Big Sister
Last year I spent a month in Wasa, Tanzania, teaching a class of young, curious and amazing guys. Before heading back to Italy we stopped in Zanzibar, where this photo was taken. I still wonder how could I capture that exact moment in all its beauty. I was just observing, a few meters from them, but they were probably more curious about me than I was about them, and that’s probably why the girl was looking at me. We couldn’t talk much, except for a few words in Swahili I had learned in the previous weeks, but those kids could definitely talk with their eyes. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in my life, and I’ll keep it in my memories forever. The best part was showing them and their mums the photos, for some it was the first time they were seeing their faces, and their excitement was unexplainable, unfortunately my iPhone was in their hands and I couldn’t capture that!

Location: Zanzibar, Africa
Shot on iPhone X

Sea Stripes
Sea Stripes was taken in Santa Rita Beach, Portugal where the striped beach tents are very typical and set the tone of the well organized and summery little villages. Playing along with this beachy mood, a bather in the distance embodies the spirit in a striped shirt.

Location: Santa Rita Beach, Portugal
Shot on iPhone SE

Come Across
It was a hot summer day in Rome, Italy, even the asphalt was melting. We decided to escape from the city center to see the ancient trees of the Borghese Gardens and watch an Italian movie, but when we arrived the pouring rain began. We didn’t see the film, but I took wonderful pictures. It was great travel moment I’ll never want to forget.

Location: Rome, Italy
Shot on iPhone 7 Plus

Come Across
I took this photo in the desert in Nevada, USA, at the Burning Man festival. I stood on a bridge and saw two people lost in a sand storm, but after a while, something very special came along, a huge silver ball.

Location: Nevada, USA
Shot on iPhone X

Blue light
A beam of sunlight shined on a swimming pool at 9:32am, when I was visiting the house designed by Luis Barragán.

Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Shot on 7 Plus

Looking Up
Looking up, at the corner of Laguna and Hayes Streets, San Francisco. The midday sun casts an engaging abstract pattern of geometric shadows onto the quirky facade.

San Francisco, California
Shot on 7 Plus

Salve
From the wrong angle, it looked chaotic, like someone had hung string frivolously. But from straight on, it was perfect. Serene and calming.

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Shot on 8 Plus

The Proud Peacock
What made me take this photo was the unexpected balance of the composition that reinforces the sense of pride, place and charisma of this peacock. In this public garden, seeing these wild peacocks is one of the most exquisite experiences people can have, they are truly the lords of the garden.

Location: Porto, Portugal
Shot on iPhone SE

Owl


Location: Kisarazu, Japan
Shot on iPhone X

Who's watching
I was captivated by the giant fish tanks at a resort in the Bahamas where the fish seemed to be observing people, mirroring the people observing the fish.

Location: Bahamas
Shot on iPhone X

Janta Manta Observatory
Janta Manta Observatory is very sci-fi looking. I captured the flying pigeon with the building to give the photo a dynamic feeling.

Location: Jaipur, India
Shot on iPhone X

Palm Springs Palm
I can’t get enough of the mid century modern architecture in Palm Springs, CA. This building is one of my favorites and I happened to be driving by mid day when the intense light, color and shadow caught my eye. The building does not have a bad angle, but for me it was the palm tree that made the composition complete.

Location: Palm Springs, California
Shot on iPhone X

Here I come
This image was taken in the Xiamen, international shipping center. I was trying to create a futuristic battle scene of Star Wars (I’m a huge starwars fan). When a friend told me about this location, I thought it would be very good to shoot something like this with a lightsaber and two characters fighting. The lighting that afternoon was great, and we waited for the best natural light of the sun to light up the place.

Location: Xiamen City, Fujian
Shot on iPhone X

Jasper the Raptor
This photo was taken outside a supermarket in Los Angeles. My son Jasper wore a raptor mask and a Dodgers hat and we made up a story about Jasper the Raptor, a dinosaur boy who was hungry and went to the grocery store.

