Interview with Fabrizio Fiorucci - International Photographer

Fabrizio Fiorucci is a professional Italian photographer, noted for his unique and exceptional style in capturing the essence of scenic landscapes and the many cultures of people.

He has journeyed worldwide to explore the historical beauty of countries and what he terms as the 'little things' that seem to hold more significance and quality to his observant eye. He has also had the opportunity to photograph a world-renowned singer/harpist by the name of Loreena McKennitt, including a 'Tribute' to her on his website.

Below is an actual interview which I've recently had with him. Fabrizio, took me voyaging throughout the world in his many experiences, sharing wonderful tourist insights as well as his own photographic perspective.

INTERVIEW

Shan-Lyn Forsythe: Hi Fabrizio, how are you today?

Fabrizio Fiorucci: Hi Shan-Lyn, I'm fine thank you, glad to be here.

SLF: I see that you were born in Asti, Italy. Could you explain a little about Asti?

FF: Sure, Asti is a small city located in north-western Italy and worldwide famous mainly for its wines, mostly Asti Cinzano and Asti Spumante. The lifestyle is much more that of a small town rather than a city, and that's one of the main reasons why I have deep roots there. I love its hilly landscapes and its Roman and Medieval history, which is a source of inspiration also for the photographies I love to take.

SLF: Do you feel that your birthplace might have had a strong influence in unfolding your passion towards photography?

FF: I definitely guess so... those places are in an area called Monferrato, typical for its hills, vineyards, crops, it's a feast for the eye and living there has always made me feel a strong connection with the surrounding nature and relatively relaxed way of living, intense but not hectic at all.

SLF: So you would agree that Asti, Italy has perhaps been one of the very first places in your life that began to shape your passion towards photography and 'eye' as well?

FF: Definitely. My personal attitude is that of an observer, a quiet person who likes to ask himself questions, and try and explore what I call "little things".

SLF: Yes, I have noticed how you seem to capture the significance of every detail... as if all the "little things", as you say, have great importance in life. When you are photographing, do you feel like you are becoming 'one' with either the environment or the person which you seek to capture the essence of?

FF: Absolutely. I try to spot in a fraction of a second all that impresses me, in an emotional sense...I try to freeze the feelings in that shot in order to be almost able to feel like that again when I watch the picture.

SLF: What type of photographic equipment do you use to make certain that your photos come out as you intend them to?

FF: I'm currently relying on a Canon EOS 350D, which is a 8.2 megapixels SLR (Single-Lens Reflex) with a professional tele-lens by Canon, EF 70-200 f2.8 L USM.

SLF: I have heard of your extensive world travels, in wanting to savor the important 'little things' of life. Tell me, which countries have you visited thus far?

FF: Well I've been to Canada and the USA regarding North America and I've traveled and lately been traveling to the whole western and northern Europe...some countries in eastern Europe....and other places like Turkey and Egypt. I've traveled Ireland, Scotland, and the remote Shetland Islands, one of the most intense places I've ever been to.

(To visit the countries Fabrizio Fiorucci has visited, please go to this link: http://fabrizio.oasi.asti.it/travelmap.html )

SLF: Of all the countries which you have visited, which of the many have you found to please your photographic eye the most?

FF: Ireland, then Shetland, but basically spots can be found anywhere. I guess the "secret" is to be able to listen to places, to feelings, to lights and shadows.

SLF: You have mentioned the Shetland Islands as one of the most intense places that you've been to... why is this?

FF: Well, Shetland people are remote, with their own traditions, a language which is a mixture of English, Norse and Pict lifestyle...their landscapes are beautiful and their culture has been preserved through centuries due to their relative isolation and above all, very limited tourism, as far as I could see. I went there back in 2003 and it was an unforgettable experience.

SLF: Are you saying that the people residing on the Shetland Islands have been able to preserve their strong heritage roots by lack of tourism?

FF: Well not necessarily, but the fact that the community is fairly small -their capital, Lerwick is populated by around 23000 citizens - they are a community whose history is rooted back in the ancient times. Of course it off:icially belongs to the UK, but it feels like you are in a place on the edge of this world... at least that was the feeling I had and I still keep inside me.

SLF: This is so interesting. As a traveller in wanting to capture the 'little things' in life, it would seem that you feel a need to visit places that not many people usually travel to, is this correct?

