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 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!
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!
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!
I have been taking photos of these two since they were little girls, and now… they have grown into two beautiful teenagers, with their own opinions and tastes! They are always beautiful, and together with their mum, they are even more so! They loved Edinburgh to pieces, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up studying in the United Kingdom in the future!
In Beatriz and Damian’s wedding, love and friendship triumphed! I still remember when Beatriz called me to ask me to shoot their wedding and said: “It will be our big day, but we also want you to photograph our friends!”. I did my best to satisfy her request! The preparations and ceremony took place at The Village and it was just a cozy and family atmosphere! It was challenging but also enjoyable for me, and I got a lot of joyful vibes from the bride and groom and their guests too!
Marvin was 17 years old, he was tall, clever, shy and with a beautiful big, wild hair! His mother asked me to take some portraits of her son, in order to remember that stage of his life. Here is the outcome! The location was Holyrood Park.
I was happy to gather with Laura in the studio and finally meet her little and much-desired Ludovica! In Laura’s eyes, I could see the tiredness of the last few months of pregnancy and of the childbirth, but there was also so much joy, happiness, hope, and and love for her little girl! Ludovica was relaxed and slept most of the time and was not bothered by the indoor lighting. The outcome was tasteful as we got shots that convey sweetness, strength, love, and elegance!
After Martina took some tremendous portraits of me, I was eager to get to know her and her work a bit better. She willingly agreed to be interviewed…Anglophones, scroll down for the EN translation!
1) Martina, dicci qualcosa di te e del tuo background / percorso artistico.
Sono un artista fotografa. Sono nata a Parma, dove (legata al disegno e alla pittura fin da bambina) ho cominciato i miei studi al Liceo Artistico, per poi proseguire il mio percorso all’Accademia di Belle arti Bologna. L’interesse verso la storia dell’arte e la costante ricerca artistica personale, mi hanno spinto ad esprimermi attraverso diversi media nel corso degli anni: dalla grafite alla fotografia, nata dall’urgenza di catturare immagini intime e la sfuggente poesia del quotidiano.
2) Fotografia o pittura? O entrambe?
Ogni emozione ha bisogno di un giusto strumento per essere descritta. Pittura e fotografia sono due mezzi di espressione e di comunicazione. Sono due tecniche tanto diverse ma che alla fine parlano la stessa lingua e che vanno di pari passo con la ricerca. Come artista e come donna, ho necessità di pormi continue domande, di superarmi e di ricrearmi ogni volta. Penso sia dunque la mia necessità di espressione e il mio percorso personale ad avermi condotta a sperimentare questi diversi media.
3) Quando e come hai iniziato a scattare?
Negli anni accademici, la macchina fotografica (una Nikon compatta) era lo strumento attraverso il quale progettavo i miei dipinti. Nel corso degli anni, con la nascita dei miei figli la fotografia è diventata sempre più presente: era un modo per fermare il tempo. Con la prima Fuji xpro1 ho imparato in quegli anni ad osservare i momenti di quotidianità che nella loro dolcezza sapevo non sarebbero tornati. “Poesia nell’ordinaria realtà” che vado ricercando ora nei miei servizi fotografici.
4) Chi o che cosa ti piace fotografare di più?
Mi piacciono gli sguardi intimi, quei gesti delicati e quei momenti che durano una frazione di secondo ma che racchiudono secoli di sguardi e di gesti raccontanti nella storia dell’arte.
5) Che cosa ricerchi in una fotografia, che cosa ti colpisce in una fotografia?
Mi colpiscono le fotografie che comunicano. Le immagini che parlano sottovoce o a squarciagola. Mi piace quando una immagine mi apre lo sguardo e mi conduce altrove, lontano. Questo è quanto ricerco nella mia fotografia: l’immagine è solo un punto di partenza da cui parte la fitta rete del processo creativo e immaginativo.
6) Che cosa ti motiva ad avanzare nel tuo percorso artistico?
Credo sia la voglia di migliorare, la fame di conoscenza, la necessità di imparare e il bisogno di superarsi; alla fine non è altro che la “ricerca” ciò che fa sentire vivo un artista e lo spinge ad andare avanti.
7) Che cosa è difficile nell’organizzare uno shoot?
Sono molto metodica nell’organizzare un servizio, mi piace partire con una scaletta e delle idee chiare, anche se quello che ho imparato negli anni è che durante uno shooting tutto può succedere. Penso quindi che la bravura di un fotografo (e la sfida più grande in questi casi) sia quella di riuscire ad adeguarsi ad ogni circostanza cogliendo il meglio e facendo propria ogni situazione.
