Lucrezia Cosso, is based in Florence, Italy. She’s the other half of Stefano Santucci Studio, who believes life is about happiness, and is only real when shared. An avid reader of classics, Lucrezia also loves watching film and documentaries. Best still, she loves choclates. And she isn’t shy to share with us the biggest mistake she made when shooting with film.
1. What is life to you? What it should be?
To me life is all about to feel alive, in other words life is happiness. To feel alive, to be happy I have to do what I love, so I take photographs, travel, enjoy new places and meet new cultures, read many books and share all with my dearest friends. "Happiness is real only when shared", says one of my favourite quotes.
2. How much is your family an influence on the way you view life, see things?
I wouldn't be the person I am now, without my family, for sure! I have Argentinian, Lebanese, Irish, French and Spanish origins, and I think this factor gives me an insatiable wanderlust and thirst for knowledge.
3. What is your favourite non-photography pass time?
When I don't take pictures, I love to spend my time reading books (in particular the English and Russian classics), watching movies (I love the ones made with great accuracy on the cinematography) and documentaries, attending exhibitions and, of course, travelling. Among my favourites (authors, books, movies and artists, all mixed together): Jane Austen, Dostoevskij, Dickens, A man, Jane Eyre, The Tree of Life, To the Wonder, (500) days of Summer, Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, La grande bellezza, This must be the place, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Klimt, De Chirico, Magritte, Dalí.
4. What TV are you watching?
I watch lots of series, my favourites are the comedies: I grew up watching Friends! But I also watch many documentaries in an Italian channel called SkyArte, it's the best for art documentaries! And it airs an amazing series about Italian most famous photographers: Fotografi. This program analyses many different genres of photography through the works and the words of their protagonists. I absolutely adore this show!
5. What do you like to eat?
Chocolate, chocolate and chocolate. Unfortunately I can't live eating just chocolate, so I eat many other things, but not spicy. In my home, I'm not the cook, I'm a real disaster in the kitchen! So the other members of my family cook Italian and Argentinian dishes. I eat a lot of meat, as half Argentinian, Argentine is well known for its asados, and born in Florence, where Florentine steak is one of the most famous dish, I couldn't be a vegetarian. Indeed I don't eat vegetables at all. I hate veggies! All of them! :D
6. Is/Are there any project(s) you wish you could do - or might do?
On my wishlist there is a travel (and of course, lots of pictures!!) in Iceland. I've seen so many breathtaking pictures of the Icelandic landscape that I fell in love with it! I wish I'll be able to photograph an aurora borealis once in my life! In the meantime I'm projecting to visit Patagonia, in Argentina, this winter, for the second time in my life. I'm very excited to visit Perito Moreno again because last time I was carrying a 2mpx camera, and it was there where I basically start taking photos.
7. Do you shoot with your left or right eye?
Right. I tried once with my left eye but I couldn't almost find the viewfinder! :D
8. Are there any unseen experimental images in your attic you’d like to show us now?
I've an hard disk plenty of unseen imagines! But I can show you the latest tiny project I develop in Venice, where Stefano and I were few weeks ago for an engagement photo shoot. During the blue hour the cityscape reminded me a painting by Magritte I saw at the MoMA in NYC many years ago.
9. Who was an influence growing up?
Growing up, as photographer I've been inspired by many other artists and photographers I found through the World Wide Web. Also the many museums I've visited along my life influenced my point of view! But the 3 artists I love the most and I consider my inspirations are Giorgio De Chirico for his prospectives, Claude Monet for his reflections in the water and series, and Emmanuel Lubezki for how he captured the light and the shadows in The Tree of Life.
10. If you were to start all over again, is there anything you would do differently? Why?
If I could go back in time and start all over again, I would definitely check twice the loading film process in my analog camera of some roll that resulted unexposed! :D
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