The desert is the great love of Italian photographer Luca Tombolini. From the American West, to Morocco, via Iceland and Spain, his large format photographs transform the dunes into abstract and chimerical paintings. For days and nights, Luca Tombolini apprehends these new environments to capture the most sensitive image.
How did you understand that photography was your own and personal way to create and to express yourself ?
It was after i finished my universities studies and i needed to seriously decide if i was going for a job within the field of my education or if to follow the ever growing passion for creating images. I finally decided to try to become a photographer, but yet, since that moment it took me almost 7 years to decide to dedicate to the landscapes you’re seeing now.
What do you most like to photograph ? And what are your main inspirations ?
Without doubt i can say i’m attracted by the simplicity and pureness of shapes of deserts. But when i decided to shoot there my first series i didn’t have any other photographer images in my mind, it just began unconsciously by itself during a trip to Fuerteventura in the Canaries. I felt so much attracted to that barren landscapes that two weeks after i was back there alone with my large format camera. So to answer about my inspirations, they’re not other photographers, but it’s rather the feeling of being alone in such places and the possibility to feel my bond with Nature.
How do you succeed to always take the best of your landscapes ?
Actually it’s unlikely that i’ve took all the possible best of them but let’s say that at least whatever i took, came thanks to great commitment. Firstly it’s essential for me to live night and day in the places i photograph, so i organised myself living and moving around in a 4×4. Secondly i need a lot of time to understand the landscape and its best views and moments; this means i need long periods, up to two months to finish a project. And lastly i’m really fond of travelling and living adventurously, which makes all the needed sacrifices and risks something enjoyable.
