Nicola Gastaldelli is a Bussolenghese photographer who over the years has traveled around the world taking his shots beyond national borders. He has lived in many parts of the world from Singapore, passing through the Middle East, to France, but also in Israel or Spain. I interviewed him to let him tell me how he lived his experiences as a cosmopolitan citizen and how his passion for photography was born.
The Western Wall in Jerusalem – photo by Nicola Gastaldelli
Hi Nicola, thank you for this interview and welcome to itBussolengo. You moved to Singapore some time ago, can you tell us what you do and what brought you there?
I have been living in Italy for a couple of years now, but I spent many years in Yorkshire in England and from there I had contacts to go to Singapore, where I have lived for the last 10 years. I was selling wine and Italian products for hotels, restaurants and I was in charge of events, wine tasting and wine dinners for a local importer. Having experience in catering and being a sommelier, after several more attractive financial proposals, I decided to change and become a restaurant manager by working in a couple of Italian restaurants.
Singapore is considered the Switzerland of Asia, a city-state among the most expensive places in the world, a crossroads of Chinese, Malay, Indian and expat (foreign) cultures, religions and traditions. Super modern and technological, you can go from an aperitif on the 70th floor and in no time find yourself strolling in a colonial neighborhood like Chinatown or Little India. Singapore also has one of the most famous ports and airports in the world. It is located in a strategic position, a couple of hours flight from many beautiful destinations in Southeast Asia such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. This is why it was possible for me to combine work with my passion which allowed me to see many different places.
You are a very good photographer, so much so that you have an Instagram page full of interesting contents. How was your passion for photography started?
I grew up in a house where there was a dark room, a camera, and a collection of photography magazines, but only after some time did, I start to get passionate. From a young age, I have always had the desire to see the world.
At the age of twenty I had the opportunity to go to Palestine as a volunteer for about a year and a half, and there I took my father’s camera. So, I began to shoot and getting passionate about photography. Telling stories through the camera, new places, people I meet, things that interest me or inspire me about the world, the people and the planet we live in. Infact, photography (fotografia) is a Greek word which means writing or drawing with light, and I’m using my camera to write a story. I started as a young man with black and white and then moved on to slides, then digital, and I still keep and treasure my three film cameras.
Now a curiosity: can you tell us which subjects you prefer to photograph? Why?
I like to do documentary photography – reportage that is to tell a story through a gallery of images to document the life of people, places or events, a festival, but also an abandoned building or scenes of life and work, which tell a story. The images do not have to always be inherent in dramatic situations or wars.
I have done a lot of commercial work, portraits and photographed weddings in Bali, India, Vietnam and Singapore. I really like modern architecture and old buildings, doors, glimpses of colors, and textiles. I also deal with archival photography and Microstock agencies such as Shutterstock and fine art prints for interior house and art decor. I have had publications and collaborations with ‘The Leeds Guide, Absolute Leeds, Yorkshire Evening Post and other material around the world through Microstock agencies such as Shutterstock, Getty or Adobe Stock.
I often try to include the human presence in my photography, and I love portraits that can never be missing in a travel reportage. I have always placed the photo side by side as a passion or second job in my free time.
I also prefer color for the places I visited but if I have a particular theme in mind which, for example, I believe that black and white may be more suitable, I am able to change the vision and think just like in the colors I took. I hardly use the external monitor and I concentrate on shooting and not losing moments. I always try to travel very lightly. I don’t use powerful zooms and I try to get as much as possible into a scene, in contact with people. The photograph is completed with the final print (now there is a tendency to print less) or projects for books or other in commercial cases.
Portrait of Burmese Woman in Yangon Circular Line, Myanmar
Banksy in Bethlehem
Is there something you miss from Bussolengo and in particular from Italy?
During my stays abroad I have never missed Italy and Bussolengo, apart from my family and loved ones. There are always ups and downs when you are away from home, maybe there are dates and times you need to get used to. I am speaking not of the physical place but of the feelings. After six months and after a year, you can have moments where you wanted to go home, but if you pass those dates then you can stay, at least in my case.
At this age, I find traveling is hard and tiring. Let’s say that I used to move often, and life is already a journey. I like living in one place for a long period of time. I’ve been to the Middle East, Israel, and Palestine. I know Jerusalem very well. I was in Spain for a short time. I also used to work and toured almost all of France for 2 years or more on behalf of an Italian company, and came home every 10 days or 3 months. Finally, I lived a few years in England in Yorkshire, and then ended up in Singapore which gave me the opportunity to see other places. It’s weird it seems to have had multiple different lives when you live in multiple different places.
Now compared to two decades ago, we can have video calls and we can travel easily. Nothing to do with the trips of the past where we left once and we didn’t know if we would return later. For me, living in a place or anything else doesn’t change much, as long as it’s not too cold. As for travel, I like all places from the most touristic to the less popular and I don’t snub any place because I’m sure I’ll always find something interesting around the corner wherever I go.
Iran Protest Demonstration in Tehran, Iran
Do you have any advice for young people?
Having a dream or a goal. Try to accept the defeats and get up, always study and work well so that you get some results. An idea that we Italians often have is that we think we have a good job, of course we are historically important and excel in arts, architecture, literature, food and wine, to name a few, but there is a lot of competition out there and people who work just as well. Keep alive the local traditions and cultures, the language and the dialects, go out, go out, go around, be curious and love….
You have to have a lot of passion. You don’t need to travel the world if you don’t feel the passion.