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Table of Contents

Interview with Cristina Garlesteanu

Over the Road

Teleport

Diary of a Pandemic

Making Street Portraits

Street Shooters of March 2021

Diary of a Pandemic

Marco Campi

Lombardy is a densely populated area in North Italy with about 10 million inhabitants. On February 16, 2020, a 38 year old Italian man went to the hospital of Codogno, a small town not far from Milano, reporting respiratory problems: this was the first case of COVID-19 registered in Italy.

On March 8, Lombardy was put under lockdown, which did not prevent a first, devastating wave of cases. In those months, my city, Milano, was filled with a deep sense of community, quarantined people were chanting together “don’t give up” from their balconies to lift their spirits as the pandemic was growing. COVID-19 cases started to decline in May 2020. The government allowed for freedom of movement and launched botched plans to rescue the Italian economy. Meanwhile, throughout all summer and later in autumn, the authorities completely missed their opportunity to convey appropriate messages to raise awareness and promote responsible behaviors. As a result, at the end of September 2020 the virus regained strength.

This was the start of the second wave. For many an unavoidable event, perhaps ignoring that beyond the so-called “western democracies,” the evolution of the spread had followed a totally different path. As of December 20, 2020, at the time of my writing this, the death toll of Lombardy has reached 24,622 fatalities.

On October 25, as the pandemic was creeping back, I gathered my camera and went to the Monumentale Cemetery of Milan. I had been in that place several times, I knew it was a site filled with beauty and I wanted to experience that beauty amidst this special time. My experience on that very day was extraordinary, I was literally blown away by the poignant sense of humanity that people at the cemetery had been able to convey to me.

Ever since then, I’ve returned any time I could, to live new experiences and enjoy fortuitous encounters. This gallery contains some of the photographs I’ve taken in those intense moments of real life.

  • “Guided Tour” – October 25, 2020 – Milan Monumentale Cemetery is a place of art that, in normal times, hosts daily tours of its beautiful buildings and sculptures. On October 25 in a Milan that is fallen back in the grip of the virus, a group of tourists is still able to follow a guided tour.
  • “Misty Morning” – October 31, 2020 – During the “second wave”, the Monumentale cemetery has always remained open, even though under restrictive access rules. Early in the morning, two elderly pay a visit to the tomb of a relative.
  • “The Two Girls” – October 31, 2020 – “I perceived a creeping sense of fear and uncertainty in their gestures”, says Marco Campi, “unusual in girls of their age”.
  • “Let Me Make You Pretty” – November 02, 2020 – On November 2, the tombstones dedicated to the new meritorious inscribed in the Famedio are revealed during a solemn ceremony. Behind the scenes, two lady officers in full uniform make themselves ready for the big moment.
  • “Temperature Check” – November 02, 2020 – Officers check the temperature of invited people at the entrance of the Famedio, where the “meritorious ceremony” is about to start.
  • “Much Room for Nothing” – November 07, 2020- As new coronavirus cases started soaring in late October, a new emergency decree was issued on November 3 by prime minister Giuseppe Conte putting Lombardy under “red zone” lockdown. “The square in front of the Monumentale Cemetery was completely deserted that morning”, says Marco Campi, “while the ghostly space had become the new abode of a homeless old lady”.
  • “Nemesis” – November 14, 2020 – “The horror of the Medusa seemed to embody a sense of predestination” explains Marco Campi “which offered no consolation”.
  • “Avenue of Sunset” – November 21, 2020 – No one is left but an old lady and a facial mask.
  • “Smoking Trees” – December 13, 2020 – It’s early morning in a sunny day of December. The trees smoke, late souls floating in the air.

Marco Campi

My name is Marco Campi, I’m a street and documentary photographer. Fascinated by the diversity of mankind, I hit the street to portray the spare, and yet emotionally rich, daily gestures and activities of people. At times I also embark in more articulated documentary projects. No matter which endeavors I’m pursuing, the camera is my means to better understand the world animated by a constant aspiration to freeze intense moments charged with emotion and humanity. Short bibliographic notes Marco C. Campi is an Italian academic and a photographer. His scientific studies evolve around a mathematical approach to cognitive sciences in an attempt to tie the concepts of observation, knowledge and uncertainty. In this field, he has pioneered the so-called “scenario approach”, has authored more than 80 articles in international journals and has delivered plenary addresses at the most prestigious conferences. He regularly lectures at the university of Brescia in Italy, besides delivering courses in Australia , France, Spain, Turkey and USA. His photographic bent developed early on in his life when he began exploring the environment with his Canon AE1. His approach to photography signs a continuity with his scientific studies where single frames are snapshots of humanity and a camera becomes a means of exploration to unveil connections and diversities in the society.

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Articles
March 2021

Interview with Cristina Garlesteanu

A talented street photographer talks about the joys and challenges of the craft.

Over the Road

Michael Ruggiero captures portraits of American long-haul truckers and the spirit of the working class.

Teleport

When street photography feels creatively exhausted - teleport yourself with Cristóbal Carretero Cassinello.

Diary of a Pandemic

As the pandemic crept back in Italy, Marco Campi found beauty in an unusual place.

Making Street Portraits

Learn the basics of shooting solid street portraits with Bob Patterson.

Street Shooters of March 2021

Top contributions from members of our community.

Street Photography Magazine is the journal of street and documentary photography

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