In the nineties I had the chance to work extensively for a few travel and life-style magazines while I was based first in Milan, Italy and later in New York, NY. When on assignment the schedule was usually tight and the time to photograph not always in sync with the best light or weather conditions – it happens. Nonetheless I always managed to bring home the result and keep my editors happy, which is paramount if one wants to land more assignments.
The photos you can see here, and I hope you’ll do and enjoy, are a selection of a selection of the selection, and so on. In that the absolute best, meaning the ones the photo editors liked, so not necessarily the best in the photographer’s eye, were sometimes returned, other times not, and often lost altogether. Nobody knows where they ended up. Remember: analog means no copy/paste. What was always certain, you could bet on it, was the deplorable state in which the slides were returned. More often than not you would find: oily fingerprints, Pritt glue residue, unfriendly scratches, tiny flakes of ash from the Marlboro chain-smoking photo editor – yup, back then people smoked in the office. So now you know why I’m a devotee of dust&scratch removal scan technology, which is not a cure-all but nonetheless a good start.
Traveling on assignment has its perks, indeed, and its downsides, no s…! The former bigger than the latter. But alas it doesn’t last forever, at least not in my case. Hence, this is not what I do nowadays. For a long time I didn’t know what to do with the countless slides, and the holders, and the boxes sitting idle in my garage. But since I truly believe that “a photo kept in a drawer is a photo that you’ve never taken”, now I’m giving those memories a new life, to better understand where it all started. A hint: passion and curiosity.
What else … uhh, well, that’s all folks, but if you feel like, please do drop me a line. I always get back to nice people. 🙂
The Archive is also a book! TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURES is a great collection of beautiful pictures and entertaining anecdotes. It comes in print and digital.
Albania road trip
Mid Spring road trip with Yuri as guide and translator and Gjergj as driver and bodyguard, and yes we were carrying a rifle in the car. Not to be used, God forbid, but just because everybody else was carrying guns, either hanging from their belts or strapped on their shoulder. Besides that, Albania offered unexpected … Continue reading
Algerian Sahara adventure
It was the end of September, but the days were still very hot in the Algerian Sahara desert, while nights were much more bearable. Touaregs people as guides and drivers, sturdy Toyotas for transport, food and water provisions, individual light tents, those were the basics to explore Ahaggar and Tassili N’Ajjer National Parks in the … Continue reading
Amsterdam frozen canals
Among the many things that identify Dutch people, ice skating is probably one of the most peculiar. You cannot skate either on tropical sandy beaches or on gentle windswept grass covered hills. Did you visualize that? Ok. So, in order to be able to ice skate, beside balance and agility, one needs a flat ice-covered … Continue reading
Barcelona colors
Before Barcelona became a tired tourist mecca during the holy month, that in Barcelona runs 12 times per year, it was a beautiful city. Don’t get me wrong: beauty itself is still there, but it’s hidden by the awful overwhelming mass of people surrounding you. My personal opinion, I’m entitled to one. So, these photos … Continue reading
Black and White Sydney
Rummaging through my slides archive, buried deep under dozens of plastic colored little boxes, I found a white envelope, a big one. Inside of it, surprise surprise, a few contact sheets and the specific films neatly stored in pulp paper sleeves. And on top of that one more surprise: the films are in black and … Continue reading
Cyclades islands hopping
There’s no better way to explore the Greek islands than riding a motorbike, but don’t forget to wear a helmet. Hopping from one island to the next gets super easy: while cars and other vehicles have to reserve in advance the spot on the ferry, there’s always room enough in the hold for bikes that … Continue reading
Elfstedentocht
When the ice is at least 20cm (7.8in) thick on the entire circuit, almost 200km (125mi), the Elfstedentocht – Eleven Cities Tour – is announced and takes place within 48 hours. Excitement and expectations spread throughout the entire country, the Netherlands, and the day of the race a festive crowd lines the circuit drawn along … Continue reading
Iraq smiling people
