Nicholas Scarpinato Photography: Dream-Like Landscapes That Transcend Reality

Nicholas Scarpinato

Nicholas Scarpinato is 18 years old and he lives in the United States, Richmond (VA). Nicholas has just finished his first year at VCU and he is currently studying Film. He started taking photographs a year and a half ago and he has not stopped yet! It was a real pleasure for us to take an interview with Nicholas Scarpinato and we wish you a pleasant reading and viewing of Nicholas Scarpinato photography.

AP: Hi Nicholas, thank you for finding the time to give us an interview. It’s a great honor for us. We hope you will enjoy interview questions we’ve prepared for you today. Could you please tell me what got you started?

Nicholas: I was first introduced into photography a year and a half ago. I was friends with many photographers at my high school, so naturally I started taking photos. I found the website Flickr and my photography completely changed. I started pushing myself creatively as I got more followers. From Flickr, I would say that Brooke Shaden is my biggest influence. After seeing her photography I realized I could create worlds I have always dreamt of and translate them into a photographic medium.

Instruments Of Memory

AP: So your environment has led you to start taking pictures. This is amazing! Do you have any formal education in photography or were you self-taught?

Nicholas: I am a self-taught photographer. I would say I gained the most knowledge from the Internet. Reading what other people did and how they went about editing dramatically affected my work.

AP: What genre are your photos?

Nicholas: I think it is important for an artist to develop a style or genre to work in. I have found that I gravitated to surreal photography. It seems, with this genre, I can create and manipulate my own reality and push the boundaries of what I think surreal means to me.

AP: It’s great that you have developed your own style. Your pictures are truly amazing. How would you describe your works?

Nicholas: I would say that I am a surreal photographer. I prefer creating dream-like landscapes that transcend reality and cause the viewer to feel like they are in a dream. I like using soft colors and adding textures to my photos to give it a painterly feel.

AP: What kind of equipment and techniques do you use to take your pictures?

Nicholas: I use a Canon Rebel Xti but soon upgrading to a Canon Mark II. I use a 50mm 1.4 lens and use Adobe Photoshop to manipulate my images. I shoot all of my photographs in pieces, almost like a photo collage. I piece each image together creating the final product. Overall I would say that most of my photographs are composites of 30 photos or more.

AP: Which artists do you use for references?

Nicholas: I would say it’s not just one artist but many. I would also say that I’m inspired by everything around me. A feeling I get about a place, a kind of light that is illuminating my shot, a smell, a city, etc.

AP: Do you have any dream project? What is it?

Nicholas: I would love to collaborate with the fashion photographer Tim Walker. I’m not sure what we would do, however I would love to incorporate a sailboat or two.

The Magic Cups

AP: We wish your dream to definitely come true! Nicholas, could you please share your success recipe?

Nicholas: Utilizing the Internet as much as I possibly can. I feel like it is the best form of media to communicate. I can reach a larger audience than I could in real life and talk to people all over the world. I try to put myself on every form of social media. I want to show off my work to a worldwide audience.

AP: Is there someone who supports you in your creativity?

Nicholas: I would say my parents are my biggest supporters. They put up with my eccentric ideas and let me make a mess of everything to get the perfect shot!

AP: Tell us three lessons you believe are really important for every photographer?

Nicholas: Number one, develop a unique personal style. Number two, communicate with as many people as you can, about your work. Number three, love what you do and never give up.

Rain Man

Nicholas, thank you very much for such interesting story about photography. We are sure your readers will find it very useful. We wish you brilliant success, many creative ideas and continued inspiration in all your endeavors!

As you see one of the most important things is to develop your own style of photography. And a great example of it is Nicholas Scarpinato. To learn more about Nicholas Scarpinato photography, feel free to visit his Flickк page and feel free to leave comments in the comments box.