8) Quali fotografi o artisti ti ispirano?
Ad essere sincera trovo difficile fare dei nomi, sarebbero troppi.. Credo, con gli anni di analisi e studi artistici, di avere immagazzinato nella memoria profonda una grande quantità di raffigurazioni, dettagli, colori e costruzioni di immagini a cui il mio subconscio va continuamente ad attingere e a rielaborare personalmente a seconda delle diverse suggestioni. Il mio sguardo è debitrice alla storia dell’arte e alla storia della fotografia, dai maestri del passato ai grandi e piccoli artisti contemporanei.
9) Che cosa consiglieresti a una persona che sta iniziando a muovere i primi passi nel mondo della fotografia (come fotografo freelance)?
È il consiglio che do a me stessa: non avere paura di mettersi in gioco, sbagliare e imparare dai propri errori. Essere una spugna di nozioni e di informazioni, interessarsi e apprendere il più possibile dalla contemporaneità e, non meno importante, tirare fuori senza timore la propria unicità.
EN version of the interview
Martina, would you please introduce yourself and tell us about your artistic background & practice?
I am a visual artist. I was born in Parma, where I grew up. I obtained my A Levels at Liceo Artistico Paolo Toschi, then I graduated at Accademia of Belle Arti in Bologna. Since my childhood I developed a strong connection with drawing and painting. My interest in the history of art and my artistic research led me to express myself through different forms of media over the years, from graphite to photography. This last artistic form allowed me to capture intimate images and to describe forcefully and urgently everyday’s elusive poetic moments.
2) Do you prefer photography or painting or both equally?
Every feeling needs to be described through the use of the most appropriate instrument. Drawing & photography provide both useful ways of expression and communication. They are different disciplines that ultimately express the same language and can equally be considered a form of development. As an artist and a woman, I question myself all the time. I feel the need to continually improve myself and my work. On the one hand there is a need to express myself while on the other my personal journey has pushed me to experiment with different forms of media.
3) When and how did you approach photography?
During my years of studies a compact Nikon camera was the instrument that helped me to visualise and prepare in my mind for my paintings. Throughout the years, after the birth of my kids, photography became more and more a permanent presence in my life: I enjoyed it as a tool that would eventually allow me “to stop” the inexorable passage of time. With my Fuji XPro1 I learnt to observe and capture daily moments in their sweetness as I know that they will never return. Photography to me means to see “poetry in ordinary reality”. This is what I am looking for during my shoots.
4) Who or what do you like to photograph most?
I love to capture intimate feelings, delicate actions, moments that can last a fraction of a second. These fragments of life keep in themselves centuries of glances and unique gestures as they can also be admired in the History of Art.
5) What makes you fall in love with a picture? What grabs you the most?
Photography is communication, therefore I love pictures that are expressive. I cherish images that speak softly or loudly. I like it when an image opens my mind and leads me elsewhere, far away. This is what I am striving for in my artistic journey: the image is the starting point where the dense network of the creative and imaginative process begins.
6) What drives you to push your limits?
I would say it is, above all, the desire to improve myself and the “hunger” to reach a broader knowledge, the need to learn more and to better develop my skills. At the end of the day, I believe it is the crave for a search that makes an artist feel alive and drives him forward.
7) What do you find challenging in the organisation of a shoot?
I am very methodical in organising a shoot. I tend to approach it, knowing already what the project is about and having a clear idea in my mind, even although what I have learnt over the years is that anything can happen during a shoot! The golden skill for a photographer (and the biggest challenge in these cases) is to be able to adapt quickly to every circumstance by capturing the best moments and handling every situation in a personal way.
8) Which photographers or artists inspire you?
Honestly it is difficult to give names, there would be too many of them. Throughout many years of artistic analysis and studies, I have observed and stored in my memory a vast quantity of depictions, details, colors and the construction of images. My subconscious is constantly looking back at them and evaluating them, according to my own personal taste. I have a massive debt towards the History of Art and of Photography generally, towards the masters of the past and all contemporary artists.
9) What advises would you give to someone who is just getting introduced into the world of photography as a freelance photographer?
The same piece of advice that I give to myself: don’t be afraid to get in the game and to take a challenge, make mistakes and learn from them. Be a sponge of notions and information, take an interest in and learn as much as possible from the contemporary world and, no less important, fearlessly bring out your own uniqueness.
Martina started following me on Instagram, I followed her back, that’s how it started. We did not know each other even though (weirdly enough) we are both from Parma and we were born the same year! I checked her portfolio and loved ALL of her shots, so I asked her to take some portraits of me.
