The first time I’ve ever seen pictures of an area in the middle of Italy called Tuscany was through an aerial series (Tuscany From Above) by the Hungarian photographer Gabor Nagy back in 2017. I was fascinated by the vast & minimalistic landscapes. The dried-out patterns & the brownish colours. I was intrigued by the feeling I had seeing those landscapes. I knew I had to see this region with my own eyes at some point. This series by Gabor Nagy inspired my for my own approach in documenting one of the most beautiful parts of Tuscany: The Val d’Orcia.
Fast forward 3 years I finally made it happen during a recent roadtrip to Italy. There is something so magical about finally visiting places you dreamt about for so long. A surreal feeling worth waiting for.
During my time in the Tuscan backcountry, I spent 3 days roaming around different parts of the Val d’Orcia in search for unique angles and compositions in various light situations. Most of the pictures were taken during the middle of the day as the harsh light created a strong contrast that separated the different layers of the reduced compositions. Resulting in a cleaner and more minimalistic outcome.
During the production of this series I focused intensely on searching for minimalistic & reduced compositions of the Tuscan hillsides. I wanted to portrait the vastness of the area through showing less. I also wanted to highlight the abstract patterns of the dried out earth structures and plant life through using high focal lengths (mostly around 200-400mm) during the creation of the series.
It was hot. It was dry. It was vast. That’s how the Val d’Orcia appeared to me. It almost felt like being in a desert.
The Italian Desert.
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Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted to Roland Krämer. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
