did you know that owls can turn their heads up to 270 degrees? 

Orazio, the wise owl, flew through the forest every night, immersing himself in the darkness and savoring the tranquility of nature. But that night, something different happened.

As Orazio soared among the trees, he heard an unusual noise coming from a clearing. Curious to discover what was happening, he approached silently and discovered a man with a strange camera. It was Nick, a photographer, intent on capturing the splendors of the night with his large-format film camera.

Orazio was amazed by Nick’s camera. It was an incredible object, and he had never seen anything like it before. The large-format camera exuded an air of antiquity and mystery, and Orazio was fascinated by its intricate mechanisms.

Noticing Orazio’s presence, Nick approached slowly, respecting the owl and its space. He had heard about Orazio’s legendary wisdom and dreamt of capturing his magnificence on film.

Intrigued by Nick’s passion and curiosity, Orazio perched on a nearby branch and observed him closely. The moonlight illuminated his feathers, creating a mystical atmosphere around him.

Nick began taking photographs of Orazio with his 4×5 Air Force camera. With care and dedication, he sought to capture the soul and charm that Orazio emanated. Each shot required time and precision, but Nick was determined to obtain an extraordinary image.

Orazio felt at ease with Nick, as if the two were destined to meet on that magical night. He opened up to the photographer, allowing him to capture his unique essence. Together, Orazio and Nick created a harmony between nature and art, giving life to images that told silent yet powerful stories.

The photographs that Nick took of Orazio were extraordinary. They captured every detail of his feathers, his penetrating eyes, and his majestic appearance. Each shot seemed to tell a story, a tale of wisdom and charm that only Orazio could express.

From that night on, Orazio and Nick continued to meet regularly. Their photography sessions became a ritual, a moment in which the owl and the photographer explored the world of the night together, capturing the essence of each moment.

Well… the story didn’t actually happen exactly like that, but there is some truth in this tale, and if you’re curious to find out what it is, you can see it by clicking on the image on top of this post.

The camera you’ll find there is real, and you can find it here:

If you don’t want to miss all the news this is the right link: https://www.stenopeika.com/i-want-to-be-updated/

Orazio, il gufo saggio, volava attraverso la foresta come ogni notte, immergendosi nell’oscurità e assaporando la quiete della natura. Ma quella notte, qualcosa di diverso accadde.

Mentre Orazio si librava tra gli alberi, sentì un rumore insolito provenire da una radura. Curioso di scoprire cosa stesse succedendo, si avvicinò silenziosamente e scoprì un uomo con una strana macchina fotografica. Era Nick, un fotografo, intento a catturare gli splendori della notte con la sua fotocamera di grande formato a pellicola.

Orazio rimase stupefatto di fronte alla macchina fotografica di Nick. Era un oggetto incredibile e mai prima d’ora aveva visto qualcosa del genere. La fotocamera di grande formato emanava un’aria di antichità e mistero, e Orazio era affascinato dai suoi meccanismi intricati.

Nick, notando la presenza di Orazio, si avvicinò lentamente, rispettando il gufo e il suo spazio. Aveva sentito parlare delle leggendarie saggezze di Orazio e sognava di catturare la sua magnificenza su pellicola (un pazzo in poche parole).

Orazio, intrigato dalla passione e dalla curiosità di Nick, si posò su un ramo vicino e lo osservò attentamente. La luce della luna illuminava il suo piumaggio, creando un’atmosfera mistica intorno a lui.

Nick iniziò a scattare fotografie di Orazio con la sua Air Force 4×5. Con attenzione e dedizione, cercava di catturare l’anima e il fascino che Orazio emanava. Ogni scatto richiedeva tempo e precisione, ma Nick era determinato a ottenere un’immagine straordinaria.

Orazio si sentiva a proprio agio con Nick, come se i due fossero destinati a incontrarsi in quella notte magica. Si aprì al fotografo, permettendogli di catturare la sua essenza unica. Insieme, Orazio e Nick crearono un’armonia tra la natura e l’arte, dando vita a immagini che raccontavano storie silenziose ma potenti.

Le fotografie che Nick scattò di Orazio erano straordinarie. Catturavano ogni dettaglio delle sue piume, i suoi occhi penetranti e il suo aspetto maestoso. Era come se ogni scatto raccontasse una storia, una storia di saggezza e fascino che solo Orazio poteva esprimere.

