CAFE' TITANIC.. PERPIGNAN

I repeat myself, again, and again, and again... But I'm like the watcher on the Titanic that is screaming not "Iceberg! Iceberg!" (that was a while ago) but instead "water, lot of water in the ship! we are going to sink soon!!"...
And the reaction at the Grand Cafe de la Poste (the "salotto" in Perpignan's VISA) is still the same: more wine, and beer, and hidden-under-the-table-bottles-of-whiskey.. No, not to forget. On the contrary.. Still talking more of the future in photojournalism, the coming projects, the ever-under-the-arm portfolios to show at any given occasion...
But very few professionals (photographers, agents, photo editors) are in Perpignan this year, or, at least, much less then usual. Who works and lives producing images (we hope good, valuable, useful images) feels like VISA is not helping in these troubled times. What we should be talking about in here is how the future should shape itself rather then keep doing less and less of the old same..
Where would be a better place and occasion then at this world forum where all the actors are congregating for a week? And I find ridiculous that on the VISA website the very opening is declearing that "photojournalism is dead" and then is proposing no discussion and confrontation on the matter: what is this, a requiem?
I see good, strong photos in the exhibitions, and is sad to know that very few of them will find some pages where to be published (therefore being seen, fulfilling their journalistic mission..)
Where are the discussions on the new media, the new ethical parameters, the problems of accessing the real news for the ever more controlled reporters? Where?
Somebody is still asserting that the real important thing is to stick to the technical limits inherited from the chemical darkroom!!! What? Whaaaat?
The world is changing, changing fast... and the Titanic is sinking, even faster... Let's save all what is worth saving of our precious, essential part of culture and information..

iPhone-Summer

Confession: I love Apple! My first Apple (still not called Mac) was dated 1985. And I'm a faithful person, at least when it comes to technology..
And of course I love the iPhone, the applications and implications, with music and photography above all.
Normally I don't bring a camera with me, if I'm not working.. But the iPhone, or better, it's photo applications, changed this for me...
Now I take little "real-photos" of my simple "daily-life"... And here is a short diary of my summer.. with home, motorcycle, TPW, family and friends...

THE WEB SITE IS NOW ON-NEW STORIES

The web site is now definitive and on-line, with all the stories, more then 60, visible in Flash. The portfolios were updated too. If you visit it and find that corrections are needed please let me know..

ONLY ONE WEB SITE (FOR NOW)

Just to clarify the new web situation... Now that the new web site at pistolesiphoto.com is live, I have redirected the other two directories (pistolesi.com and andreapistolesi.com) on this site as well. I think the new design is in fact filling the need that was temporarily given to these: a lighter showcase of my work.
I plan to design an on-line gallery that will end on a new site.. But this is not for the immediate future.. Thanks for your patience!

NEW WEBSITE TO TEST

Hello guys, the newly remade web site pistolesiphoto.com is now live.
I would appreciate opinions, suggestions, corrections.
The philosophy and intentions of the remake are clear: less, more updated material, in a more interactive presentation (lot of Flash galleries now).
I feel like the web site is more a presentation of my work then a light box for photo editors. Therefore the portfolios have been updated with what I like to do today.
Also, I keep in mind the existence of this blog, as well as of Facebook, for news and contacts.
Your feedback will be very much appreciated!

AND, ABOUT MY PRESENTATION...

This was my slideshow at TPW... A selection of my work in Asia this year. What I wanted to show is really how schizophrenic my work has been: from dieing refugees in Bangladesh to the five stars night life in Kuala Lumpur in a few days.. And so on.. But if you follow this blog you know already..

TPW WORKSHOP FINAL SLIDESHOW

The TPW workshop was in fact concluded on Friday night with the students slideshow. You can see it here so you can appreciate the good work the guys did.
This year I radically changed the scope of the week. Instead of working on the making of a story potentially destined for publication, I asked the students to work on a single project of their choice. The focus was to make a gallery of images that should work as a photographic story: the results are here, and I was positively impressed. Especially because none of the guys wished to become a professional photographer (which, I think, is a great starting point: freedom of expression comes first, whenever possible!).
In other words, given the hard times, I think we should concentrate on producing good images and good stories. The publication, of any sort, will come sooner or later, if what we do is interesting (and good)!!

SABAH REPORTAGE ON L'ESPRESSO

If you have seen and found interesting my post on The Last Eden of Sabah, on May 12, you may like to know that the reportage was published today on L'Espresso news magazine.
Once again they did a great job. Thanks.
Waiting for their multimedia presentation you can see all the images of this work on my web site at this link http://www.pistolesiphoto.com/sabah.html

INTERESTED IN STATISTICS?

I don't like to give numbers much importance when it comes to professional photography... But the recent four months trip in Asia is a good opportunity to fetch some indications.. Some friends had asked how much I had shoot, how many were edited and so on...
Here are some data.
Four months were spent based in Bangkok and shooting in Bangladesh, Northern Thailand, Kuala Lumpur, Vietnam, Philippines, China and Borneo.
The shots taken with Nikon D3X (90%) and D3 were around 35.000.
The final selection for what I call the core, in fact my archive, amounts to 3800 images, a bit less then 11%. What is going into major stock agency is around 1,5%.
The selection of the selection has produced 14 stories (for large or minor publications) comprising around 600 images. The first time publication will amount to around 120 images.
It took four months to shoot all this material. Around one month the post-production.
If you like numbers this can be interesting.
I think the real question will be "how many images are really good, really worth looking to, and remember.." The answer is possible only after digesting the photos, getting free from collateral images in my mind..

