften my skin. I also was a huge fan of hair clips (a passion for which I have not completely forgotten!). More than a decade has passed and I I’d like to share a few thoughts that I would have liked to be aware of, 12 years ago, and that I should have repeated to myself every day in front of the mirror:

  • Don’t be afraid, girl, you can make it happen!
  • Accept yourself and embrace your imperfection, that is more appealing than your idea of perfection!
  • Trust your guts in order to realise your projects without further ado, you are a good decision-maker!
  • Don’t waste your time (which is the ultimate and irreplaceable value), get straight to the point
  • Open your mouth to tell what you think, at the right moment
  • Act more, do not fall in the overthinking’s tunnel (that’s always a sensitive issue!)
  • Comparing to others is a loss of time, as you really don’t know what is going on in their lives
  • Don’t neglect your body: also your appearance contributes to your psychological well-being
  • Be honest about yourself, do not fear to be judged by others
  • Stay warm and open to others, be compassionate

And finally: Keep going, girl, you are enough! Your achievements with photography over the past decade have been impressive 🙂

Surrendering to slowness, reflections at the end of 2023

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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!

To do or not to do? [Edinburgh, 2021]

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One of my weakest points is not being constant, not producing articles or taking photo shoots regularly. I would like to write more often and on a regular basis. There are periods where my brain is filled with ideas and I readily jump into action whilst other times I am almost drained of initiative. I have always been ashamed of this side of my personality. I should push myself more forcefully (I can be lazy!) but sometimes I just lack the impetus. Over the past few years I brainstormed a lot about my Facebook page (and I also asked advice from my friends): how to direct it, what topics to publish, what could be perceived as more interesting but at the same time would also catch my interest and any others who follow me.

At the moment I have a sort of a mental block but I am sure it is only temporary! Generally speaking, I would say that variety is important, like talking about my photographic journey, my shots, other photographers’ portfolios & experiences, new ideas & trends, maybe equipments…but always about photography!

If you have nothing interesting to say, it is better to be quiet for a while but that’s not an original thought!!

2020, the end of a decade and the beginning of a new one

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2020 has undoubtedly been a ghastly and exhausting year and has felt as if it would never end. We have lived through what we could have never imagined as possible. Considering how events were progressing, on more occasions I feared that the “very worst” might happen but actually it never arrived. My family and the people I love are still here. I have been facing my fears, some doubts and decisions-to-be-made about my future and have reviewed a couple of relationships.

On the other hand, if this year has sounded slow, almost frozen, the entire decade has really flown by and a new one is about to start. So much has happened during the past 10 years: from being a student I became a professional, I had the opportunity to live in and discover different countries, I have met so many people and this has impacted on my life as a blessing. I have become more self-conscious, somehow some part of me has changed and my way of thinking is slightly different. My photography has evolved quite a lot in interesting ways.

I would describe my “2010 > 2020 phase” as psychologically tough, self-inquisitive, challenging, adventurous, idealistic, passionate, restless, fast. It was a stage of life that I needed to go through and I did it.

What do I hope and expect now for the next decade? Less moving around and to settle down!

P.S. I can reassure you that the picture is not a photo-montage😅, I really was in the garden. It was just taken with a very shallow depth of field!