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I rarely watch television, but lately these last Sundays at 21:30 I am glued to the seat watching IL RESTAURATORE on RaiUno, with Lando Buzzanca and Martina Colombari. And I like it very much! How could this happen? Its happening because last summer Martina Colombari suggested I’d follow her on the set of this television series, in Belgrade, were they took most of the interior and exterior shots, reconstructing in an incredible way an entire neighbourhood in Rome. It was my first time on a set of that caliber, and it was marvellous. Amongst other things that surprised me was that to make it look exactly like the original Rome they rebuilt everything perfectly well, and then they hired graffiti writers to spray on the walls things like viva roma/forza lazio.. I mean only those defects that could make true the fake!

I took a few shots that were needed for the production on set. And then, one day that there was little to shoot, Martina and I went around taking pictures, freely like that.

Martina is amazing. She is really a great model. All models, beginners or not, should learn some lessons from her: she abandons herself to the lens, she lets herself go, we shot without hair nor make up, without styling, without anything… only for the pleasure of doing so. Perhaps the result will be unpleasant, but in a very “amateur photograph” kind of way, that is only for the sheer pleasure of going around shooting.

And this is the result:

But my desire to tell stories always takes precedence, and when, going through the messy maze of studios, we found two men that were cooking some peppers on the grill and drinking beer I immediately imagined our super elegant and super chic Martina Colombari could live in a ramshackle trailer as some sort of modern saraghina..

In my opinion this is the photograph of that day: going around taking pictures can be fun, enjoyable and can also give good results, but having a story to tell is always the thing that works more…

Martina Colombari, you are extraordinary!

The sportweek winter edition dedicated to lingerie: its already been out for a while, but, between one thing and another, I haven’t had the chance to write about it. I am going to do it now, with this post which will include the whole production.

A work that meanwhile has already been released a bit everywhere.. But, for my devoted twenty five readers, I will start by telling you the story and showing you a little thing that has never been seen or heard (I know too well that this will change your life: you have to do with them a reason.. ).

When we were given the task to continue the SPORTWEEK DREAMS summer adventure with the winter version of course it was inevitable going to shoot in the mountains. But in the mountains, in contrast to the tropical beaches where we set the summer version, the weather can be bad and cold. Very bad and very cold. and if you have to shoot girls, or worse the rock star skiers in lingerie how are you going to accomplish it?!? You must have a plan B. and I had it! I bought on the internet (!) a beautiful mountain landscape, and I made a big print on PVC, so as to have a nice sunny landscape if it were necessary. But we have never needed it! In fact we have always had a wonderful sun! But since we had built and brought the whole shebang I wanted to still use it, in a futile and surreal way.

Or perhaps not futile, so I can introduce you to our two models:

Her name is Alessandra:

Her name is Ditta :

However, fist things first.

The first, by name and by fact, photoshoot was with the rock star skier Lindsey Vonn. We went to Austria where she trained. She was very nice and kind, but for logistic reasons, we had exactly two hours to make it all happen. Among other things, I decided to go on a glacier more or less nearby and in the end I did the work in forty minutes, remaining in exactly the agreed two hours…

The cover is above, here are a few more shots:

It was a lot of fun to give a sexier version to a super athlete, and I think that she also had a lot of fun.

Here is a backstage photo:

And a backstage video:

After Lindsey we went back to Milan to shoot our models in the Agorà ice rink together with the Milano blue and red hockey players. Also here I had to be quick, for both logistical reasons as well as not to let our models freeze to death (the temperature was at zero degrees!): we took two hours to do the whole job.

Here are the opening pages in the magazine with some original photographs:

And the backstage video:

Congratulations to the models whom have stoically endured without blinking: well done!

Done with the ice skating we went back to the mountains in Cortina, to finish the job, with the two models from the beginning of this post.

We created the first editorial in the beautiful lodge Piè Tofane. Here are the opening pages with some original images:

And we also have a backstage vdeo, made by Pasquale Ettorre as all the others:

And finally the last editorial, made by going to look for the snow, on top of the Giau pass. Also here the opening pages of the magazine, as well as some original photos and the backstage:

For the whole production of this issue of sportweek winter, special lingerie edition, I had the help of:

Styling by Luca Stefanelli

Hair & make up by Niky Epifanio @ Coppola

Pasquale Ettorre, assistant and video backstage

Francesco Scontrini, assistant

Production by Daria Longinotti

olè!

