Carlo Carletti Photographer

Puglia, Love and Pillows

admin — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:49:11 +0000

Here I’m back from Puglia where I had the pleasure to shoot the most fabulous and colorful wedding!
Puglia itself is such a beguiling and stimulating place with its own distinctive atmosphere. It seems half-Greece and half-Italy, with dazzling light, low whitewashed buildings, and the blue sea. There’s an elemental quality to the landscapes there, stark rocks, gigantic olive trees spiralling from dark red soil. It definitely provided the perfect set for this event. The wedding day was such a joyful, lively and colorful occasion, which was a real pleasure to capture with my camera.
But the top of the enjoyment came when I found myself shooting the most incredible pillow fight that turned into an explosion of white feathers filling the air of the room just like in a snowstorm! Absolutely phenomenal!
I must say I wouldn’t want to be the one who had to clean the room after…

Click on the image to view the gallery

JM 2010 Top Five Wedding Photographers

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:10:39 +0000

I’m very happy that the important JM Just Maried magazine added me in their list of the top 5 international wedding photographers. Here is an extract of and the link to the article:

JM – JUST MARRIED | International magazine devote to the luxury wedding.

Just Married chose to repeat the project started with the 2009 issue of the magazine, to find in the large portfolio of pictures available on the net five great photographic specialists in wedding photography; five interpreters of dreams that tell their story, through, of course, their images.

“Prizes, books, recognitions. The inimitable style of Carlo Carletti is the natural evolution of his experience in photojournalism. Today his wide angle lens immortalizes precious moments, brought to life by transcending the typical perspective of the telephoto lens. In this unique way, Carlo Carletti becomes a passionate narrator of stories: romantic, timeless fairy tales where context plays a fundamental role in the couple’s love story. When Carlo is asked what makes a wedding image unique, he replies: “the unpredictability of a situation, of an emotion”. Realism is the key word: a strength shown in a more vivid and extraordinary way by the black and white photography which has been a hallmark of the artist’s work since the beginning of his career.

A passionate narrator of stories: romantic, timeless fairy tales where context plays a fundamental role in the couple’s love story” Click on the link to view the article JM – Just Married

Campriano wood

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:54:40 +0000

Unbelievable, absolutely extraordinary: WPJA 2009 Photographer of the Year!!! …Again!

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:54:25 +0000

“Hi Carlo,

Congrats! It’s official. You are the 2009 WPJA POY!!!

This is an incredible achievement considering you won in 2006 as well. A first for the WPJA! ……..

David Roberts, WPJA”

This is the email I received from David Roberts, the founder of WPJA, and today the official news has been published. It’s almost unbelievable to receive these news on my birthday! I can hardly express my happiness for this most important achievement. The Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) is the most representative professional organization composed of photojournalists and wedding photographers from around the world. It’s a great honor to be part of this organization and to receive this prestigious acknowledgment. I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to WPJA and to all my precious colleagues and friends for all their support, friendship and appreciation.

Find here below the WPJA article:

For the second time in three years Carlo Carletti of Italy has been honored with the prestigious WPJA Photographer of the Year (POY). Carletti is the first to win the title twice, having won it previously in 2006 (WPJA Wedding Photographer of the Year ‘06). In addition to the honor and a $1,000 grand prize, Carletti’s name, for the second time, will be permanently engraved on a traveling trophy, which he is to keep for one year.

Carletti credits his historic accomplishment to an unwavering belief in wedding photojournalism. “WPJA is more than just a collection of photographers,” says Carletti from his home in Siena, Italy, in picturesque Tuscany. “It’s a style that has changed wedding photography. When I photograph a wedding, this style is in my head and heart. It allows me to tell the spontaneous story of the wedding day.”

Carletti’s photojournalistic sensibility, forged by many years spent working for magazines and newspapers, energize his award-winning images with wit, style and drama. Storytelling is key to Carletti’s success. He sees weddings as books with chapters, he says, and it’s up to him to find “the connecting thread running through the scenes. ”To do that Carletti never uses a telephoto lens. He prefers jumping into the action using wide angle (24mm) to normal (50mm) lenses on his Canon and Nikon digital cameras for up-close, inside perspectives. Carletti knows he mustfeel the moment to capture it effectively, and he cannot do that at a distance

Over the course of his nearly 25-year career, he has published four books of photography.

Winning the POY award in 2006 brought him international attention and he now photographs American and English couples that want to marry in Italy. He travels extensively throughout the country photographing weddings, but cites Venice as his favorite location.

