Thank you for talking with me today. Tell me, where are you from and how did you get into photography?
My name is Riccardo and I’m From Italy. I live in Padua. Photography has been in my life since I was a child. I was lucky to travel a lot with my parents and I always had a camera with me, trying to imitate my father, the one who instilled in me the passion for photography.
What drew you to street photography specifically?
After many years spent photographing no-people scenes, thanks to my wife, I decided to try to include people in the frame, fighting the fear of being too intrusive. I always loved the work of street photographers and photojournalists, so I decided to give it a chance and boom, I fell in love with it!!
I love your feed because I felt like I kept going from one mini project to another. I was like, “Wow. This snow series is cool. Oh hey look, a random discarded objects series. Oh nice, a mirror series. Now silhouettes? Now umbrellas? What?!” Do you set out each day with a project in mind? Or how did these projects come about?
Series or mini projects as you said are born casually for the most part. Due to my work, I spend a lot of time traveling from Padua to Venice, so when I am on the train or onboard a Vaporetto, I unlock my iPhone and take a look at my photo gallery. Sometimes a group of photos catch my attention and so I decide to start to collect some other shots that can complete a particular collection.
Do you think working on specific projects can help photographers grow and improve?
I think it’s an interesting way to show yourself and others your personal view of something, your intimate look at the surrounding world.
What have been the biggest challenges for you in street photography and how have you overcome them?
The biggest challenge for me it was definitely to fight my shyness, finding a balance between respect of others and the goal of my photography. I think that in the past few years, standing in the street with my camera helped me to feel more confident about me in the crowd, as well as in my regular life…the trick is to look at the world as if I were constantly searching for a shot!
Where are your favorite places to shoot and why?
I like to shoot the street all around the world. For me it’s now a sort of self-therapy. I walk, observe, shoot and feel happy.
What is your most memorable image or experience in street photography?
I remember with great pleasure my first street photography lesson in the field with the great photographer Michele Berlingeri. I spent a day in Venice with a small group of other photographers, it was so amazing and exciting, even now I can still feel the feelings of that great experience.
What has photography taught you?
Photography, especially street photography, taught me that you can find your moment of happiness and satisfaction everywhere and anywhere you want.
Editor’s Note: To learn more about Riccardo and see more of his work, be sure to visit his Flickr account. Riccardo was selected from our Flickr group (Street Photography Magazine), where we regularly choose photographers’ work to be published in our magazine.