This month I had the chance to interview Stefano Politi Markovina, a Photographer born in Italy and living in Barcelona. His photos show a great passion for color, which conveys a positive feeling. In the next few lines, Stefano will talk in detail about aspects related to his life and work.
When and how did your career in photography begin?
Backpacking trips have always been my greatest passion since I was a child and I started to cultivate photography by traveling around the world, albeit at an amateur level at first.
Traveling allowed me to gradually improve my photographic knowledge until, one day, a professional photographer friend encouraged me to send some of my photos to a stock photography agency. My images were appreciated and so began my first collaboration, transforming a simple hobby to cultivate while traveling, in a profession, that still today I continue to carry out with such passion and constant commitment.
What is your favorite kind of photography?
Landscapes and architecture mainly. I’ve always loved to capture nature since the initial shots I took with my first camera, an Olympus OM-1.
Subsequently, I broadened my photographic interests to include architecture and people and deepened my knowledge of street photography. Today, for professional reasons, I have pushed myself to explore event photography, which I realize when I am not traveling.
What agencies do you represent? Where are your photos published?
Alamy was the first agency I worked for and still work with. AWL Images, the world leader in travel photography which comprises some of the best photographers in the world, is the agency that best evaluates and distributes my photographs.
Through it, my images are constantly used by major tourist publications such as Lonely Planet, National Geographic, Rough Guides, DK Eyewitness, Sunday Times Travel, as well as magazines, newspapers, and calendars.
How many countries have you visited? What is the journey that still carries a place in your heart?
Almost seventy. More or less every trip has always left me with indelible memories and emotions, sometimes traceable to some curious or funny anecdote that happened to me.
The journey that I still carry in my heart today was my round-the-world trip after I graduated. It was also an experience of growth and maturity that helped me to test my independence skills. It was still a world without the internet and traveling was more adventurous and fun than today.
What equipment do you carry with you on a trip?
My Nikon D850 together with the three Nikon f/4 series lenses: the 16-35mm, 24-120mm, and 70-200mm. All-round lenses with an excellent compromise between weight and quality. Ideal for the traveling photographer. Also, the usual polarizing and ND filters in various shades as well as a Gitzo travel tripod in carbon fiber. Very expansive but indestructible!
What services do you offer and where?
My primary photographic activity is that of a contributor photographer for stock agencies. When I am in Barcelona I also offer other services. For tourists visiting the city, I organize photo-tours and workshops through which participants can learn how to photograph or refine their photographic knowledge discovering the most evocative corners of the city.
I also offer a personal photographer service for those tourists who wish to take home the most beautiful memories of their holiday in Barcelona.
As well as photoshoots at international fairs and events in Barcelona and abroad, such as the Skytrax World Airline Awards ceremonies at the Farnborough Air Show in England or the Le Bourget Air Show in Paris.
Which neighborhood do you prefer to photograph in Barcelona?
Undoubtedly the Gothic Quarter, but also the Raval, both in the historic heart of the city. I love to walk there especially at dawn or even when it’s still dark. These are moments of beautiful intimacy between the photographer and the city. You almost feel like the streets and buildings are talking to you.
Until a few years ago I also loved to wander around the stalls of the colorful and beautiful market of La Boqueria but lately, the excessive number of tourists has prompted the sellers to “hate” anyone who turns with a camera hanging around his neck.
Stefano Politi Markovina, Photographer based in Barcelona, Spain.
