Artist's name: Nico Bastone
Sicilian photographer, born 1953.
"It all began in 1967, in the boarding
school in which I lived; when I was 14 I attended a course of
photography held by a photo amateur friar, Giuseppe. I'll never
forget the first feelings I felt in the darkroom when I saw my
first photo slowly appearing from the development, almost
magically. I couldn't have a camera, so ten of my schoolmates and
I used the same one, a Soviet camera, Smena8. I was 19 when I
bought my first reflex, the Yashica FR, an excellent manual
camera, which is still working; then I bought my first enlarger,
the UPA 5, a Soviet 8x automatic enlarger.
Now my equipment is more prestigious (Contax, Leica with original
lens) but, I think, when you're charmed by photography, you can
express yourself by the meaning of each kind of camera: it's
pleasant to look at it and to observe all those view-finder
frames, with your forefinger ready to release, so immortalizing
the scene.
I've always loved this art. Above all I love B&W photos; I've
always been charmed by portraits and I consider Henri
Cartier-Bresson as being my teacher, even if I don't share
full-format printings and the only use of 50 mm lens.
I'm charmed by landscapes. I like strong colours and the
sharpness of details. I think composition of images is very
important, if possible; I can obtain it only using my tripod and,
generally, in my darkroom, when printing my photos"
This extraordinary artist can be found on the below address: