Where the land ends and the sea begins – Porto –

DOVE LA TERRA FINISCE E IL MARE INIZIA [Portogallo 2014] –
editoriale creativo su Solis Magazine (New York) 

CREDITS
Model: Oscar Putrino
Outfits: Frida Morgan Vintage Store
Jewels: Fancyland by Francesca Romana De Rossi
Photographer: Max Moor

3 Outfits
Camicia e pantalone Rocco Barocco in tessuto jeans e lurex.
Spencer vintage nero drappeggiato Ungaro, pantaloni in pelle e camicia bianca con collo diplomatico.
Blusa bianca con cerniera a lampo e calzamaglia bianca vintage in lino grezzo.

Nell’angolo più occidentale dell’Europa, il Portogallo è un Paese che affascina per il carattere genuino della gente, per i paesaggi surreali, la luce delle nuvole oceaniche e per i colori vivaci stemperati dal tempo. Non esiste una nazione così esuberante e malinconica allo stesso tempo; ti affacci sull’Atlantico e ti sembra di sentire i sospiri delle donne in attesa del ritorno di marinai, esploratori e pescatori, intuendo il significato della famosa saudade portoghese. Il viaggio diventa prova di conoscenza, nel senso più ampio del termine. Esso è lo stimolo naturale alla ricerca del nuovo, l’istintiva attrazione o repulsione per ciò che è estraneo, la misura della distanza che ci separa dalle realtà sconosciute.

PORTO
Il secondo viaggio-shooting prosegue fino alla città di Porto che  nasce vicino al fiume Douro e si espande su un colle formato da salite e discese da far venire i capogiri solo a vederle. Lo stile è parsimoniato da sanpietrini che donano agli occhi un effetto mediovale. Lo shooting inizia nel noto quartiere di Ribeira, costituito da strade medievali e vicoli caratteristici. È un fatiscente ma affascinante luogo, che termina in una piazza sul lungofiume (“Praça da Ribeira”) con fotogeniche  tradizionali barche che galleggiano  a ridosso di colorate case antiche. Altri scatti vengono realizzati al tramonto sulla Praia dos Ingleses, alla foce del fiume. Di tetra ma straordinaria bellezza l”ospedale psichiatrico abbandonato di Valongo, nei pressi della città, luogo di varie leggende su presenze sinistre e spettrali in cui si conclude l’affascinante viaggio.

WHERE THE LAND ENDS AND THE SEA BEGINS [Portugal 2014] –
Creative editorial on Solis Magazine (New York) 

CREDITS
Model: Oscar Putrino
Outfits: Frida Morgan Vintage Store
Jewels: Fancyland by Francesca Romana De Rossi
Photographer: Max Moor

3 Outfits:
Shirt and pants Rocco Barocco in denim and lurex.
Vintage black draped  spencer Valentino, leather pants and white shirt with diplomatic collar.
Vintage white smock with zipper and white tights Americanino.

The idea of the two editorials was inspired by a trip to Portugal carried out by me, the model actor Oscar Putrino,  for theatrical and photographic works. Hence the project begins through the collaboration of mine with the great portuguese photographer Alexandre Andrade and with the famous italian photographer Max Moor. The concept and the mood of the two shootings blend with the journey. Western most corner of Europe, Portugal is a country that fascinates for the genuine character of the people, for the surreal landscapes, for the  light of oceanic clouds and the bright colors, diluted by time. There is no nation so exuberant and melancholy at the same time overlooking the Atlantic and you seem to hear the sighs of women awaiting the return of sailors, explorers and fishermen, realizing the significance of the famous Portuguese saudade. The trip will become a test of knowledge, in the broadest sense of the term. It is the natural urge to search for the new, the instinctive attraction or repulsion for what is foreign, the measure of the distance that separates us from the unknown reality. A look at the ocean until evening, thinking about a past of unruly sailors, you can attack the melancholy …
The first editorial is titled “Lisbon”. The second one is titled “Puerto”. You can consider them separately or together as two stages of the same photographic journey.

PUERTO
The second shooting-journey continues to Puerto, portuguese city that  was born near the river Douro and expands on a hill formed by ups and downs making come  the dizziness only to see them … ..the style is  sober with  cobblestones that give the eyes a medieval effect.

The shooting begins in the famous Ribeira, an old picturesque  district  made up of medieval streets and alleys. It’s a run-down but charming place, ending in a square on the riverside (“Praça da Ribeira”) with  photogenic traditional boats that float near the colorful old houses. The other shoots are at sunset on the Praia dos Ingleses, at the mouth of the river.

The magical shooting-journey ends in the gloomy  but extraordinarily beautiful abandoned mental hospital of Vallongo, near the city, a place of legends of hauntings and ghosts.The atmosphere is really disturbing in this place sometimes macabre but certainly rare and amazing because it arouses in a mixture of terror and curiosity.
Photography tries to capture the colors and colorful sensations that this part of the world suspended between land and sea, between urban and natural landscape, gives you.