FF: Absolutely, I have this tendency to avoid places that are overcrowded by tourists, to find a space for my states of mind and emotions but that doesn't really mean that I dislike places where mass tourism is abundant ....but just that I prefer to choose times and dates when people are not that many, in order not to feel just a number in the middle of nowhere.

SLF: Fabrizio, which do you like more...photographing the landscapes of countries, or the environments that the people live in?

FF: Both.... I like the former as it creates a sort of intimate connection to my feelings, and the latter as it can create an image on how I feel lifestyles and places people live, breathe, love and hate. It's all about feeling things rather than observing them with the naked eye ....the eye behind the camera becomes the observer of emotions that are generated by what it sees.

SLF: This is wonderful. Needless to mention, you appreciate the simplicity behind the subjects which you photograph, is this correct?

FF: Absolutely. Simplicity might mean "being trivial" to the observer who is not ready to catch small details. I think beauty is in the eye of those who see, and emotions are the filter to separate trivial things and emotions.

SLF: Have you ever come across people in your travels that you were drawn to, in wanting to capture the unique simplicity of their essence of life?

FF: Absolutely... while in the Shetland Islands I stayed in a small bed & breakfast in Lerwick and the owner there, named Mona Tulloch, used to sit down with us ...I was there with a couple of friends in the morning at breakfast time ....and she enjoyed sharing with us the bits and pieces about her places and life of the people who dwelled up there.

SLF: So you were able to photograph her in her natural environment?

FF: Well not really... at that time I was at the very beginning regarding photgraphy....I still had to explore this passion in order to realize what and how to shoot. That was in 2003, one year after Ireland.

SLF: I see... in other words, she influenced and contributed to your desire in eventually wanting to photograph?

FF: Absolutely.... she shared with me this link with the past, leading to the future... and photography is something close to that.... freezing a moment, potentially forever.

SLF: In browsing through your website, I have noticed that you also have an aff:inity in capturing people in their 'talent' such as musicians in their concerts, artists, etc. Is this an innate need for you to want to capture the vitality of their creative expressions?

FF: Well I'm totally fond of music, it's like magic to me. Moreover, I love all historical representations, like reconstructions of ancient battles and the like.

SLF: How do you see a connection between the aspects of photography and music?

FF: Well they're both forms of art, involving two senses, sight and and hearing, but both sight and hearing are heavily and deeply tied to the perception we associate with them ....once again, feelings, that pulsating need to 'feel life', in the way I mean it.

SLF: I've noticed that on your site's home page, you have erected a 'Loreena McKennitt Tribute' site.... it is true that she is a world-renowned singer, but what features about her have compelled you to take remarkable photographs of her?

FF: Well, I discovered her music by pure chancev...back in 1995. It was spring I remember, I was still living with my parents in Asti and I went to a music shop to rent a CD. While I was browsing through the available CDs, my eye was caught by the cover of The Mask and Mirror and especially by the Unicorn Tapestry ...I LOVE tapestries. Well I rented it and I immediately fell in love with her style and the lyrics. Also, so many of her songs are connected to episodes or moments in my life and that's why I decided to dedicate to her my small site.

SLF: So, you feel a creative urge to capture an artist's phenomenal talent and simplicity?

FF: Yes.

SLF: In browsing through your 'Photosite Galleries', and in viewing your photography on landscapes, towns and buildings from the many countries listed there, I have personally found a lot of symbolism in your photos. Do you see this as well, or am I the only one to have noticed it? (http://FF:.oasi.asti.it/photosite/index.php?gallery=.)

FF: Yes, that's something that attracts me, a kind of research I perform every now and then.

SLF: Fabrizio, I have noticed that you are not selling any of your photos on the internet. Do you plan to do this eventually?

FF: That's one of the items I have in my 'to-do list'.... I plan to start something in that sense within the end of summer or so, so stay tuned.

SLF: I greatly enjoyed our interview together, and if you had some final words to say on your love for being a photographer, what would they be?

FF: Well that regardless of the passions everybody has, life was/is and will always be a travel, and the destination is almost non-important. What really matters is how we travel and all the little images of it we carry inside us.

SLF: Thank you so much Fabrizio for sharing your time with me, and for sharing your world on what photography means to you!

FF: Thank you Shan-Lyn for taking the time here tonight, I really appreciated that.

Fabrizio Fiorucci's Website