GIANNI GALASSI PhotoGraphia

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Professional photography has been the first serious job in my life: at 16 I managed to turn my passion into a paid activity -without leaving school-, and I succeeded. In the following years, until my shifting to cinema, I made a living out of assignment work. As my present day images still show, I didn't like shooting humans so much. But sometimes I had to. I still remember how stressful taking the portrait of a 6 years child or of his not-so-young-anymore mother could be.

Yet I remember the heat of flood lamps in big furniture sets, with logorrheic art directors trying to guess the composition (head down) through the ground glass of my 4x5 inch view camera, and the nightmare of film sheets to be reloaded in a black bag on location, if possible not the wrong side up.
Not to mention the potential accidents which could occur during the darkroom process (most of the times after one-off shooting opportunities). The upside of the matter was money: photographers were well paid in the Seventies. Nowadays they aren't anymore, as far as I know.

Although not much time (nor energy) was left for personal work, I managed to take advantage of every spare hour to take a breath of fresh creative air. Which meant more nights to be spent in the darkroom.
Now I make a living out of film and TV postproduction, so I can take photographs of whatever I want whenever I want, edit them one year later and exhibit them whenever I have the chance to. In other words, photography has become a pure passion again. A playful, relaxed and exciting way to express (and challenge) myself. That's why I hardly understand all the pixel-peeping and gear-frenzy shown by most amateurs. For us, photography should be a playful and creative process, not a concern. Technology too often sort of becomes our hidden customer, and we find ourselves as if we were constantly working on assignment. For free, on top of it, which is nonsense.

ZEBRA STRIPED

 

OF-FENCE

LEGAL ALIENS IN ROME (PART TWO)

... CONTINUED

The EUR, a huge development plan for the 1942 World Expo, would have been the highlight of the Piacentini School, but WW2 stopped it. Yet it has been mostly finished during the Fifties, and IMHO travelers should be obliged to visit (and take pictures of) this marvelous three square miles contemporary version of the Roman Forum, with its Square Coliseum (Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana), the Congress Center (Palazzo dei Congressi), the State Archives (Archivio di Stato) and a wealth of museums and public office buildings. A brand new congress center by the Italian Massimiliano Fuksas is now being built in the same area. Romans already nicknamed it “The Cloud” because of its shape.

As far as the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties are concerned, it’s a decadence season. But in the Nineties a sort of shy Renaissance begun. Two works by the American Richard Meier, the controversial Ara Pacis Museum (Teca dell’Ara Pacis) and the Millennium Church (Chiesa di Tor Tre Teste), have marked the roman cityscape along with Renzo Piano’s Auditorium (Parco della Musica) and Zaha Hadid’s 21st Century Art Museum (MAXXI) which has been open to the public (behind schedule) a couple of weeks ago. In the next months another opening is scheduled: located in the buildings of a former beer factory, French Odile Decq’s new wing of the Macro Museum is a clever mix of contemporary and early XXth century architecture.
Enjoy.

ADDENDUM

In December 2010 the afore mentioned new wing of the Macro Museum, by Odile Decq, has been opened to the public (far behind schedule, as usual).

LEGAL ALIENS IN ROME (PART ONE)

Summer is coming soon and my hometown, Rome, will be crowded with travelers –and photographers- from all over the world. What follows is the updated version of an article I wrote for Bill Lockhart's Photo Travel Review some months ago.

There is a lot we can learn from modern architecture. As citizens: 20th century buildings effectively represent the current relationships between society, institutions, culture and technology. As eyesighted human beings: they force us to perceive their plastic value before their function, no matter it’s a museum, a parliament house, a theater, an airport, whatever. As photographers: the patterns produced by the dialogue between their shape and the dance of light and shadow are always tempting when we see them through our viewfinders.

Everybody believes he is familiar with Rome. As schoolboys, novel readers or film-goers we all have a general ready-made idea of its history and looks. Subsequently we all visit Rome with an a priori list of what we must see, which often coincides with the list of what we already know. This is why the monuments and the remains of the Roman Empire are always crammed with people. But there is more to enjoy.