Location: Los Angeles, California
Shot on iPhone XS

Look dad!
This is my daughter Olivia.

Location: St. Petersburg, Russia
Shot on iPhone 6

Untitled
My two year old son, Gabriel, totally captivated by his first experience of traveling by steam train.

Location: Peak Rail, Derbyshire
Shot on iPhone XS Max

Cactus under the Scorching Sun
In Joshua Tree National Park in the United States, there is a valley called the Cholla Cactus Garden which is covered by a large number of Teddy-Bear Chollas. This species of Cholla grows freely under the scorching sun, unafraid of the heat and dryness.

Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Shot on iPhone XS Max

Agave
I’ve taken quite a few photos of this agave plant, which is tucked away in the corner of a courtyard in downtown Santa Cruz, and every time I walk by it, I take another. The close-up view, especially in black & white, seems to draw out a part of the agave’s beauty that’s easy to miss in real life when it’s surrounded by flowers and sidewalks and benches.

Location: Santa Cruz, California
Shot on iPhone 7

Flowers in the Dark
During a trip to Shenzhen, China I was captivated by these volcanic rock steps hidden in a secluded corner, embraced by strikingly red flowers on both sides.

Location: Shenzhen, China
Shot on iPhone X

Petra Wadi
An unexpected scene on the road to Petra.

Location: Umm Sayhoun, Jordan
Shot on iPhone SE

Palo Duro Canyon
The photo was taken on one of my many hikes in Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

Location: Canyon, Texas
Shot on iPhone XR

Frozen Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is frozen for thousands of miles in winter. Because of the ice, people can walk on the lake. On a snowy morning, I took a picture of Lake Baikal, using the lead wire on the ice as the foreground.

Location: Lake Baikal, Russia
Shot on iPhone 8 Plus

Fishing
A man fishing by the lake, it feels like it came out of the movie called “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and I wrote a poem at the time：半山融水雾，深树隐渔翁。君钓江中鲤，吾观落日红。

Location: Wuhan, Hubei, China
Shot on iPhone 6s

Hanging to Dry


Location: Hongkou Shanghai
Shot on iPhone 7

In his Memory
This is the former room of my grandfather in my grandparents’ house in Bobruysk, Belarus. Now he is dead and my grandmother has decorated it in his memory in a typical old soviet rural style which used to be chic and gorgeous when she was a child in the poor countryside after WWII. Nowadays we don’t have such interiors in our houses, and it is a kind of museum of those times: all those covered pillows, the abundance of carpets (on the walls as well), austere, neat and tidy.

Location: Bobruysk, Belarus
Shot on iPhone X

The Womb
It was dark, humid and quiet inside the ice cave. I was climbing up step by step toward the light. The moment brought me to the scene as a newborn inside the womb of nature, ready to embrace the outside world.

Location: Iceland
Shot on iPhone 6

Annapurna
The picture is of Annapurna mountain in the Himalayans where I was walking the ABC trail. The view was so amazing, I will never forget it.

Location: Kaski, Nepal
Shot on iPhone X

Waves


Location: China Sea
Shot on iPhone 6S

Fire Dragon
This photo was taken at the Lantern Festival in Buzhai Town. It is the tradition of this small southern town to hold a dragon dance performance for Lantern Festival that dates back to the Qing Dynasty. It is a spectacular scene with the fire dragon being lifted by more than 30 adults while it dances and fireworks are set off from its body. Thousands of people came to watch the event and to pray for their family to be safe and healthy for the New Year.

Location: Meizhou, China
Shot on iPhone 6S

When the Curtain Falls
This photo was taken in an abandoned house in Aleppo, Syria. In the Syrian civil war, almost the entire city of Aleppo became a ruin of war and there was hardly a building left intact. In January 2018, I walked into many rooms in the ruins. I found that lives were abruptly stopped by the war, and many rooms still retained the pre-war look.

Location: Aleppo, Syria
Shot on iPhone X

Wedding Prayer
I photographed this wedding with my father in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul. During the religious ceremony, each person kneels to hold a prayer with all present for the purpose of blessing the wedding.

