Speaking with Photographer, Enrico Fossati

The talented, Enrico Fossati is an Italian photographer who captures beautiful landscape photographs with a somewhat dreamlike aesthetic. In our latest Azutura interview, we were lucky enough to chat to Enrico about his beautiful art, his love of Tolkien and his other inspirations, his use of social media and much more.

Hi Enrico - That’s for setting aside the time to talk to us. Can you start off by introducing yourself and telling us a little about your life and work?

Hi, David. Thanks for the time you are dedicating to me and my work. I am a professional landscape photographer based in Northern Italy. I define myself as a creative photographer because I use various digital techniques for realizing my visions.

I am deeply inspired by paintings and fantasy culture so I spend a lot of time planning and realizing my visions. My production is limited to a few pictures at year due to the necessity of time study and inspiration.

Over the years my works have been awarded and published in many magazines in the EU and North America.

How and when did you become interested in photography?

Well, my passion for landscapes has deep roots. I always admired paintings and pictures from popular locations in the world so over the years since I was a kid, I always took pictures as memories but I never thought of photography as a job or doing it seriously. Then, one day, a friend who was looking at my pictures said to me “Why don't you purchase a DSLR?” That’s where my journey began.

What’s an average day like in the life of Enrico Fossati?

Quite boring LOL. I am not travelling all year in epic locations because I also work as an IT professional. Photography is my side job. Why don't I quit my regular job? Because I love photography and I want to be free to say “no” and not make it into my work.

So what kind of kit do you use?

I’ve worked with many bodies, actually, but I’m currently using all Leica gear as I'm working exclusively for them. My Kit is SL2, 16-35, 24-90 and 90-280.

Your photos have a dreamlike and fantasy feel to them - How do you edit your shots to give them such a unique look?

Well, I am deeply inspired by all that is fantasy and the looks from Lord of the Rings. As you can imagine, I am a hardcore fan of Tolkien.

I process all my works with Photoshop and I find it is an essential element to give a soul to my pictures. I strongly believe in fine art photography that is not applying a random filter on your pictures but an artistic manual work that makes your works unique.

How do you find the perfect shooting location?

I love finding new places that are intimate and just out of the touristic areas. The most rewarding activity for me is to explore an unknown area and find something that I feel mine. The satisfaction for me is enormous.

I think it is my way to paint to find a hidden spot somewhere in the Alps and successfully realize my vision is like a painter paints his canvas. Usually, I avoid shooting iconic locations. I mainly follow my research.

It would be easier to be popular and sell works based on a very top location but I am determined to continue my visual path.

In many of your images, you play with light. Can you tell us a little bit about this?

The light diffusion is the fruit of my post-processing and the nature of that kind of light comes from my romantic vision of the landscape. I’m totally in love with the painters of the past century, romantic painters and luminism.

You’ve previously mentioned you’re inspired by different types of media such as films, books, music, etc. - What are some of your favourites?

I could write many, many names here. About modern Illustrators, I love Allan Lee, John Howe, Les Edwards, Ian Miller, etc. They are very famous illustrators and very well known as designers of the fictional Tolkien world.

Then there are painters from the past century like Bierstadt Cole, Church Caspar, David Friederich, William Turner, Constable Oheme, etc.

I am a huge fan of historical, fantasy and science fiction movies like the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood, etc.

About music. I like a lot of kinds of music. I am deeply inspired by film scores or atmospheric classical music and also heavy metal.

Do you have anywhere on your bucket list you haven’t managed to photograph yet?

Many places are on my bucket list. New Zealand and Vancouver Island are two super amazing locations that I would love to visit soon but also some locations in the UK like the Dartmoor National Park.

Instagram seems to be a big tool for you as a photographer - Could you tell us what part this plays in your work?

Social media is an essential tool for a photographer today for finding customers and contacts. For me, it is the least interesting part of my work, and I only do the minimum necessary to highlight my presence in the sector. I feel better out there shooting my pics. If one day I’m rich I will pass this job to another person LOL.

What advice would you give an aspiring photographer?

Live your passion, follow your heart and your inspiration rather than following the trends.

What’s the future looking like? Any big projects coming up?

I have many things on the way but it is hard to foresee what will happen. My next photo trip will be close to your country, I’m visiting Ireland.