Iraq between the two Gulf Wars was a suffering and rundown country but where no one spared a smile, ever. Ok, almost never, I mean, we did bump into a couple, more than a couple, of … let’s say glitches, but that’s part of the adventure, isn’t it?! Anyway, as the first group of tourists, … Continue reading
Kentucky Derby Day
First Saturday in May is Kentucky Derby Day. Ladies dust off their best hats, or get a new colorful and more eccentric one, while men polish the silver gobelets ready for an exhilarating sequence of mint juleps. The crowd is festive and cheering, the high spirit atmosphere defeats the occasional cold rain. Even though I’m … Continue reading
Kerkennah Islands fishing
Warm shallow waters surround the islands lying off the coast of Sfax, Tunisia, brought the islanders to develop characteristic fishing methods. Octopi fishing is made with clay amphoras dropped on the sandy soil tied with a rope to a floating buoy, octopi looking for refuge hide and remain inside even when the amphoras are pulled … Continue reading
Kyrgyzstan horse shepherd family
We arrived at the yurts after a long full day ride, and when around sunset the fog suddenly fell on the path, my horse decided it was too scared to keep moving, so I had to get off it and pull it for the last couple of miles. We didn’t meet the kids that night, … Continue reading
Lincoln Highway road trip
The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental road for automobiles in the Usa, dedicated in 1913. At a time when roads where more often built to connect grain storage silos or slaughterhouses to the nearest train station, the Lincoln Highway wound its way for over 3,000 miles (more than 5.000 km) between New York and … Continue reading
Lisbon sweet old times
I was dispatched to Lisbon on a pretty boring assignment, I’ll spare you those photos and the narrative. What’s here, instead, are the images taken in between the photo shoots. It’s a reduced mix of what I perceived, probably superficial, about alfacinhas – the people of Lisbon -: a mingle of devotion to traditions in … Continue reading
Lübeck brick gothic
The best beer I ever had in Germany was in a Lübeck bierstube. Toward the end of a pretty warm day, before the evening shift of restaurants photography, I decided to take a rest and reward myself for the long workday. The stein was filled with a fresh, smooth, amber colored liquid, topped by a … Continue reading
Madagascar seaside and people
Madagascar is Africa but it’s a continent on itself. And not simply because it’s a huge island, but for the different fauna and flora. As a matter of fact Pangea teaches us that the island never belonged to the continent to which it is geopolitically assigned, hence the differences. In the far Northwest, where Nosy … Continue reading
not the usual Puerto Rico
If somebody tries to convince you that Puerto Rico, PR for adepts, is about sandy beaches facing crystal clear warm waters, strong rum and good cigars, tasty food and outgoing people, body shaking music and comfy hammocks hanging from palm trees, well, do not believe a word. Because yeah, that’s true but it’s only a … Continue reading
Parati colonial and relaxing
Parati, belonging to the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, is a well-preserved Portuguese colonial town and Unesco World Heritage Site. Delightful architecture and beautiful posadas, little hotels, built around luxurious patios, ease the mind transition toward a relaxed and sophisticated vacation. Parati sits on the shores of a huge bay of warm waters … Continue reading
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Canada is cold in the middle of Winter, and dark. And Yukon is even darker: the sun rises a few minutes before 11am and settles a short 6 hours later, that was so odd and unsettling to me! I was reporting on the Mounties, RCMP, and the 100 years anniversary of their presence in the … Continue reading
Sinai Peninsula adventure
From mountain peaks to sea, from dromedaries to dolphins, from world famous religious sites to geology formations. The Sinai Peninsula is much more than one would imagine. Well, at least I imagined it differently before visiting. Also, the sun is scorching, so bring a wide-brimmed hat, wear long sleeves shirt and long pants. In two … Continue reading
Swiss historical trains
Trains are a passion – if you’re not into them just skip to the next post, bye bye. My interest is more aesthetic and mechanic: I love the gears, I appreciated the sturdiness and dimensions, I enjoy the photo ops. Not to mention that I consider trains the most civilized way to travel short and … Continue reading
All photos ©Michele Molinari – Most of them can be found at Danita Delimont Stock Photography
michele molinari 