The incredible location where my exhibition was inaugurated in Florence last week, on the last floor of the Excelsior hotel.

At least there was definitely something beautiful: the view…

Art Director Andrea Bandiera Robilant agency

Backstage by Fabio Ranfi

art director: Andrea Bandiera for Robilant Agency

voice: Paola Pucci

sound design by: Andrea Fiorenza and Marco Sangirolami

director, director of photography and filmed by: Settimio Benedusi

After the tourists story in Milan during mid-August and the one on milanese on holiday in Milan, this year the corriere della sera asked me to tell what is christmas like in this city.

On these occasions my need has always been to make portraits, telling about the people, what they did and why.

This time I wanted to deepen the symbolic figure of this time of the year: Santa Claus! We see many around us and that’s always the character, forgetting that behind that mask there there is always a person.

So here is what I tried to tell: the person behind the character!

I shot the charachter in colour and perfectly integrated in his natural environment, while I photographed the person on a white background, in black and white, differentiating the two worlds: fantasy and reality (and whoch one is which?!?)

It is always very beautiful to do portraits: you listen to the lives, you fall into another’s experience, you gain insight into the intimate personal dramas.. To  all these people that have wanted to spend a morning with me in piazza del duomo in Milan. Thank you!

Here is the page on today’s corriere:

These are the original photographs with my little interview to each one of them:

Marco Formenti: 29 years old, from Lissone. Born as a magician, but during Christmas he dresses up to take part in shows where he joins magic to the atmosphere of Christmas. He finds modern children ultra demanding, so he tries to improve more and more his disguises and adapts to many situations: he has more than 13 different Santa Claus outfits!

Emilio Peverelli: 46 years old, from Seveso. He is a cook by trade, but with his wife (Trombetta the clown) they pair up to do children shows, all year around. They say that “in front of a child you are not yourself anymore but the character that you interpret, therefore you have to forget who you are”

Mauro Stringo: 26 years old, from Milano. He is an IT technician but he tries to make ends meet by being Santa Claus. His highlight is to participate as the official Santa Claus at the Ferrari party. He finds modern children too savvy.

Alessandro Botta Monga: 40 years old, he is an environmental geologist but he is without a job since two years. He tried to overcome the economic crisis doing thousands of things, favouring creativity. After three years of theatre school he started interpreting Santa Claus. He also believes that modern children are too savvy: once an eight year old boy, seeing that he was wearing glasses under his white beard, he asked him if he was myopic or astigmatic.

Leonardo Faliero: 38 years old, from Palagenello in the Taranto province but he lives in Limbiate. He is a metalworker in a factory, everyday busy with the blast furnace. To make ends meet but also to have fun he has been a Santa Claus for 5 years.

Francesco Scarteddu: 31 years old, from Carbonia in the Cagliari province but lives in Origgio. He is a metalworker in a factory. Lives with Francesca, a sardinian like him but that he met here in Milan. It’s his first year as a Santa Claus pushed by curiosity and his friend and colleague Leonardo.

Ilaria Suffia, Cristiana Passarelli, Elena Carbonara, Giulia Anzani, Caroline Bernava, Barbara Belardo: they are all students around 21 years old, all dressed up (for the first time in their lives!) as Santa Claus for advertising.

And here are three images backstage, made by Francesco Scontrini:

PS: Santa Claus exists!

I perfectly remember that once upon a time (a long time ago, when I started playing with the idea of becoming a professional photographer when I grew up) I read about an already established photographer complaining about an editorial of his that had recently been published which had, in his view, a little problem with the layout and that this was ruining completely his whole work.

At that time I thought this was unheard of: for me just the thought of being published was more than a sufficient reason to be happy and satisfied!

Many years later I understood this attitude perfectly well: to publish is not enough anymore, you have to publish well!

And it’s not easy! Infact it is very, very difficult… you need a good idea, the right clothesfor the idea, the right model, the right hair and makeup, and perhaps it is all perfect but it is not what the client needs, or for the client is fine pity that the result is terrifying… it is a little like in the movies when you see the airforce pilots aiming (and shooting!) on the enemy and they have to place the target in the middle of a series of viewfinders that are moving all over the place.

In my opinion, in this editorial shot for STYLE, all the viewfinders are in the right place at the right time: story, styling, hair and makeup, model, location…

As it was on the magazine:

here the original pictures:

and some backstage realized by pasquale ettorre: