Taxi malpensa milan.

I arrive outside my studio.

“how much?”

“97 euros”

“excuse me isn’t there a fixed fee?”

“oh yes! Its 80 euros”

Every time I come to cape town, even though I come here often, it is always a small shock.

Now I’ll tell you why:

I read not too long ago (the suggestion came from my webmaster, who is my ex assistant and as a result a good friend of mine, a.g.) two really good books, which I suggest for the holidays. Both are written by the scientist diamon jared LINK the one is called “weapons, steel and diseases”, the other one is “collapse”. They speak, simply put, about the history of humanity, and of the path done by man to arrive to today. Listen to my advice, read them.

And what does this have to do with south africa?

It does because in one of these books, I don’t remember which one, I read that in the world there are only 5 areas so called mediterranean. Only five! And they are: obviously the mediterranean (obviously not all of it, the north part), some of chile, some of australia, some part of south california and, to get to the point, the southern most part of south africa, in particular exactly here in south africa.

What happens here when you come is not only a trip in space, but also and most of all a trip in time. In the sense that here is exactly like back home, let’s say in liguria, at the end of spring beginning of summer.

The same flowers bloom, the same vines mature, the lavender starts flowering.

It’s mad.

If you go to a hot place, like the Caribbean, you simply go to a hot place.

Here is not the case!

Here is the same as back home six months ago or as it will be in six months.

I assure you the experience is unique.

And to finish the hand job about south africa, I suggest you to come on holiday, christmas time is perfect.

It is not a trend in italy and therefore there are very few italians (italians go on holiday always in the same 4/5 places… as if the world wasn’t the big thing that it is but a  small island…), the local money is very convenient so everything is relatively cheap and… it’s summer!

I am on the other side of the world.
Stop
I will write something as soon as I can.

Revolutionary technique for the new editorial on today’s max website.
Brand new reflex with million mega pixels?!?
Digital back with billion of mega pizels?!?
Miraculous flashes?!?
Retouching done with photoshop 6?!?

None of this: maybe my last editorial done with polaroids..
It feels like the funeral in “once upon a time in america”, when everybody was dancing, laughing and having fun in front of the coffin.
Yes, this is a funeral, where everyone dances, laugh and have fun.
Up you can see the polaroids drying up as if they where tortellini.
photos here http://max.rcs.it/girls/0812_12maxcasting_Danielle.shtml
video here http://max.rcs.it/multimedia/girls/video/0812_danielle_video.action
http://max.rcs.it/speciali/max_casting/max_casting_index.shtml

Tonight, Tuesday the 9th, a brand new episode of italy’s next top model.
If last week we flew this week we sail.
Always on sky live at 21..

The catalogue “HIM&HER” that I shot before summer and that I’ve spoken about on the blog of “il corriere” a while ago has been printed.
Shit, it’s a huge blog crossing..
Anyways, as I was saying: after a multiple twin births the brochure has been printed.
I would like to say that this torment was needed, I really think that it came out a really good job.
This is the story:
Him&her are two chairs designed by Fabio Novembre LINK for casamania.
They take a similar shape of the famous panton chairs with the twist of a new and astonishing back part, that becomes a body, male or female, naked.
Fabio and I thought of creating sort of a universal creation, with adam&eve that move in the unconsumed nature, with the two pieces of design that blend and become part of nature.
I really wanted that the two chairs would camouflage as much as possible with he surroundings: to achieve so we had the chairs made with a lucid finish (to reflect the surroundings) and grey (to be able to change the colour to suit our needs).
Then I proceeded to shoot in a way that is not familiar to me: the canon was on a tripod and, after shooting the models walking with a long shutter speed, I was then shooting the same scene with different exposures, from really dark to really light.
Once I had all the images on photoshop I went to get sections with the right exposure from the various shots, trying to have a final shot where there was going to be details from all angles. Some kind of an adams’ zone system of 2008.
At the end all the images have been created from about another ten different ones put together.

Everything seems to have come out very well also thanks, actually above all thanks, to Massimo Pitis’ graphic design.

Tomorrow night, Tuesday the 2nd of December, on sky live at 9 o’clock there should be an episode of Italy’s next top model to which I took part and should be quite interesting.
We shot at the Galleria in Milan, harnessing natascha stefanenko and other models in mid air with cables.
Here is the backstage video LINK

And seeing that I participated to a show that talks about models I’ll take some time to write a few words on the matter.
As a fact often, made easy thanks to the internet, girls and guys write to me and send me their photographs saying they want to become models.
Also the parents tell me their sons and daughters want to become models and ask me about courses, books, composit and agencies..
I have very clear and precise opinions on the argument which I will try to explain:
First of all to be a model is a full time job, difficult and harsh like any other. Often I think that what happens is that the hot girl of a one horse town (of which she’s the queen) comes to Milan thinking that the big city awaits for her and her beauty and that to be a model here is to go to an armani show to an editorial for vogue. It’s not like that. Even taking in consideration that the girl is perfect for the job that the agency she goes to is the right agency what she’s really into is to work her ass off (only as a metaphor, I’ll get more in depth later) going from a casting to the other from one side of the city to the other, standing in thousands of cues realizing the other thousands of girls are as beautiful if not more. After two days like this the damsel goes back in being the queen of her one horse town. Not forgetting that after two months of this hell the model will not have made any money whatsoever.
On the topic about actual courses: there are “agencies” that offer courses at a fee and will help you build up a portfolio and composite. I can’t say that they are swindlers, as one can do what they please with their money but forget about thinking you’ll become a model after a “course”.
A model is, for a serious model agency, an income, and therefore would never make one pay for the making of the book.
The only thing is to go to a serious model agency (here is a list LINK) and make an appointment: if they accept you will embark on a long and difficult path on which at the end you will be a fully fledged model that will work and will earn, if they say no then go back home quietly.
In this day and age it exists a new approach in being a model, it is to have a web site and propose yourselves for private works, amateur photographers and similar things. Also here it is not quick and easy, you’ll need a prolific word of mouth and it will surely help to be available for photos done, let’s say it, in a sexy way. As you can imagine it is not a walk in the park, but I’m pretty sure that a model that will work her ass off will be able to earn more than a “blazoned” model with a “blazoned” agency in Milan.

The last argument, tricky and uncomfortable but very important if we want to make the argument complete: often I hear “that model works because she slept with him and the other”.
It is an excuse that models who don’t work give.
I assure you right now, it doesn’t work. Free off course to give it away to the whole of Milan, do not delude yourselves that this will help you. The professionals, photographers or clients, if they are really so they will only use models that work or that are looking for.

This said, good luck: I think that if done well it is a serious job and even more constructive than other jobs that appear more serious and constructive.