How did you hear about Vignamaggio?
Via a couple who got married there in September 2015. A wonderful place. The care and attention to detail is enchanting.
- What do you like about your work and are there ever any awkward moments?
My job allows me to travel a lot, something I love to do, and as I enter into a different social environment, it is as if I am still studying Cultural Anthropology. There isn’t much that embarrasses me, especially in my work.
- Unforgettable moments you would have preferred to forget?
I remember when a bride took a bad fall during her first dance. First there was silence and then we all burst out laughing.
- Touching scenes you have never forgotten?
During the bridal march, we were all waiting for the bride to enter the church, her shadow was immobile in front of the doorway, the orchestra was playing but she was just standing there, as if she couldn’t take that next step. Then I saw her man look at her with an intensity that I’ll never forget. He let go of his mother’s arm and joined his bride. They walked down that red carpet together. It was like a scene from a film. I think this is one of the most beautiful memories of my career. A moment of complete empathy and pure love. A metaphor for the passage of life, as if the son understood that this was the moment to detach himself from his mother, as if from an umbilical cord.
- The camera off or uncharged as they are about to cut the cake? Jokes aside… do you have any funny anecdotes to share.
Another amusing moment for me, slightly less so for the bride, was when the dog charged with carrying the rings, decided to eat the cushion. Fortunately, the best man noticed what was happening and quickly grabbed the cushion from the lovely English bulldog.
- Is there a city, a region, a place you imagine you would ever tire of photographing? Where would it be and why?
I love Tuscany, its colours and landscapes. I have covered many weddings there but each time I return, it is always like it’s the first time.
- Some photographers prefer some subjects to others: animals, people, landscapes, cakes or ornamental features. Tell us about your work and what subjects you instinctively tend to gravitate towards.
While I work I realise that I am always drawn to the old people. I could sit for hours and hours listening to them speak, I love photographing their hands, they exude an earthiness, a life lived. I don’t think any object or landscape could hold my attention as much as they do. At one wedding, the bride’s grandfather had me photograph all the trees bordering his home, at the end of the day he told me he was blind, I hadn’t realised and I was so surprised, because he knew those leaves and those branches better than anyone else. It was as if he saw what he describing, but it was all in his mind. He was simply remembering the last time he had seen them.
- Could you choose 5 photographs to post on our blog which most represent you. Tell us briefly why you specifically chose these and what they portray.
The first is a photograph I took in Istanbul.
The second photograph I took in Capri and it symbolises maternity. The affection with which a daughter always seeks contact with her mother.
The third photograph was taken in Tuscany and shows one of the brides I most enjoyed photographing, because of her oriental features. I love Kim Kim Duk and Wong Kar–Wai films, and so for me it was very inspiring to photograph her.
The fourth photograph is of a woman in the middle of a road with her head lowered. She was looking down in what seemed like a moment of self-reflection, far away from all the commotion of the wedding. The sunset made me think very much of Arizona, even if the photograph shot in Calabria.
The fifth photograph is of a couple kissing, seemingly completely oblivious of the rain. Sometimes the rain can ruin wedding plans, especially if it is an outdoor wedding, but the rain didn’t spoil anything for this couple. Their connection was stronger than any atmospheric force.
Website/blog or contact details of Ilenia