Honorable Mention

Letting Go
DESCRIPTION
In this portrait, the drops of water on Blerta's back represent what she has chosen to release. Each drop is a small part of something she no longer needs to carry: doubts, fears, expectations. They fall quietly, just like the way we slowly move on from certain things in life.Her posture speaks louder than any expression: she doesn’t hide, she stands, proud and open to the light, showing that letting go can also be an act of dignity and grace.
For me, this image is about transition from who you were, to who you will become.
AUTHOR
Born and raised in Rome, Italy, I started taking photographs late, at the age of 30, simply because I wanted to remember a trip I was going to take soon. I soon discovered that I do not like to make 'postcards', but that I like to narrate places and situations through the filter of my emotions. I get curious, passionate and study more and more. And just when travel photography begins to give me satisfaction and recognition, my heart tells me that portrait photography is the right medium to express myself completely. I do nothing but study the great masters and their photographs, I learn and refine my technique, I put myself in the hands of one of the greatest contemporary Italian professional photographers, and my expressive language begins to be born and develop. I discover that telling others through my emotions is not enough for me, I feel the need to tell myself through others. When I feel strongly that there is so much of me in one of my portraits, I know in my heart that the photo has succeeded.