I am driven by the belief that nature silently preserves universal memories, where every shape and shadow tells stories that cross time.I believe that photography allows us to explore the invisible essence of things and capture those fragments of eternity that nature generously reveals to us.

This project was born in the spring of 2023 during a sudden storm on the west coast of Ireland.I was on a steep promontory, surrounded by majestic cliffs, when the sky turned a threatening gray and the wind started to whip. I was there, standing with the camera clutched in my hand while I tried to anchor the tripod with my backpack to prevent the wind from blowing it away, with the perfectly rhythmic, regular, almost heartbeat-like sound of the waves crashing furiously beneath me. In that moment, I felt very small in front of the power of nature. With my heart in my throat, I took a series of photos trying to capture all the strength and drama of that scene, as if I were photographing the very breath of the landscape.

That day, without knowing it, I took the first photograph of twenty-four photographs in total that would give life to Éire i Dubh Agus Bán (Ireland in black and white). From that memorable experience, arose the desire to reveal what is hidden beneath the surface of the visible, an attempt to stop time to allow anyone who looked at my photographs to tune into something deeper.

With Éire i Dubh Agus Bán I want to take you on a journey through south-west Ireland, to places that for me are a symbol of strength, memory and timeless beauty. Each photograph in the project contains a journey of personal introspection in which, observing the contrasts of the landscape, I felt the need to capture not only its aesthetics, but also its soul. Ireland, with its ever-changing skies, eroded rocks and rugged coastlines, has always given me a deep connection to nature and the past, and I wanted these images to reflect that visceral connection.

My intention is for these photographs to offer you an intimate and personal experience, that goes beyond simple visual representation. In black and white, each image strips away the superfluous and leaves room for what is essential: light, shadow, shape and texture. I invite you to explore the hidden meanings in the details, to let yourself be guided by every line and curve of the landscape, so that you can perceive the grandeur of nature, its resilience and also its vulnerability.

The choice of black and white, capable of evoking the essence of places and suspending time, was born by inspiring me to masters such as Ansel Adams and Sebastião Salgado. The work of the master Adams pushed me to be more meticulous and scientific in composition and technique. Thanks to the use of the zonal system, I was able to precisely balance the tones, capturing every shade of gray to obtain a rich and detailed image. Adams taught me to see the landscape as a series of natural contrasts that reveal the structure of the world. To emphasize this concept, I used the bracketingtechnique, a technique that consists of taking multiple exposures of the same scene and then combining them in post-production, so as to obtain a full dynamic range and optimal details in every part of the photo (HDR).

To give a personal touch to the project, I chose to develop my shots in the panoramic format. The choice of this format comes from the desire to convey a sense of vastness to the panorama portrayed, so as to allow the viewer to visually embrace the entire landscape, completely immersing themselves in the scene. At the same time, the influence of the master Salgado is fundamental to the emotional and dramatic dimension of my images. Salgado has the ability to transform landscapes and subjects into intense and visceral experiences; His photography captures the soul of the subject, a trait that I have tried to apply to my landscapes as well, showing the dramatic beauty and emotional intensity of all the places present in the project.

Each image is designed to be a meeting between the visible and the invisible, where the landscape becomes a metaphor for travel, introspection and discovery. In addition to the technique and the emotional side, I wanted to give considerable importance to semiotics, trying to elevate the composition of the photograph to a symbolic dimension of the landscape itself, where every line, every shadow and light are signs that invite you to project your own emotions and reflections, establishing a dialogue with the image that goes beyond the surface and reaches your inner world.

I would like each image of Éire i Dubh Agus Bán to be a threshold for you, an invitation to enter a world where the landscape becomes the guardian of emotions, memories and intuitions. Don’t just see the photographs, but look at them; let them awaken something inside you: a memory, a sensation or perhaps a reflection that slowly grows. I would like you to lose yourself in the chiaroscuro, letting the black and white lead you to a place of silence and depth, letting you find a personal dialogue with the landscape, discovering fragments of stories between the lines and shapes that perhaps only you can intuit. I hope that Éire i Dubh Agus Bán is not just a visual experience for you, but a journey to be lived intensely, an invitation to cross Ireland not with your eyes but with your soul.

My wish is that these images offer you food for thought on the relationship with the natural world and the importance of preserving it, on the resilience of nature and its greatness, offering you the opportunity to take a break from the frenzy of the world and stop to look inside yourself, as if the landscape were a mirror of your experience.