We met one evening at 6 pm in some fields outside the city. It was a clear blue night, with a powerful dry heat (33 celsius!). I enjoyed posing for her. Being a photographer myself, I decided literally “to shut my mouth” and follow her lead. She was in charge & I was the subject. I was impressed by her preparation. She had clear ideas of what she wanted. Also, she had already prepared part of the set before we started to shoot (a romantic chair on the side of the field, with a white sheet hung from a tree) . She is polite, determined, clear-minded and massively focused on details.
At the end of the session I was dying to get a sneak preview but did not dare to ask. A couple of days ago I received a selection of 18 photos & collages. I cherish all of them: they are so elegant! I find that there is a mix of poetry and painting in them! This is what fine art photography means to me.
I truly believe that she captured my inner-self. These shots are delicate and I consider myself a gentle soul. They have an inch of sweetness and malinconia. They are powerful in their beauty…and I have discovered a sort of charme of the 50s in them! Last but not least, they make me feel so young!! Thank you, Martina!!
You can visit Martina’s portfolio on Instagram or you can reach her out via the website Matrimonio.com!
I have known Laura for 20 years. We met at University in 2002 as we chose the same department, the Faculty of Foreign Languages, and became friends. Even after the end of our studies, we stayed in touch. So many things have happened in our lives over the past few years!
Now Laura is pregnant and we are excited about her baby coming in the summer! I could not be happier when she asked me to take some portraits of her and her bump. We had a quick photo session in Cittadella. The light was good and we played with the many shadows created in the trees and on the wall.
I cherish all the pictures that we took. Laura was glowing, spontaneous and expressive! In her eyes I could spot the happiness of a mum-to-be and a beautiful & typical contentment of an expectant mother!
In the spring of 2022 I had the pleasure to take some portraits of Nara, a young student and artist, shy and talented. We gathered at the Royal Botanic Garden and in my mind I related the spring’s blossoming that was happening with Nara’s young age and current stage of life. Thank you for trusting my photographic skills, young lady, I wish you the Best of luck!
I spent a lovely afternoon with Aylya, Nihat and little Atilla (yes, his name reminds of the the famous King od the Huns!). Even although it didn’t happen often to me to work with newborn babies, I was always amazed to notice how much they are perceptive and alert regarding what is happening near them. Atilla spotted immediately that something unusual was going on (there was a big camera clicking and a tall, curly girl was standing by, talking to him!), so that he never slept during his photo-session! He is a lively, healthy boy with gorgeous cheeks and my guess is that…when he grows up, he will have the same beautiful hair color shade of his mum!!
Aylya & Nihat, thank you for trusting my capability and for letting me “invade” your cozy flat, moving (temporarily!) the furniture. I really look forward to meeting all of you again shortly!
This life frame is crazy. 2022 started abruptly. Just about everything has been turned upside down. The last 4 weeks have been a rainfall of positive & negative events falling one after the other, in a rapid succession.
On January 4th when my 90 years old granny suddenly passed away for a massive heart attack. I flew back to Italy on January 7th but just missed her funeral by a few hours. I had already booked my tickets for those dates in early December, when we were unaware of everything. Was it destiny? I don’t think so. I have spent most of the time with my family, and catching up with a few friends. It was heart-warming and sad at the same time. Dad’s health is now giving us cause for serious concern.
I got the chance to pose as a model for a talented friend (a photographer who I consider to be a sort of an “Edgar Allan Poe of the camera”) Stefano Cavazzini. With my immense pleasure, he has already forwarded some early shots to me and I am in love with them! The day after I caught acute bronchitis and, because of that, I had to cancel my flight back to the UK. That is the first time in my life I have had to cancel a flight because of sickness.
In the meantime, a couple of my recent pics were published in PhotoVogue (this is always good for my self-esteem and provides a great and remarkable encouragement to keep on with my photography)!
I have felt lonely, worried, angry, uplifted, hopeful, rational & irrational, passive & pro-active, lost and so much loved. Things are changing quickly, this is a fact, and whilst one side of me looks forward to this, the other part is scared. As somebody told me a long time ago: “Only from time of crisis we can expect good things to come out”.
Being an artist implies talent, however there can be differences of opinion regarding preferences in editing! Being a photographer myself, I wonder whether it is “ethical” to edit the pictures of an other photographer, but as both Stefano and I are good friends + are both photo-amateurs, he was happy to shoot these portraits of myself on the original RAW images, in order to allow me later to take control on the editing phase…and my editing’s outcome follows:
Elena Arvasi Portrait Photographer 