Da quella notte, Orazio e Nick continuarono a incontrarsi regolarmente. Le loro sessioni fotografiche diventarono un rituale, un momento in cui il gufo e il fotografo esploravano insieme il mondo della notte, catturando l’essenza di ogni istante.

Beh… in realtà non è andata esattamente così però qualcosa di vero in questa storia c’è, e se siete curiosi di sapere cosa potete vederlo cliccando sull’immagine in cima a questo articolo.

E’ vera pure la fotocamera che trovate invece qua:

Se non volete rimanere perdervi tutte le novità questo è il link giusto: https://www.stenopeika.com/i-want-to-be-updated/

Waiting Lucca Fotolux festival

Ciao ragazzi

new experiment today

This time don’t talking about cameras but I made a small survey of the “intermediate” edition of Lucca Fotolux, biennial photography festival held every two years for the city of Lucca.

The festival, in its full version, is very similar to the Arles model, that is with the various exhibitions located throughout the city in really suggestive places, in this intermediate version only the photos of the world press photo and the Leica contest are shown in two separate locations.

I hope you like it, let me know in the comments.

StenopeiKa stories – presentation Im anina 2018 #1

Ciao Ragazzi!!!

Today no cameras but another story that we’re going to do with a StenopeiKa camera, the Hyper camera 8×10″:

https://www.stenopeika.com/prodotto/hyper-camera-8×10/

A few months ago I presented the Im Anina project, made with StenopeiKa 45se2 folding camera, now we come back (me and Paolo) in Romania to finish the work started, but this time we are going to make portraits with the Hyper camera 8×10.

This is the first of 3 promotional videos that I have prepared for the final event (the week of Cultur) to be held in Anina (Romania) on September 7th, 8th and 9th, where the photos taken during our stay will be shown.

Enjoy it 🙂

previous videos:
#1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UkX9BSDYZo
#2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEMUEpBRu7k
#3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAG5kJocqKI

StenopeiKa stories – Im Anina #3

Ciao Ragazzi!

We arrived at the last chapter (for now) of the series concerning the Im Anina project.

In this video Paolo Mazzo will explain how the project was born and how the project is evolving, from a photographic point of view. I remind you (I advise you to go and review videos #1 and #2) that the project embraces many other professional figures, such as architects, anthropologists and sociologists, all with the aim of transforming the industrial landscape into a true heritage for the city of Anina.

From my point of view, I contributed last year with a workshop on pinhole photography and this year with the construction of an folding camera (StenopeiKa 45se2 folding camera) for the portraits of people who continue to work and live in Anina. In fact, the project is shifting the focus from the industrial landscape to the people who live it.

See you in the next video!

Ciao a tutti!

StenopeiKa stories – Im Anina #2

Ciao Ragazzi!

As the last week, today i’ll show you the 2nd video of series “StenopeiKa Stories – Im Anina”.

If you follow me you know that i’m not only a camera maker but also a photographer, and i love take picture to persons and landscape, so thank to this my passions, i received an invitation to partecipate to Im Anina project.

A multi-cultural project with a noble purpose: to valorize de-industrialization and to discover the industrial beauties of a small Romanian city on the border with Serbia.

I say “yes” before they finished to telling me.

So today i’ll show you the second chapter of the series “StenopeiKa stories, not only cameras” with the second video during the pictures series in Romania

For this project Paolo Mazzo, professional photographer, used a StenopeiKa 45se2 folding camera.

Stenopeika stories – Im Anina project

Ciao Ragazzi!

today new blog category “Stenopeika stories” with new video about a photographic project “Im Anina” where I’m participating in the dual role of photographer and camera builder. For all those who do not know me, I started as a photographer and then become a builder and I still offer my knowledge for workshops around Italy.

thanks to my double skill I have been invited also in romania to take part in this very interesting project for the redevelopment of the Romanian communist industrial heritage with other Romanian and Italian professionals, architects, geologists and photographers.

Anina is a small town near the Serbian border, home to the deepest coal mining well in Eastern Europe. The mining industry worked since 2007 and today is a typical deindustrialized city left to itself, but with an incredible industrial heritage.

last year we worked on the architectural part, but this year we focused on the people who decided to stay despite the few possibilities that the city offers today.

For this project Paolo Mazzo, professional photographer, used a StenopeiKa 45se2 folding camera.