During last century’s first twenty years Rome, as many important cities all over the world, experienced a giant leap into modernity and a deep renewal process. In the southern area of the Tiber river banks an electric power supply plant was built, along with port facilities, an iron bridge (called Industry Bridge, not by chance), gasometers, a modern slaughterhouse and many factories. Most of these structures are still there. The old power plant (called Centrale Montemartini) has become a museum, where roman and greek marble sculptures are displayed among the old huge engines and generators: a juxtaposition not to be missed (taking photographs in the museum is allowed). The sloughterhouse (Mattatoio) has been converted for contemporary art exhibitions and the former docks are now apartment blocks.

Later came the Rationalist Movement, with architect Marcello Piacentini and his pupils. They worked during Mussolini’s dictatorship, so their buildings have been dismissed as fascist for a long time. A rash judgment, in fact. Besides a number of Government buildings –some of outstanding beauty- we can still admire post offices (Via Marmorata and Ostia), railway stations (Stazione Termini South Wing) and bridges witnessing an era of further modernization (notwithstanding the regime), mostly based on the rapid growth of the transport and communication system. All of them share the same stylistic features and inspiration of the Futuristic art. In the badly maintained area of the Foro Italico is the outstanding Marble Stadium (Stadio dei Marmi) by Enrico Del Debbio, an athletics facility surrounded by 60 big statues depicting different sports.

To be continued...

BLACK&BLUE

You are all invited to my exhibition in Venice until October 3. Prints are still on sale at a special exhibition price. See more of the of the show here.

 

PRESS RELEASE:

GIANNI GALASSI

BLACK&BLUE 

ARCHITECTURAL PHOTO VISIONS 

 

A photographic exhibition curated by Laura Ginapri August 26 – October 3, 2010 

Venue: La Piscina - Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore - Venezia

(Vaporetto Line 2, stop at San Giorgio)

Open every day: 10 a.m - 6 p.m 

Free admission
BLACK&BLUE marks the third stage in the figurative path taken by photographer GIANNI GALASSI in 2007 with the exhibition Extralight, held in Rome at the Palazzo Venezia National Museum, and carried on in 2009, still in Rome, with the exhibition Square at the Luxardo gallery.
Galassi’s images are focused around the relationship between light and shadow on the surfaces of urban and industrial buildings. Which leads to a set of architectural visions geometrically combined within the frame, emphasizing a whole of elements which transcend the original function of the portrayed artifact, and giving rise to unintentional aesthetic values. The color palette is mostly confined to light grey, ochre/amber, blue and black.
The exhibition title is inspired by the wide black colour-fields created by the shadows – the true subject of the showcased photographs- and by the cut-outs of sky, in a highly saturated blue, marking the compositional voids. The square format sets a distance from the typical rectangular or panoramic frame of movies and TV. A symbol of geometrical purity, the square suggests a formal reading of the image, which is freed from any narrative intention.The exhibition, curated by Laura Ginapri, will take place in the recently renovated La Piscina space, on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. It features 68 colour photographs in the 180x180 cm (70x70 inch), 120x120 cm (47x47 inch) and 60x60 cm (23x23 inch) sizes, along with 3 site specific installations. All photographs are printed by the author on fine-art Epson paper, with Epson technology and pigment inks. A full catalog of the exhibition is available (see badge in right frame).
The event will be held concurrently with the 12^th Venice Biennale of Architecture, and will be open to the public from August 26 to October 3 2010, every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Gianni Galassi was born in Milan in 1954 and made his debut at 16 as a still-life photographer. In 1979 cinema, his second passion, lead him to work in the film industry in Rome. He is currently engaged in film and TV post-production, and has never stopped taking photographs. Galassi has exhibited in Rome at the Luxardo gallery in 2009, at the Photography Festival and at the Palazzo Venezia National Museum in 2007, and earlier in Milan, Viterbo and Athens.
The BLACK&BLUE project is realized with the participation of the Giorgio Cini Foundation onlus.

  

 

 

Contacts and press material:

Laura Ginapri:

lauraginapri@gmail.com

+39.3285477392

box@giannigalassi.com
www.cini.it
Download BLACK&BLUE - Press Release FRA
Download BLACK&BLUE - Press Release ITA

A LEGAL ALIEN IN TOKYO (BOUNDARIES 8)

In the eighth installation of the PhotoGraphia Boundaries series I would like to convey your attention to the work of RENATO D'AGOSTIN. The New York based, Italian born photographer redefines the basics of black and white expression, delivering a language of his own that deeply marks the beginning of this third century in the history of photography. His Tokyo Untitled portfolio is a visual treat. The above photograph, as usual, is mine. Enjoy.