His work is currently on exhibition in Galleria Istantanea in Siena, which Carletti recently opened with four fellow photographers to promote fine art photography. Included in the show are some of his wedding photographs. “We want to show that wedding photography can have artistic integrity.”

Lorna Gentry / For the Wedding Photojournalist Association

Once in Venice

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:44:07 +0000

A memorable Jewish wedding in Venice. It was a rainy day and the event had to take place inside the majestic Hotel Excelsior in Venice Lido. The rain contributed to creating a beautiful intimate atmosphere among the people and the celebration turned into a once in a life time event.

Click on the image below to view the gallery

Tuscanyscapes

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:30:35 +0000

In these days I did something I wanted to do for a long time: I organized my old photographic archive. Among all the many negatives and slides, I found some old slides of landscapes I took when photography was not my profession yet. I enjoyed wondering in the Tuscan countryside with my inseparable Leica. I think I got some good shot. Here they are after a slight adjustment in photoshop that at the time didn’t exist yet… hope you enjoy them!

Click on the image below to view the gallery

Photo Exhibition “Il Fotografo di Matrimoni”

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:29:02 +0000

Few days ago there was the opening of my photographic exhibition at the Galleria Istantanea in Siena entitled ’Il Fotografo di Matrimoni’ (The Wedding Photographer) to paraphrase the title of a famous movie by Marco Bellocchio. The exhibition features photos in large format from weddings I shot in these last years. The photos are all in black and white and most of them have been awarded in international contests. The exhibition is having a good success in attracting a lot of enthusiastic people at the gallery and articles on the exhibition appeared in the the local press. Also a critic of art wrote a very positive review in a Tuscan magazine. Not bad for wedding photos!!!

Snowy day

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:14:54 +0000

The other day I went for a walk in the snow in one of my favourite places in the world, the Crete Senesi. It was a grey snowy day and I wanted to capture this magical land so quiet and peaceful under the white cover. There were clouds above my photos plain, then the sky became brighter. At last the sun on this snowy day…

Galleria ISTANTANEA

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:56:52 +0000

Hear I am back, sorry for the long absence from this blog but believe me this has been a really hectic period! Besides the delivery of the last works of 2009 I was also very busy working on a project that I’ve had for a long time: the opening of Galleria ISTANTANEA, the first space dedicated to the world of Fine Art Photography in Siena. The opening was on 23rd January, it has been a real success beyond my expectations! The place was packed with enthusiastic people who showed their appreciation for the place and this new project in in the city. We are a team of 4 photographers who, in addition to crate a showcase for our work, have the purpose to promote national and international artists, providing quality and original photography to established and emerging collectors and to cater to special events in support of fine art photography.
So if you have the chance to come to Siena you are invited to visit Galleria ISTANTANEA!

Good news from WPJA second contest of the year! …

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:19:55 +0000

Here are my award-winning photos from the latest 2009 WPJA contest, the second contest of the year. I’m really happy having being assigned a 1st placement in the ‘Getting Ready’ section (one of the most competitive and challenging sections of the general contest) and two 9th placements in the ‘Ceremony ‘and in the ‘Transportation’ sections. Here below are the photos along with the Judges comments. Have a look, I hope you like them. Let me know what you think. Carlo

JUDGES COMMENTS: This photograph uses light brilliantly and I love all the layers and moments that are occurring in the scene. It’s a very intimate photograph that shows the photographer’s ability to capture everyone as if she or he were not there.

JUDGES COMMENTS: This image stood out against the others with good use of light and composition. It is a wonderfully humorous quiet moment.

JUDGES COMMENTS: This is the most complex composition of the competition, and its success in this arena brought it to this position. It’s clean and has nice light. The little girl at the bottom of the image was off in her own world, which gives the image more layers. Good execution of a complex moment

JUDGES COMMENTS: Very, very well done graphic image. The repeating images of the yarmulkes remind one of the rice kernels that will be thrown after the wedding. Nice lens choice to accentuate the receding dots.

JUDGES COMMENTS: Now there’s an unusual method of transportation. Lifting the bride off the boat and suspending her in mid-air give the picture a bit of a surreal feel. Very nicely composed with a spectator slightly off to the right to give the image a bit more of a cinema verite quality.

JUDGES COMMENTS: Nice action shot of the bride being lifted off a boat for a clear landing by the groom and an usher as another one looks on at right.