The Italians just do it right.
Quick story: Last year I REALLY got into snowboarding and was so excited to finally buy my first board. I had been renting or borrowing for the past 2 seasons and after having "mastered" some bunny slopes, I figured it was time to step up my game. I went big and walked into Burton with the confidence of a skilled black diamond boarder and spotted my board in an instant. I didn't care what type of board it was (good for tricks, experts only, back-country) I just knew it was mine. Most were covered in graphics over-dosed in color, mine was clean white with an image of a beach scene half way down the board. Yes. Obsessed.
Cut to..
I come to find out (after googling with my eyes, then actually googling on the web) this was a collaboration with Italian photographer Massimo Vitali, an artist that one of my photographers introduced me to and I had been admiring his work for quite some time. How cool! I had no idea when I bought the board and now love it even more.
Massiomo Vitali was born and raised in Como and after spending his early years as a photo journalist, then cinematographer, he moved on to large format photography as a means for artistic research. His vast beach panoramas tend to capture, as he calls it, the "herd" enjoying Italian culture. His imagery is so real yet has a sense of fantasy with the angles in which he captures these scenes.
Click below to take a look at some of my favorite pieces. Truly breathtaking if you have a chance to view his work in person
