In memory of Angela Raschi Zardi [1935-2024]

In a summer that is hardly ending, a pillar of our family left us last month, my aunt Angela.  She was a woman full of integrity, gifted by an upright and trustworthy personality. Her long, quite often challenging, existence was not about her: she devoted it to her family and her work. She was  one of the most self-sacrificing persons I have ever met. She was genuine to her core, a silent giver, resilient and courageous. The fond memories I will keep of her are her vital energy, her laboriousness, her warm hospitality, her culinary skills, her gusto for telling facts and describing people. She played a key role in our family and was respected in her community. She was unwavering in leading a generous life, and her love has strengthened us in ways that are more powerful than we can imagine. We all have learnt something from her.

“So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” – John 16:22

Elisa + Federico, Virginia e Mattia [Parma, 2024]

Federico is my second cousin and, although we don’t see each other often, when we do, it’s a real pleasure! He and his beautiful wife Elisa share a deep passion for rock music and are profound and interesting people, and the same goes for their two kids who, besides being extremely polite, are clever, sensitive and artsy: I can tell that a vein of genius runs in this family! Also, they are both fond and proud of their parents.

We met in Marore on a Sunday morning and the spring weather was acting crazy: from bad to good and back again in the space of a short time. I placed them in the shade and focused on the composition. I am pleased with these results and I find that the white sheet was not bad idea at all, especially on the edited in black and white! Last point, their dog Perla turned out to be a rebel super star: not only did she not obey anyone’s commands but she was also extremely photogenic!

Arianna, Diletta & Davide [Parma, 2024]

I have taken photos of this family since their wedding day (even though I wasn’t their official photographer!) and portraits of Arianna since she was in Diletta’s belly 🥰 I have known Diletta since we were kids (we went to the same church and were in class together in the high school) so when she started dating Davide, he too officially became part of our long-time-friends group. Said that, I find that shooting with friends is even more difficult as you are personally connected with them and don’t want to disappoint them, you want to be fun! The bright side is that they trust you and are comfortable with you and, based on my experience, people look GREAT when they feel GOOD in front of the camera! On this occasion my goal was to focus on the composition during the shooting and on the layout in the editing phase. We got a nice spot in an urban area, the good light and we even managed to have a few shots in front of the white sheet that was hanging from the tree 😆

Ludovica & Laura [Parma, 2024]

During the last week-end I took some portraits of my dear friend Laura and her beautiful toddler Ludovica in a field in Marore. As the light was intense, we shot in the shade. Having worked with the new Canon R6 Mark II a very few times (this was actually the 1st time I used it outdoors), I was not super confident and this was actually a test session for me. Anyway, I am impressed by the capabilities and potential of this mirrorless camera! I like these shots because they are candid, spontaneous and neat. A tenderness, a tranquillity and a sense of ‘discovery’ emerge from them. Ludovica is an independent, silent and keen observer and is very attached to her great momma!

Arianna, Diletta & Davide [Parma, 2023]

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!

Livia & Amelia [Parma, 2023]

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!

Aylya & Nihat’s family [Edinburgh, 2022]

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!

My favorite below…

Ana & Ricardo’s family [Edinburgh, 2021]

Ricardo was my colleague for a few years but this was only the second time I was meeting his young family and it was in occasion of a photo-shoot agreed a while before.

Ricky is one of the most outspoken persons I have ever met and worked with. He has a huge internal energy and is always in the action field! His wife Ana is a superstar: she is really forward!! She is also outgoing, friendly and welcoming. Adriana is incredibly polite, respectful and mature for her age (she is also beautiful!) whilst Africa has a super quick, lively. sparkling personality: she is a mini-actress with amazingly well developed facial expressions!  

We spent an hour in Holyrood park assisting to the girls leaves-battle (it was freezing!) surrounded by extremely sociable swans (the first swans able to love children or, if not so, they were bearing with them in a very patient way!) and later on we headed to their house to have lunch together and take some indoors shots. It was short but intense…I hope to catch up with them again soon!

Francesca & Massimo’s family [Parma, 2021]

“Bonds of family and love can withstand any storm and then life, even with its trials, can still be a beautiful and meaningful journey” – Jyoti Patel

In September 2021 I had the pleasure to take some family portraits of Francesca with her husband Massimo, and their beautiful kids duo, Irene and Mattia. We met in Parco Ferrari and the children were in a good mood. Irene displayed an outgoing personality and Mattia was easily carried away by his big sister’s excitement! I managed to take a short video, that I find to be a precious visual memory of a lovely, LIVELY time spent together! Thank you Francesca & Massimo for trusting my photographic capabilities!

Arianna, Diletta & Davide [Parma, 2021]

I am hereby happy to publish two shoots taken in Parma in September 2021. I have known these 2 families for a while: their kids ARE terrific! The weather and the lighting were also perfect.

Let’s start with Arianna, Diletta & Davide: until a short while ago, Arianna was a child, and now she’s coming out with teenage expressions?! Thank you for trusting me in helping to provide these lovely memories! The video-teaser was taken with my iPhone 🙂

Blandine, Lætitia + kids [Edinburgh, 2021]

Blandine and Laetitia are sisters, they are very close and had children a few years apart. Like their moms, their little ones have something special! I cherish these girls and was really happy and honored to take some portraits of their growing families. It was a wonderful day spent with a lively, and at times explosive young crewe!, that I hold dear in my heart! I didn’t remember there were so many marvelous shots!!