We asked our authors and our network to answer three questions on how they are coping with this challenging moment in history. Here is an interview with photographer and DooG Reporter, GAETANO FORNELLI.
Is there any beauty in the world, even banal, that you have rediscovered in this period?
During this period, I rediscovered time. The value of time is not trivial; it is one of the factors that make life and photography essential to us and others. The rediscovery of time has been the realisation that in our daily lives, we have wasted time: in travelling, in unnecessary words, in compulsory frequentation that does not enrich us. To rediscover time is to be able to listen, look around, read, and be open to new encounters or rediscover encounters that we had underestimated and that we will be able to take better care of at the end of this emergency.
How do you think photography has changed or will change?
Reportage and street photography have changed, conditioned by tastes and the speed and quantity of images we can share with today’s tools. We perhaps have a more superficial audience than a few years ago, less used to thinking about the image when taking a picture and looking at it. We also find less space in the media for reportage photography. However, quality photo remains a powerful means of communication. Capa’s motto, ‘If your pictures aren’t good, you weren’t close enough‘, is a rule of life of mine. I find it challenging to photograph at a time when people keep their distance. This is a challenging time for a street photographer who thrives on social interaction. I confess that I cannot take pictures now. We will overcome this moment. At the end of this emergency, I expect a new ‘spring‘ of social relations. I hope that the forced distance and the rediscovery of time will motivate us to live better in the future and may offer us opportunities for new photographic narratives.
A picture, a book and a song that represent this period for you.
I exorcise the distances social by choosing a photo of mine, in which distances are not respected. I choose a travel book, Patagonia Express by Luis Sepùlveda. This, too, is a form of exorcism. And the song I often listen to these days is Roundabout by Yes.
