I Belong to the Mountains

Featuring Leonardo Scotti Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski

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Presence is one of the main themes in Leonardo’s work. A model, an unknown person crossing a street, a plant, an ice-cream, or even a dog can become a subject with a story that is slightly revealed in a frame. Each part works to build a whole and add value with color or shape to awaken the senses.

A flower shakes and reminds of its divine smell, a melting piece of ice in warm hands runs a slight chill in your body, while the strong color schemes enliven the imagination. The photos have a peculiar way to add some light to the moment and bring a smile on one’s face. Even the most ordinary object looks exceptional and exciting.

Leonardo Scotti is a fashion photographer from Milano, Italy. He worked for clients like Vogue Italia, Burberry, JW Anderson, Nike, and many others. One of his latest shows, Discretion, took place in Milan, and two latest printed editions are Edicola Book 02, and Awry005. We talk with Leonardo about his ‘getting into’ the profession, nostalgia for childhood that sometimes strikes through a particular smell, and Milano. Leonardo loves traveling and has a wish to go back to Iceland, to enjoy the views anew, not surprisingly, location scouting is a part of the job he loves so much.

‘My life started to be surrounded by photography daily. In that period, I decided that this was going to be my future. Since then, I have never spent a day without taking photographs or thinking about new images to produce’

Hi Leonardo, how are you doing? Tell a bit about yourself, how did you find yourself in photography?

I’m doing great, thank you! Very happy that winter is coming because I’m addicted to the mountains. 

In the beginning, I approached photography more for necessity rather than passion. I didn’t want to go to university, so I started assisting when I was 21. At that time, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a photographer, but I started to shoot more and more for pleasure. 

While assisting, my life started to be surrounded by photography daily. In that period, I decided that this was going to be my future. Since then, I have never spent a day without taking photographs or thinking about new images to produce. It’s important to always keep personal research alive and never lose curiosity.

What was the transition like for you to fashion photography, and what led to it?

I never had a real transition. Photography is first of all my passion, but then I found out I could live from it. I started to work mostly in fashion because it's the main business in photography in a city like Milan. Now, fashion photography has become a passion.

What is your sweetest childhood memory?

I feel very nostalgic with some particular smells, they give me strong feelings about my childhood, but I can’t connect them to specific moments.

Your works have an emphasis on color, on the element which is saturated with color and merged to the contrasting background like nature or cityscape. The contrast is created between the element in the front and the background that can even be the bright orange of a dog’s eyes and the dark blue skies with the last hint of the sunset. How do you approach color and create a frame?   

I’m very instinctive and immediate in my life and work. I don’t think too much when I shoot. Usually, my best pictures are the first I take in every situation.

Let’s speak about Milano. What’s the city like, and what is special about it for the community of artists?

Milano is a great city and a perfect base to travel the world. It has a lot of energy and never sleeps. In the past years, it has grown a lot.

‘It’s a way to get more into the place and the mood. When I go back to the location with the team, I feel like I’ve known the place for a long time’

Street photography and city life get a whole new meaning in your work. The element of the bizarre, of presenting the known as new and different, becomes a dominant aspect. Who are the most inspiring film directors for you? Name three movies that left an unforgettable mark or impression on you.  

• Dogville

• Dogtooth

• Dogman

What would your advice to the starting photographers be? What is important in this search for the individual perspective and vision? 

Never stop researching. Don’t look too much around, think for yourself and be real.

In your photographs, there is an emphasis on the background, even if at times it is blurred out, it is an important element in terms of the splash of additional color, or even the narrative of the final image. What do you enjoy the most in location scouting, and how do you prepare for the shoot?

I like to do location scouting alone. It’s a way to get more into the place and the mood. When I go back to the location with the team, I feel like I’ve known the place for a long time. I always do location scouting. I collect references from books, movies, magazines, and everyday life, but not from Pinterest LOL.

As a traveler, which countries were a discovery for you? Could you share a story that fascinated you from one of your trips? 

Northern countries are the ones that inspire me the most. I was born and raised in Milan, which is just under the Alps. I feel I belong to the mountains and the desolation of empty lands. Probably the best trip I’ve done is to Ethiopia and Iceland. I’ve been to Iceland three times, and I can’t wait to go back there. When in 2016, I traveled to Iceland, I had only a tent and a sleeping bag with me. Every night I was sleeping in a different area in the middle of nowhere. This trip has literally changed my life.

When you present your photographs at shows such as last year at Armani Silos and Marsell, what is the most important part for you in the preparations, choosing the works to exhibit and the way those will be shown?

Of course, the most important thing is what do you exhibit and not how, but also how you do it and how you prepare it is very important and can affect the entire project. Sometimes I like no frames, I like huge prints in general. The most important thing is always the quality of the image and not the quality of the print, but a proper fine art print always does the difference.

What’s next?

One of the most exciting projects I'm workin' on right now is a series of images that represent an artistic conversation between me and the artist Francesco Igory Deiana. We will also do a book.