TPW WORKSHOP: ALMOST THERE...

The Workshop at TPW (see the intro page) will start on July 26th in Tuscany. If you want to participate.. nice and welcome!! But the main reason for this post is the wish to share some adjustments to the theme due to the new Editorial situation in the world.
I feel like we need to explore new ways on creativity, professional attitude, and marketing yourself in general. This means that I'll try to widen the scope of our work together in view of what is expecting all of us in the near future. The new media and photo requirements in particular will be part of our discussions.
If you are already enrolled, or planning to do so, and you wish to share more thoughts before we start, you are more then welcome to contact me.

KUALA LUMPUR FOR L'ESPRESSO - ALL THE IMAGES

The recently published reportage on Kuala Lumpur is visible in it's totality at this link on L'Espresso website http://espresso.repubblica.it/multimedia/home/6450683

BELFAST UNCERTAIN PEACE

Sounds like a long pilgrimage back on my footsteps, I know, but I can't avoid remembering.. I came to Northern Ireland over twenty years ago. It was the beginning of the end of the Trouble, the fight, the killings.. In fact the subject of the story I was to shoot for Atlante magazine was the idea of going back visiting this region, open it to international contacts, help healing the wounds.. The reality was still tense: I was stopped on a country road at dusk by English soldiers who checked my passport. The officer told me "welcome to the UK!".. I said "It's a warm welcome to Ireland.." he looked at me and said "..a very warm welcome indeed!"
Well, it's a different story now. No border crossing with the Republic, flocks of Irish coming here to shop thanks to a weaker Pound, and many tourists visiting the region. And visiting even Belfast that in those years was not even worth a few hours stop. The city is improving, offering services and sightseeing. The Titanic construction dock has become a tourist attraction itself.
But, more surprising on how history redefine itself, there is even a tour to the political murals that signed the territory, and were in fact a warning to where you could go only if you belonged to a certain group. The community just sponsored a project for new murals, this time dedicated to history and peace, to disguise the wary message that the old images keep reminding.
A need probably stronger then what it looks at first sight. The divisions where, and still are, in the poorest areas of the city. The feeling is that a crisis could easily restart a fight among these guys that still shows loyalist and republican tattoos on their arms.. And the economic crisis of these times, badly felt in here, could be a dangerous ignition..

KUALA LUMPUR REPORTAGE ON L'ESPRESSO

This week the Kuala Lumpur reportage was published on L'Espresso news magazine. The guys did a great job, and I feel is worth praising them in this time of superficial, low quality publications.. Thanks!

DUBLINERS

Years back, well, several years back, I came to Dublin on the James Joyce footprints. The project was to shoot a story based on some of his sentences from Dubliners and Ulysses: few, abstract images, with a strong link to the mood of the poetry rather then to faces and places. I found what I was looking for, the story was published, and sow the first signs of the re-evaluation of Joyce as a national hero. But today.. God.. I see his face on postcards, his sentences on biscuit packages, illiterate students eating McDonalds on his statue.. Not really what was in his mind, in his dreams, in his literary and cultural intentions, that's sure! But Dublin has gone the same way as the rest of the World is going: global, flat, obvious.. Pub music is for tourists, Guinness in for look and not for taste, Temple Bar is for trash drunks and not for fun.. The crisis has struck hard and deep, freezing all the enthusiasm, the illusion of a booming society growing without borders and limits.. The crowd has in fact turned multi-racial, but limits have shown themselves, clearly..
"Introibo ad altare Dei" says Mulligan at the very start of Ulysses, on top of the Sandycove Martello tower.. This is what his view would be today: not really an "altare Dei" environment anymore..

THE LAST EDEN OF SABAH

Orang means Man, Utan means Forest. The Orangutan is therefore the Man of the Forest. He is in fact the closest ape to the human being. While I was looking at the feeding time in the Rehabilitation Center in Sepilok, near Sandakan, I couldn't help reconsidering what I was really seeing. On one platfom were 6 Orangutan and countless Macacos being feeded. On another little less then a hundred tourists agitating cameras, videos, binoculars. Eating ice cream and chips. Who made the real attraction was not clear to me anymore. For a moment I felt the lucky ones were the Oragutans who were getting a free meal with show included. But I noticed they were not interested at all in the crowd facing them: the same everyday oddity.
I have to clarify to myself this duality I have toward humanity. Sometimes I love to see (and photograph) what Man is doing, but most of times I wish for a large pandemic to swipe us (or the most of us) from the face of the Earth. What I don't stand is mass stupidity, and this seems to be the common caracter of this globalized world. I have bad feelings for the future of mankind if we don't correct our trends.
Sabah, this portion of Malysian Borneo, is showing well what we are doing to Earth. Very few patches of land are left to the forest, enclosed in the horrible concept of Park. Horrible because a Park is mainly the good excuse to do whatever you want outside of it! Most of the state is now covered with vast plantations of Oil Palms.
Yes, the question is where are we going. But, even more important, how badly we are going there..