IL RITRATTO DEL TEMPO
Experience the enchantment of Abruzzo National Park
IL RITRATTO DEL TEMPO
Photographic book
Into the pages of the book you can hear the sound of the silence, the smell brought by the wind, the voices of the teeming life among the beech wood and observe closely the changing colors of the trees and their vegetative soul, perfect copies of the greatness of the world, of life that perpetuates itself…
Il Ritratto del Tempo is a collection of my best pictures over a four year period, while on immersion experiences into the wilderness of the Abruzzo’s National Park. This photographic work aims at conveying all the strength and poetry of this place, as well as my feelings and emotions in this enchanting area.
The result of this project is a unique and original product, where you can perfectly see my love for Nature and everything that binds to it.
I became a photographer with the desire to share my feelings when alone in the wood with its enchanting colors, or facing the wild force of the blizzards. These are experiences that led me way beyond anything I could ever have imagined.
I let Mother Nature wrapped me, in order to dream and breathe better, far away from established rules and ordinary days. I craved for freedom, for deep connections and meaning.
I felt these experiences deep down within myself. I left behind all the noises, the things and knowledge learned, to capture an echo of the world, of our roots.
So I began in 2013 and repeated the experience every year, in autumn and winter seasons, I gave birth to my curiosity, creating an even closer connection with Nature
This was a singular and intense experience that I now would like to share with you.
The pictures
The book project translates the paths of time through images and stories, in the inscrutable beauty of the National Park of Abruzzo. Life takes a sense that is found in the Earth breathing and the creatures that live on it… the blowing Soul of the World shattered in thousand faces of vitalistic elements carries the guest who walks among the beech woods, in the secret places of the emotions.
Every being tells a story, giving voice to moments stopped by the lens of the camera. Everything happens following the rhythms of the sovereign Nature that determines the need for the passing of the seasons, the shades, the sounds and smells of time. A collection of images that impetuously catches the user, giving him a feeling of pleasantness and balance with the infinity… The man is only a small ring of a complex mechanism that follows the seasonal rhythms, in an eternal return of the identical.
I have chosen 95 pictures showing the mysterious atmosphere of the mountains during the twilight hours, the habitual deeds of the wild animals, the force of snow, the intense colors of the autumn forests, wild and harmonious shapes… the enchantment and the continued metamorphosis of the coldest seasons of the year.
Maybe behind the tangle of emotions and behind the roundabout of the branches, there is the sequel of the story…
The story
The photographs will be accompanied by texts where are written my innermost thoughts, together with my deepest doubts and feelings of these experiences. I will tell you a story of changing connections to Space, Time and the Elements: an open gate leading to a new world where landscapes and situations sometimes veer between dream and reality.
Diving into the wild beech forests. Innermost moments with natural elements. Conversations with mountains and its creatures, kings of a place so far from time. A world where Space and Time dilate, allowing thinking, movements and dreams of endless freedom. Experiencing the loneliness and the loudly silence of the hard winter, observing changing landscapes and feeding me with their colors. The power of the elements at the heart of the blizzards. Bonding with Nature to go back to origins.
The texts are poetic, metaphorical and dreamlike. With my team, I wrote down these texts to express the strongest, deepest feelings and they will be transmitted to you exactly as I experienced them.
The book is in italian and it will be translated into English so that it can travel to English-speaking countries.
book Characteristics
Format: 30x30cm hard cover with book jacket
160 pages
95 color images
Paper: Gardamatt Art FSC 170 gr
Language: Multilingual Italian and English
Self-publishing, June 2017
Images: © Tonio Di Stefano
Preface by: © Vincenzo Mazza
Weight: 1700gr
ISBN: 9791220020787
Price: 59,00€
BETWEEN THE CLOUDS A WEAK LIGHT CLARIFIES THE LANDSCAPE. AN ENCHANTED KINGDOM PAINTED WITH THE EARTH TONES, MUFFLED VOICES OF THE POURING RAIN, GIVING OFF A SMELL THAT REMINDS AN EXPECTED STORM WHICH CLEANS EVERY LIFE FORM. IT’S NICE TO COME BACK IN TIME AND MERGE WITH MEMORIES…
