Tonio Di Stefano: My Story Among the Mountains
My name is Tonio Di Stefano, and nature has always been my language, the place where everything finds its balance. Along this path, photography has become my voice, a way to tell the story of the world’s wonder and freeze the moment where light meets the mountain. As a nature photographer, I consider the camera my travel companion, a bridge between me and my surroundings.
It all began among the peaks and forests of the Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Park. It is in these wild lands that I realized that to truly understand a landscape, you must live it, breathe its rhythms, and accept its silence. I spent years observing the ancient beech forests and the discreet movements of the fauna, learning that every shot requires waiting and respect.
From this long immersion, “Il Ritratto del Tempo” was born; a photographic book I chose to self-publish to preserve its authenticity. It is an independent editorial project, curated in every detail and entirely dedicated to the Abruzzo National Park. It is not just a collection of images, but an act of testimony to a unique heritage of biodiversity. Those looking for a book on this territory will find within its pages not just landscapes, but the soul of a place that withstands time, fixed forever on paper.
After that project, I felt the need to move further, to explore new horizons and confront other majesties. Thus, my journey continued towards the Alps. Here, my research takes on a different dimension, free from editorial goals. It remains a pure visual exploration, aimed at the deep breath of the mountain.
It is an investigation into the resilience of high-altitude ecosystems, where rock, ice, and wildlife intertwine in a balance as majestic as it is vulnerable, telling the story of an environment in constant evolution.
The Aosta Valley was the first great gym of this new chapter, but today my horizon embraces the entire Alpine range.
From the Dolomites to the western massifs, mine has become an itinerant laboratory. I move from territory to territory, staying for entire seasons to grasp their deepest nuances, invisible changes, and the poetry of infinite spaces.
With Marzia, my life partner, this path has become a shared story. Together, we have chosen a life that follows natural cycles. It is not an escape, but a way to live within nature, letting ourselves be guided by its sovereign rhythms. The mountains are now our home, where daily life blends with photographic research.
Photography is not just an image, it is a way of being in the world. It teaches me to observe, to listen, to recognize the poetry hidden in small things, like the reflection of ice or the passing of an animal at twilight. It is a journey that never ends, between the mountains and within myself.
However, this path does not end on the screen. I believe that every shot finds its true completion only when it becomes paper, transforming into a physical presence. For this reason, I dedicate great care to Fine Art printing, seeking materials capable of restoring the same intensity and texture that my eyes encountered in nature.
Through this visual journey and the Il Ritratto del Tempo project, the gaze meets wild beauty. An opportunity to rediscover an authentic connection and transform it into active respect for the environments that still resist.