From Passion to Profession: An Interview with Acclaimed Photographer Federica Nardese
I’ve been an “intuitive photographer” for all my life. I loved having a camera in my hands to stroll around and capturing moments, at school, on a train trip, with friends.
My love for photography originated very early in my childhood when I found my parent’s old film camera. I remember I was fascinated by the object itself.
It was this first impression that lead me to buy a Minolta “Memory Maker” camera with my pocket money in early 1990s. It was a little black plastic box but it worked like magic. This quickly ignited a passion and became a creative outlet for an introverted young lady.
Many years passed by. During my 20s and 30s I travelled the world, studied for a Masters Degree in Adult Education, & Counselling, and set up a successful corporate career
But a deeper calling caused a yearning inside for more. It turns out, photography was the answer.
It was in 2009 that I got back into photography, embracing digital photography with a Nikon while self-studying all that I could to get as close to my art as I could.
Then, in 2016 I realised that being an “hobbyist” was too demanding for me, a lot of unpaid work, for what? Posting on social media? I felt I was ready to chase that dream of becoming a professional photographer. I studied photography as a business and in 2017 I was ready to open my photography business in Milan, Italy.
During these years I managed to also create a fine art portfolio, my work has won numerous awards, been shown in Italy and abroad since 2013 in both solo and group exhibitions and it has been published in photographic journals internationally. I’m an Art Counsellor and Educator, providing workshops and courses to photographers and artists online and in person.