Interview with Franco Buoncristiani
BIFA 2023 Winner, Discovery of the Year, 1st Place, Non-Professional People category, “Grand Hotel Metropoliz”
Q: Can you briefly tell us about your background and what inspired you to pursue photography?
I started taking photographs about 20 years ago, with travel photography, until I met Fulvio Bugani of Foto Image who made me passionate about Reportage and Story Telling. I am attracted by social issues.
Q: What drove you to submit your work to the BIFA competition and your thoughts on how winning this competition impacted your artistic journey?
BIFA is a very important competition; winning recharged me. It means I’m on the right track. I must continue my work with tenacity. I still have a lot to tell.
Q: Could you describe any challenges you faced while capturing this moment (winning image/s)?
The biggest challenge was to overcome the distrust of this community that lives within the Metropoliz, to make myself accepted, to become one of them; be an invisible presence at any moment of their life.
Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important factors in creating great images?
Without a doubt the light: with the right light everything is easier. Then comes the technique and everything else.
Q: What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of photography?
The perfect photo must combine technique, beauty and communicativeness. An expressive photo has greater strength. The challenge is to find the observation point that unites these three assumptions. The more a photo tells, the greater my satisfaction.
Q: What motivates and drives your photography?
I try to give visibility to forgotten people and places by looking for beauty there.
Q: What’s next for you in your career as a photographer?
I would like “Grand Hotel Metropoliz” to become a book.
