GFX stories with Sara Lando
2017.04.20
Written by...
Sara Lando
I live and work in Bassano del Grappa, and I divide my time between commercial portraits, fine art photography and teaching.
A large part of my personal work explores Identity, the boundaries between what is real and what is imagined, and the way in which memory deteriorates and reshapes itself with the passage of time.
I am interested in moments when the traditional relationship between what we are and the world around us is unraveled and replaced by a new definition of what we are or could be.
My work consists in the use of mixed techniques and includes photography, illustration, collage and three-dimensional and material elements. The techniques I use are driven by a playful curiosity and direct interaction with photography as an object rather than digital techniques.
I am fascinated by the fragmentation and degradation of the image and the concept of creation as a consequence of an object’s physical destruction. As a member of the Board of the Italian Association of Professional Photographers Tau Visual I am interested in promoting accessibility and diversity in the field of photography, with special attention to informed consent and the responsibility that the photographer holds towards their subjects.
Every shot is a collaboration, to me: firstly between my subject and I, but also between myself and those who allow me to do my job to the best of my ability: assistants, customers, suppliers. As a photographer I've never been interested in technical minutiae, but I have a very precise idea of what I want from my work tools: they have to be reliable, easy to use, lightweight.
The difference is made by the people who work around those tools, who listen to my needs and constantly work to give me the best possible product and to facilitate my work.
I started to shoot with Fujifilm to have a small lightweight camera to carry around and then I realised that it would be possible to translate the same ease of use and quality of color rendering into my work. Having access to a medium-format camera with the same flexibility of DSLR and that did not require to be "learned" all over again and to be able to count on the support and professionalism of Fujifilm Italy’s team was what definitely convinced me to jump ship and abandon the old system. It takes many people to be able to photograph alone.
