Marco Pandullo was born in Tropea, a little town at the seaside in the south of Italy. When he was 18 years old, he entered the University of Pisa and started his studies in Mathematics, but after spending some years over the books, Marco understood that his way was in another direction. He bought my first camera when he was 20 years old, and after a couple of years as an amateur photographer and fake student, Marco left the university experience and started a 1-year school course at the International School of Photography of Florence. So now he’s 24, and he’s been involved in the world of photography for a very short time. Marco told us that he would need to grow up and gain a lot of experience, so he decided that he needed a change, and in 10 days, he’d move to London for a mid-long period. Maybe something good is waiting for him (and we hope so), or maybe it will be just an experience. It was a pleasure for us to interview Marco Pandullo, and we are happy to share this interesting story with you.
AP: Marco, tell us about your first photos. What did they look like?
MP: Well, my first photos were absolutely obscene! I started taking pictures of everything: landscapes, macro, portraits, etc. But it was just like a game for me because at the same time, when I started taking photographs, I also discovered Photoshop. So, my knowledge of photography and digital retouching went in a parallel way. After I tried a lot of kinds of photography, I soon discovered that portraits and people very attracted me, and I started seriously working in this direction.
AP: Do you have any formal education in photography, or were you self-taught?
MP: As I said before, I studied at the International School of Photography of Florence, but as my course was one of the first in this school, the lessons were not very well organized. So I consider myself self-taught, because 90% of the things in this art I studied myself.
AP: What genre are your works?
MP: Good question. Sometimes, I call my genre “romantic fine art,” but maybe it doesn’t mean anything. Anyway, I work in the fields of fashion, fine art, and portrait photography. The great part of the work I can do with my camera and my style is pure fashion, but I try to dirty every work with a little bit of fine art.
AP: How would you describe your photography?
MP: I really don’t know how to describe my photography because I have my personal vision of my work, and I like to let other people talk about it. I can only say that for me, photography is a kind of self-therapy and a way of happiness. It is the way to express myself through colors and visions, to communicate without saying anything, but just let other people interpret what I think.
AP: What kind of equipment and techniques do you use to create your photos?
MP: I use my Canon 5D Mark II with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens. I use only natural light to do 99% of my work. Then, everything is passed through Photoshop, which helps me to express how I see a specific image in my mind. Nothing else.
AP: What is the most grandiose project you had to work on?
MP: Oh, nothing “grandiose” for the moment in my portfolio. I just like one of my last works, The Warfinger, because it is a very clear summary of my personal vision: there is the girl, the water, the cold tones, the fragility, and the loneliness. If I ever could do work like that for all my life and also get paid for it, I think I could die happy.
AP: Would you consider yourself as an expert in photography?
MP: I will never consider myself as an expert in photography as in nothing else. But I like what I do, and I do this work with all my passion, so you can expect the best from me in every work I perform.
AP: What is the formula for success in your activity?
MP: The formula for success does not exist for me. I’ve read a lot of biographies about great artists, photographers, directors, etc., and every story is different. Something that cannot be missed is surely a pure passion and strength to go ahead anyway, doing the best that you can and adapting yourself to the situations. The most important thing for me in my art is the quality of the work. If the quality is high, everything will come easily to you. Just care about doing GOOD work, watching what happens around you, watching what other people do. By living in this world and doing the best. This is a success. It is not a formula, but something that surely will help you in every kind of career.
AP: Is there someone who supports you in your creativity?
MP: I work alone every time. This is my character. But my parents and my girlfriend support (and stand) me in every choice I make, so I can only say a big Thank Them!
AP: Would you like to wish something to your readers and AstrumPeople?
MP: I would say Thank You to AtrumPeople for this interview and thanks to everyone who will read it. I would love to close this interview with a quote from my mentor and guide for every aspect of my life, Bruce Lee:
“Empty your mind; be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, and it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
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