Stefano Morelli - YOUMANITY photography award - 2010 finalist
With a photographic thesis in Visual Anthropology, Education in Rwanda during the period of post-genocide, Stefano Morelli, is a Psychology graduate originating from Tuscany. He collaborates with photographic research with the Chair of Visual Anthropology, University of Florence. He is the author of NOF 4, handwriting photographs (Didattica della Visualità, Bonanno Publishing). Next to be published is a monograph entitled The Ripped Structure, Italialbania. (Bonanno Publishing), a research on migration through the use of photography as a means of visual communication.
YOUMANITY has asked Stefano Morelli the following questions:
How did you first get into photography?
Every time I look through the camera is like placing a filter between me and reality. Focusing on the image, is also like taking a distance from what’s happening in front of me. The camera eases the pain of direct confrontation with reality, especially in times of extreme social marginality. In short, I take pictures for survival.
What kind of equipment do you use?
At the moment I use two Canon 5D, one fitted with a 17-40 wide-angle lens, the other with a 70-200 zoom. The first one is my favourite, because it allows me to get closer to the subject.
What’s the most challenging aspect of your profession?
Finding commissions from newspapers and magazines on social issues. In Italy, presently lucking cultural initiatives, most of the public service covers only tabloids, or other topics which the reader have not to think about too much.
For Accademia Apulia Art Award you submitted a series of images taken inside the Bregu I Lumit, a Roma camp on the outskirts of Tirana. What motivated this series?
This series is part of a larger work carried out in collaboration with the Chair of Visual Anthropology, University of Florence. On the one hand are the images I took, on the other, are the photos taken by children of the Roma camp, taken with cameras donated to them by us. We used this approach in an attempt to have their visual point of view, acting as one of the cornerstones of visual anthropology: the photographic image reveals much more about the photographer, than the subject being photographed. Even the choice of what to include in the frame, the lens used, ... reveal the cultural approach of the photographer.
What do you look for in a location?
I seek to find its soul. I do not like reality built specifically for the realization of a photo shoot or a research project. I like to adapt to any given lifestyle which must not be changed to make it fit in the frame. I make sure that the people I want to photograph get used to my presence, as if I were invisible - as if I were a fly on the wall. Working like this takes a long time. But I think it is the only way to get to the soul of a place.
Is there a photographer past/present that you particularly admire?
There are many photographers I admire. Although I must confess I love the work of the
Italian photographer Francesco Zizola.
What has been the most gratifying moment of your career?
When my photo-research in Albania was appreciated by the editor of Bonanno Publisher, who offered to publish it.
What is your next dream?
Being able to make a photo reportage in Afganisthan, commissioned by a magazine. Shooting not a war reportage, but telling a story of family intimacy of his people.
What advice do you have for aspiring photographers?
Humility, because there is always something new to learn, and perseverance, because rejections help us to improve ourselves.