I’ve been interviewed by Jason Michel.
You can’t say no, you know. He’s big and bad. And a bloody good writer.
Please do yourself a favour and read his books.

My little, idiotic interview is here:

Interview & Art – LUIGI CLEMENTE by Jason Michel

I just give you the preface:

I’ve been unlucky enough to know Luigi for a number of years now.
He is an Italian, from Genova, living in London.
His photography is something special. Decadent and , at times, has an everyday Surreality. It reminds me of listening to Madder Rose with him over a beer in London.
He is a wry & miserable bugger, though.

I couldn’t like more this place. You can discover hidden gems of films, chill out at the 2 cafè (I prefer the one in the ticket office foyer) and  the restaurant, buy a book or a dvd at the  bookshop, watch documentaries at the mediateque. There’s always something interesting going on: if you love cinema, this is your place.

BFI website

What makes a picture a good picture? It’s easy to say “wow”, but difficult to say “why”. Several entwined factors, subjective and objective criteria, contribute to a picture’s success. My point of view is mainly “aesthetic”. I usually do no deep “social” or “psychological” exploration of my subjects, but I simply follow the “wow” (= bloody interesting) lead, if I am lucky, or the “mmm” (= quite  interesting) lead, if I am not. You know, since I have no brain, it’s easier. So, the big question for me is: how does it feel? There is not much analytical thinking in it. Nonetheless, I tried thinking about some of the variables that could create a good picture. This is just a very short summary, each variable will be discussed in separate posts.

Photo = Content + Technique Read the rest of this entry »

Lenses

I check both side of the lenses and if necessary (don’t overdo, you could ruin the coating) I clean lenses with Giotto Rocket air blower (NOT canned air) to remove dust (and anything that could scratch the lens) and then with a soft lens tissue (using a lens cleaning fluid or breath, NOT windows cleaner).

I usually take with me:

• Canon 24-105mm L IS USM: my default lens for portraits and street photography.
• Sigma 30mm 1.4: for low-light portraits or blurred effect (this lens has a pleasant creamy bokeh)
• Sigma 10mm fisheye or Sigma 10-20mm: a wide angle is often very useful, especially for environmental shots. My 24-105 is not wide enough in many occasion.
• Sigma 70mm macro: it is a very sharp lens, for closeups of eyes, lips, hands. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, yes. I had the inauguration yesterday of my first, and last, public exhibition at the Wine Theatre Bar. A big thanks to Stefano, Mario and all my friends that came just to check if it was really true. I never lie, you know, I just make reality a bit better.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve received a nice mail this morning, saying that I’ve been featured on the home page of Photoshelter (that is where I keep my website). For one month I’ll be there, in a list of 20 photographers out of 40,000.

“Thanks for making us look good. We’re delighted to be working with you.”

It’s very flattering. Then I thought that my website is far from finished. No bio, no price system, no tags. Almost no pics.

Is the featuring thing a random process?

Ammettilo, Luigi, dai. Fai più bella figura. Tracci una bella riga bianca, casomai, la scavalchi, ti metti a camminare, a testa alta di baldanza, che questo cercano, a scarpe nuove e cervello fino, e non guardi indietro, alle statue di sale dagli occhi lucidi, alle ombre d’angoscia della sera. Ammettilo dai, che ti sei perso, che hai una paura fottuta. Read the rest of this entry »

Astrakan, pecore karakul, agnello persiano. Una morbida pelliccia scura, arricciata, calda. Stupendo. Vediamo cosa ne dice l’alta moda quest’anno:

“Protagonista di stagione sarà quindi la pelliccia, tout court, da mattina a sera, non più solo come paltò o mantello, ma proprio parte dell’abito, della gonna, persino tailleur. Trionfo di astrakan di ogni colore e peso, ma anche visoni, cincillà, volpi, per un lusso che non conosce limiti. Un certo perbenismo, un’idea rinnovata di bon ton vuole una donna che guarda agli anni ‘40, al meglio degli anni ‘60, sofisticata e discreta senza rinunciare a sensualità e glamour. ” Read the rest of this entry »

Nel libro “Gabbie vuote” di Tom Regan, ottima introduzione alle tematiche animaliste, l’autore distingue sommariamente tre tipologie di vegetariani: i vinciani, i damasceni, i temporeggiatori. I vinciani, che lui chiama così in riferimento a Leonardo Da Vinci, noto rapper animalista, mostrano fin da bambini un’innata empatia verso gli animali, malgrado l’esempio degli adulti intorno a loro. Read the rest of this entry »

Cosa è successo martedì 29 ottobre 1929 a Wall Street? Possiamo aspettarci ancora una giornata simile, o peggiore, per il nostro turbocapitalismo rampante? Prima di scrivere questo post, dopo aver raccolto in questi giorni un po’ di indizi sul martedì nero, apro il giornale, la Repubblica del 28/1/06:

Brusca frenata dell’economia USA. Il PIL sale solo del 1,1%. Consumi americano al palo, ombre sulla crescita mondiale. Read the rest of this entry »