Location: Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul
Shot on iPhone 8

Sky scaffolding
I loved the playful surrealist symbolism of this modest painted building, visually merging architecture and nature, physical object and void, in an unpretentious yet conceptually very clever way.

Location: Busan, South Korea
Shot on iPhone X

Hang On
We received a large package with an absurd amount of this brown packing paper and my younger brother and I decided to get creative with it.

Location: Maryland
Shot on iPhone 7

The Wait
I shot this photo in a local restaurant, I was captivated by the beautiful woman seated at the table across from us. She was preparing to leave, and her table was cluttered with dirty dishes, but I focused on the bright, shimmering fabric and the shiny gold sandals she was wearing.

Location: Rancho Cucamonga, California
Shot on iPhone 6 Plus

Segla Mountain at Sunrise
Segla Mountain is a very identifiable mountain on the northern part of Senja Island. From Segla’s top I saw the amazing landscape of a narrow mountainous peninsula surrounded by two spectacular fjords. They looked really beautiful at sunrise.

Location: Senja Island, Norway
Shot on iPhone X

Monument
View from Artist’s Point in Monument Valley, where the ground falls away steeply and the flat land stretches ahead for many miles, punctuated by the peaks of buttes, mesas and pinnacles in distance.

Location: Monument Valley, Arizona
Shot on iPhone 6S

The Wait
Walking the streets of this magical city, it’s so difficult to actually capture the spirit of the town. There are corners of quiet solitude where you find hidden gems such as an abandoned 1000 year old cave abode, and there are bustling streets in the city centre with scooters buzzing by on business, and the fresh smell of Italian coffee.

Location: Matera, Italy
Shot on iPhone 7 Plus

Untitled


Location: China
Shot on iPhone X

Dominoes in Havana
Dominoes in Havana was captured at the Solar de Aguilar in Havana, Cuba. The building is a mere memory of what it once was, from the wrought iron curving around the grand stair case at the entrance of the building to the non-functioning fountain in the courtyard. Six families occupy the Solar de Aguilar and every afternoon the residents gather in front of the grand staircase to play dominoes. On this particular afternoon, I captured these four neighbors engaged in a friendly game.

Location: Cuba
Shot on iPhone SE

At the Lake
I live in Milan and during the weekend I often go back to the lake to spend time with my parents. One of my favorite things to do is to take the ferry boat across the lake with no definite destination. I spend hours going back and forth with the sole purpose of observing passengers. People look capivated by the beauty of the landscape. In one of these solitary journeys of mine I focused on this man, as he reminded me of my father’s fragility.

Location: Lake Maggiore, Italy
Shot on iPhone X

A Future Eagle Hunter
In Bayan Ulgi province in western Mongolia, eagle hunting is a tradition passed across generations. Boys start their training as early as 11 years old, and little Bakha is no exception as he makes his entrance into the world of eagle hunting with his prized falcon.

Location: Bayan Ulgi, Mongolia
Shot on iPhone 7 Plus

Little Beekeeper
I take my nephew Eden on ‘Photo Safaris’, where we only shoot with our iPhones. Our trophies are the images we capture. My mum has a couple of bee hives in Margaret River, Western Australia, and I thought they’d make for an exciting safari. As we dressed for this adventure I decided to take a portrait of Eden in his ‘photo safari suit’.

Location: Margaret River, Western Australia
Shot on iPhone X

Who is the boss?
One of my favorite moments, perched on the tummy of my master. I have to confess, the view is awesome!! This cushion makes me feel secure. I can also warn other dogs and protect my master. Yeeaah! Who’s the boss?! I belong to him and he belongs to me.

Location: Gruissan, France
Shot on iPhone 7

Young Survivors
These intimate portraits focus on how adolescents cope with being HIV positive. Amidst these chilling narratives, extraordinary stories of hope and glimpses of heroism in their quest to pursue their dreams emerged.