BLANK

 

HOW TO PLAY WITH LIGHT AND SHADOWS (PART TWO)

THE PROCESS (Continued)

My locations can be deliberately selected, or found serendipitously. This means that I made a habit of noting down anything interesting I see, and that a camera is always –I mean always- with me. And that I get out alone. Following me during my photo wanderings would be a torture for anyone.
More than camera, the choice of vehicle is crucial. We are speaking of urban environment here. So I leave my car at home. In heavy traffic it’s a calamity, and parking is a hassle. Despite a couple of motorcycles sleeping in my garage, I prefer my bycicle. I actually think a bycicle is the best photographer’s companion. You don’t have to wear an helmet –at least in my country-, you can easily go against traffic or cross pedestrian areas, and you can stop wherever and whenever you want, in order to survey your location or get the best shooting point.
I don’t shoot much. Working on still subjects, it’s better to observe and think and observe again. And have only a few selected files to take back home. The viewfinder –or LCD screen- is a great tool to study your composition. Framing is is the key to picture’s geometry. “It is to the photograph as the cushion is to the billiard table,” John Szarkowski said. Remember, triggering your shutter is only the final part of the capturing process.
Then, with Photoshop, adjust your cropping, horizon and perspective. Then tweak levels in order to push medium-low light towards full clipped black and medium-high lights towards highlights, yet avoiding any highlight clipping. To add dynamics, use the Apply command.
Enjoy.

 

TIPS TO GET STARTED

You don’t need lowlight detail, so don’t bother with RAW. You better learn how to improve your jpg’s.
With still subjects in bright daylight, high ISO don’t make sense. Select the least value.
In your picture style menu, put the sharpness value to zero, contrast to medium and color saturation tho medium-high. Deactivate any HDR option.
Select aperture priority mode, with a medium aperture value (which always gives lens’ best performance). Activate the histogram and carefully expose to the right, so that you get the most dynamics with no clipped highlights.
Manage shadows as if they were solid objects.
And, above all, don’t shoot. Think.

 

MY EQUIPMENT

SHOOTING

I ditched my DSLRs for the Micro 4/3 Panasonic GF1.
My favorite lens is the 14-140 mm.
I also have a Canon G10 wich I really love and a Panasonic TZ65 whose lens is surprisingly good.

EDITING

I use a 2005 Windows XP computer with three internal hard disks and a calibrated 21” LaCie 321 monitor.

PRINTING

My exhibition prints come out of a 2004 Epson Stylus Pro 7600 on 24” wide roll paper.

HOW TO PLAY WITH LIGHT AND SHADOWS (PART ONE)

Last month the Indian magazine Better Photography published a four-page portfolio of my pictures along with a tutorial called Shades of Geometry I wrote on editors request. I'd like to share with you the unabridged version, which I will post in two parts. Enjoy.

A PRELIMINARY QUESTION
The camera –any camera- is a box full of opportunities. One can use it for “literal” photography (forensic, travel, family) or as a powerful tool of self expression. In such case, when you look at somebody else’s photographs, you can easily find out what his/her obsession is. Especially in front of a consistent body of work. So that observing those images you not only see the subjects portrayed by the photographer, but the photographer himself. His feelings, his thoughts, his vision.

The rule shoud apply to your own photography as well. Select your most significant photographs and try to look at them as if they were made by a stranger: “What is this guy’s obsession?”

 

MY PERSPECTIVE

Looking back at my work –both professional and personal- I found out that my true obsession was the geometrical relationship between light and shadow. No matter the subject. And only after having realized this, I learned that some subjects are more fit for the purpose. The sleek surfaces and volumes of the industrial buildings turned out to be the ideal canvas of my compositions in the first time. They hide an unintentional beauty which literally explodes when a straight and low-angled daylight hits them. With time I understood that civilian architecture holds the same potential. Provided that it’s temporarly free from any distracting human presence.

 

THE PROCESS

It’s all about light. So if it’s a dull day I better spend it at home, editing photographs. I get out early in the morning, as the sunlight must be low on the horizon. This will give a more frontal lighting of the bright surfaces, generating more extended –and contrasty- shadowed areas in the meantime. Late afternoon works as well, provided that it’s breezy and clear. In the countries I’m more familiar with (Italy and France), winter windy days also offer good chances to my kind of photography.

 

TO BE CONTINUED...