Giulio Speranza
Gran Sasso d’Italia
The Apennines are the mountain chain that forms the spine of the Italian Peninsula. The highest and more spectacular mountain group of the chain is the Gran Sasso Range, located in Abruzzo, whose highest peak, the Big Horn, reach 2912m asl and hosts the European southernmost glacier, the “Calderone”. Despite the actual beauty of these natural landscapes, the presence of several National Parks and protected areas as well as countless cultural attractions, the whole area still haven’t got the attention that it deserves. Moreover, here are the origins of my family. My aim is to realize the first comprehensive and high-quality photographic research on the Gran Sasso Range. A documentary work, clearly aesthetic-oriented, to collect precise, detailed and attractive pictures that should raise surprise for the nature beauty, curiosity to discover this area and be of help for those who like to know and study these mountains and, finally, a contribution to the social rebirth of the area, never promoted how and as it deserves, particularly after the earthquakes of the last years (this April will be the 10th anniversary of the L’Aquila earthquake).
I’ve chosen to realize this work following my main area of expertise within professional photography, i.e. using large format View Cameras and monochrome films. This allows me to take precise, detailed and aesthetic pictures so, in brief, to fulfil my idea of a documentary, but aesthetic-oriented, research. In this way, moreover, I have an “old” but, in the superfast world on nowadays, “new” approach to the mountain landscape photography, technical, slow, with the production of a limited number of highly thought images that should raise from a real harmony with the subject
