It is never easy to come up with new photography ideas to work on, maybe that’s a consequence of being a self-taught photographer, but every time I really do struggle. Creating something new out of scratches is never easy, being it writing a business plan or sewing a dress. So I did what I always do when the blank canvas keeps on staying blank for too long, i.e. relying on the masters as a starting point and then feeling confident enough with ideas until I know that they can breath alone and stand on their own feet.
Because my primary objective was shooting some street photography during my summer holidays on the amazing beaches of my hometown Barletta (here, here and here you can see some other photo essays I shot about my city), it was a no brainer for me to take from the shelves of my home library some Martin Parr books, with the superb “The Last Resort” to be my choice in particular.
Call me crazy, but I always feel emotional whenever I see Martin Parr’s photos, his eccentricity, his colours, his incredible ability to build a story in the space of a frame and most of all having just a nanosecond (maybe less) to recognise that something interesting is gonna happen just there and just in that precise moment AND with such an abundance of people to appear in the right place… well, that is just something that blows my mind with incredible envy, humbleness and appreciation each and every time I happen to see a photo from him. But I’m digressing now.
Summer is always cited as another word for freedom, apparently because wearing less and lighter clothes lead to be carefree somehow. I am personally intrigued by how, when the weather gets hot and ready for the beach, people seem to step out of their comfort zone little by little and going to the beach allows them to leave in the office their formal selves. So, gestural expressiveness becomes an intriguing element for me to chase: arms-stretching, fingers-curling, shy attempts of embracing, magazine/book-grabbing, the act of watching around or walking… all these actions can be like a book full of beach-related stories to fantasise on.
Photography | Words: Rosamaria Filograsso
