SELF AND THE WORLD
Helmut Pilo
Contrary to the impression my name might give you, I was born and raised in Cassino, a small town in central Italy. My passion for photography began in 2016, when I took my first trip to Iceland. I bought a camera to capture the most beautiful places, with the intention of preserving the memories. The wild and majestic nature of Iceland conquered me. Its untouched landscapes, the magical silence, and the natural wonders deeply fascinated me, giving me a sense of peace and awe. Back home, looking back on the photos I took, I knew I wanted to dive deeper into my interest in nature and photography. At first, I thought that a good camera was enough to take good pictures, but that was not the case. I began to devote all my free time to photography, and the more I devoted myself to it, the more I felt that this was my dimension. From the great Northern landscapes of Iceland, Norway, and Lapland, to the Dolomites, the Abruzzo forests, and the Tuscan hills, what attracted my attention most of all was the spectacle of nature itself.
As time passed, I longed for ever-deeper contact with it. I didn’t want to be simply in front of nature, but inside nature. I wanted to enter into an intimate and intentional relationship, where I would discover more about myself, as well. For this reason, my attention was drawn to the details, the nuances, emotions, and sensations that often go unnoticed, revealing the true essence of what we observe and who we are. If I had to define what photography is, based on my own experience, I would say it is a journey of discovery–of both myself, as an artist, and the world.
This article first appeared in PRISMA, Issue 25.