How did your passion develop?

A lot of my passion for black and white photography and the history started in Florence when I was a child, growing up in an old aristocratic family environment. Surrounded by renaissance paintings and old family pictures in a 600 years old house in the heart of the city, I have developed a deep nostalgia, its melancholic values, its taste for handwork quality - all things that today are kind of forgotten in a large part of our society.

What interests you about your field?

Photography allows me to express myself on many different levels. It lets me illustrate my inner feelings but also my ideas and fantasies. In my projects that mostly lie between reality and imagination, I visit the ideal world I fantasised about when I was a child. I remember the vision clearly.

Documenting rural life has become my life project. I started the documentary around 13 years ago on a small Danish island called Ærø. It was a collaboration with a local museum. Since then I have published 13 books with regional and National museums in Estonia, Finland, Norway and Denmark.

What creates a meaningful life?

I would say two things. Family and people you love on one side. On the other side your personal growth. In my case, they go parallel but do not have to interfere with each other. I want to create images that will live on and transcend time. This motivates me and gives meaning to my work.

How to pursue an inner calling?

Self-expression is essential in life. I see finding myself as life’s target and I cannot achieve that without being able to express my feelings, ideas, and thoughts.
So for me, photography is the tool I use to grow and find myself.

As a “Fiorentino” mastery is when you have achieved a level of perfection.