Location: Kasese, Uganda
Shot on iPhone 8

We Run, You Fly


Location: Bombay, and Tamil Nadu
Shot on iPhone X

Ocean, Sand, Stone and Wind
I took these photos, and others, at Lobitos beach in Piura, the surfers paradise in northern Peru. It is the place where the Peruvian desert reaches the Pacific Ocean. What you see in these photos are the results of the fusion of the works of sand, sea, stones, sun and wind. It is the common work of art of these great masters of nature, that’s how I see it. And it’s as simple as it is mysterious.

Location: Lobitos Beach, Peru
Shot on iPhone 7

In the Wind
This photo is one of a series where I wanted to document moments where I felt particular emotions and I took a picture whether I felt like it or not.

Location: Germany
Shot on iPhone SE

Green Breeze


Location: Manhattan, New York
Shot on iPhone X

The Absolute
This is part of the “Theater of Dissapearance” exhibition by Adrián Villar Rojas in NYC MoMA. The surreal nature of the exhibit was very inspiring. I spent a long time walking around the exhibit carefully observing details of each sculpture, trying to imagine what it would be like living in their characters. The sun was projecting hard shadows on the sculpture of banquet tables making various items that were placed on tables to appear simple and complete. I wanted to keep this moment in my memory for a long time.

Location: Russia
Shot on iPhone SE

Piercing the Sky
The evening sky marred by some solitary clouds provided a perfect backdrop to this shot. This is the statue of Lord Ram, Hindu God, shot in the outskirts of Bangalore just before sunset.

Location: Bangalore, India
Shot on iPhone 6S

Sunset on Baltic Sea
While floating on the ice breaker I saw this marvelous sunset on the Baltic Sea.

Location: Baltic Sea
Shot on iPhone 6S

Penetrated Sunset
This was taken by the river in my hometown of Shantou, China. The sunset passed through the leaves and reflected on the river, like a painting.

Location: Shantou, Guangdong
Shot on iPhone 6

Lonely Boat
It was a cloudy day. I noticed a man with a small boat floating up and down in the sea when I was walking on the beach. Something occurred to me in that moment, I thought, I want to get closer so I walked in until salty seawater flooded my chest. The man, the boat, and me. I felt a connection in that moment, people are so small between heaven and earth.

Location: Da Nang , Vietnam
Shot on iPhone 8 Plus

Tourists at the Dunes-Death Valley
The photograph was taken at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park. A bus load of tourist had just arrived and people were walking out into the dunes. The bright light of midday accented the dunes and the colorful clothes of the tourists.

Location: Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
Shot on iPhone XS Max

Palanquera
In this photo that I took in Cartagena – Colombia, I was exploring the contrast between the colonial architecture of the city, next to a “Palanquera” : a Colombian touristic symbol that represents the group of runaway African slaves, now known for selling fruits on the streets with colorful dresses – A “costume” that disguises the episodes of slavery caused by the Spanish colonization.

Location: Cartagena, Colombia
Shot on iPhone 7 Plus

Snowshadow
This was taken on the island of Rügen, which is a german island in the Baltic Sea. The spot where I took the picture is on the northernmost coast of the island, close to the little village Schwarbe. There was a strong wind from the sea behind me with some snow, and the wind and the flakes produced this kind of “shadow” on the “lee” of the trees. Everything was very black and white, except the smaller bushlike trees in the back that were a little brown.

Location: Rügen, Baltic Sea
Shot on iPhone 6S

Morning Mist
An early morning walk as the late summer fog weaves it way through old olive trees in Puglia, Italy. As the sun rose I went for a walk through the olive grove, hunting for an early morning coffee in the photographer’s golden hour.

Location: Puglia, Italy
Shot on iPhone X

The Last Secret of Jiangnan
It was a forest around an old village. In the morning magical plants crept out of the earth, the sky got brighter and brighter, the green leaves were a little transparent and a new ray of sunlight was pouring into all the gaps.

Location: Songyang, China
Shot on iPhone 7 Plus