Behind the lens: Marco Poggioni

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Every day, we see great photos being added to Fotopedia articles, but we sometimes don’t pay enough attention to the photographers behind the lenses. We decided to start a round of interviews to turn our spotlight to incredible users and photographers. To start this new category, we interviewed Marco Poggioni, a great nature photographer.

Published: 2012-05-24 17:53:07 UTC

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Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I was born in Florence, the beautiful Tuscan town cradle of art, where I still live. I am a doctor and nature photographer by passion. Since young I have always loved to live outdoors, and when the job allows me, leave the city. The mountains, the shore of a river, the sea, all natural environments have their own charm and offer their beauty to me.

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I love to travel and I love traveling alone

Above all I love to travel, with an insatiable thirst to see and learn about new lands, landscapes, people and animals. And I love traveling alone. I think that being alone in a far away and unknown world is really the only way to get to know, to internalize the experience and to commune with nature.

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How did you learn photography?

I started to take photographs at the age of 15, when I received as a gift the glorious Asahi Pentax Spotmatic, which I still own and can still take great pictures. After years of photographs that I developed in a home darkroom, I passionate about video production, devoting myself to shoot documentaries and video for schools and universities.

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I rediscovered my passion for photography

In those years my love for nature and animals growed up and especially for the mountain, which leads me to a real passion for all the sports that can be practiced in this wonderful environment. In 2002, I rediscovered my passion for photography, at first especially in relation to travels, then the advent of digital revealed congenial to fuse together my love for nature and my passions for nature photography and computing.

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What camera and equipment do you currently use?

I use Nikon gear: DX and FX cameras (D300, D700), Nikon lens from 24 to 400 mm, Nikon focal extenders 1.4x and 2x and Nikon flash. Other important accessories are tripods (Feisol and Manfrotto) with Arca-Swiss and Benro heads, photo backpacks by Lowepro and Guragear’s Kiboko.

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When did you hear of Fotopedia, and why are you contributing to the encyclopedic project today?

I heard of Fotopedia in summer 2011, and I thought it was the natural complement of Wikipedia. Looking at the structure of the website I realized it was a good opportunity to contribute to a great project and in the same time to take on my idea that only showing to people how beautiful is the world can do to develop the awareness of the need to protect nature and the great works of man.

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Tell us more about your favorite picture?

One of my favourite pictures is “Mom and her child playing at Hallo Bay, Katmai – Alaska” because it reminds me of one of the most exciting moments of my life, when for the first time I found myself in the midst of grizzly bears, without any kind of barrier or shelter between me and them. True wilderness.

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What would you tell to someone who just started to take photographs? Any tips?

If someone wants to start doing photography, especially nature photos, I suggest three things: study; take photographs; forget what you’ve studied.

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Study

The pretty pictures are almost always the result of a thorough knowledge of any gear that you use, of a theoretical basis on photography, and especially of the knowledge of what you want to photograph.

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Take photographs

You can only get the practice and experience on the field: it can’t be acquired on books or on the web.

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Forget what you’ve studied

If you want to create interesting results, just make a personal style do not be afraid to break the mold and rule. Henri Cartier-Bresson said: “Photography is to place head and heart and eye along the same line of sight. It’s a way of life.”

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Do you want to share a story with us about one of your experience while photographing?

One evening in Alaska I had pitched my tent under the trees behind a deserted stony beach, lit the stove and started to warm soup. Suddenly I heard strong chirps from the beach and I went to see: at least ten bald eagles had come with their prey, mostly salmon, followed by a huge number of gulls, and had begun to dine on the beach.

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The memory of an unforgettable experience

Grabbed my camera, I started a long, slow approach to the eagles crawling on the rocks that brought me up in their midst. I stayed there until after sunset. Going back under the moonlight to the tent I saw a cloud of smoke: I had completely forgotten my soup. Conclusion: burned pot, to bed without dinner, but with the memory of an unforgettable experience.