The Image Hunter

by Roberto Sironi

Who is Andrea Cuscunà?

Andrea Cuscunà is a Milanese photographer born and raised in the southern suburbs of Milan. I have worked and work on locations in different parts of Europe and the world.

Despite my studies in the commercial field, I have always been interested in photography and from the very beginning my aim was to make it my job despite my parents wanting me to go to work in a bank. With perseverance but also with a little luck I was able to make my wish come true, also through meetings with people who allowed me to start working in the advertising photography sector!

How did you approach photography?

In 1985 the meeting with a friend who worked in the graphic field introduced me to this fascinating world. In the 80s I started as an assistant at an advertising photographic studio in Milan where I learned technique, professional photography management, organization, both in the studio and on location, the photographic genres that developed were food, still life, people, etc. They were the most beautiful and exciting years for photography, creativity was at its peak and we also enjoyed working but, we worked hard.

What is your relationship with the camera?

Like everyone else in that era, I started photographing with an analog camera, first with the reflex camera and then in the studio with the excellent bench and medium format, then digital came along. Always analogue or digital, the camera is only a means to best represent one's ideas, sensitivity, composition, technique and in the case of commercial photography, being able to interpret and implement requests ... After all, CartierBresson used a simple machine , essential but made extraordinary photos.

What's your style, your technique?

In addition to my wealth of knowledge acquired over the years of professional work, my style and technique are also part of a language that is as natural as possible in terms of lighting and framing, taking advantage of what technology offers us today but, without abusing them so as not to make the images appear "fake", I always try to get the maximum possible during the shooting phase by taking care of the lines, the photographic rules of composition as much as possible and putting my interpretation of the space I am going to photograph, then what happens later on the computer is intended only to be an improvement and not a distortion of the image.

Speaking of gender, what’s yours?

I work mainly in the field of architectural and interior photography but still life and food are part of my professional background. I started my professional activity by opening a studio in Milan and dealing with Still Life and Food photography working for large national and international companies but, my real passion is towards the architecture of exteriors and interiors, and this is what I currently have above all. lucky enough to be able to do.

What interests you most in an image?

In an image I am immediately interested in what you want to represent and how this happens! The chosen framing, the light, the composition, the attention to detail are essential in trying to best enhance the subject in front of us and in my case the environments or architecture in front of me. In all of this, the moment of the day in which to shoot is also essential, that fleeting moment that you have to guess! It is also often true that you have to know how to give up temporarily and wait for the best moment ... In a sense it is a hunt, a “hunt for the image!”

Is photography an art or not?

Photography is an art when it is realized in a particular creative research or that represents something particular and original in terms of subject and creative development. I have often seen images for sale such as Photo Art but which communicated very little to me in terms of creativity and originality. To be art, it must have something more in this sense and catch the

IS Black and white and color

.... What do you think?

In some ways, black and white in the digital age has lost a bit of charm and quality, printing on "baryta" paper in the darkroom had a completely different flavor and was always difficult to achieve, only some professional laboratories knew print well, the craftsmanship gave it uniqueness.

Today Black and white or color are both effective if there is still a creative idea behind them, even if their use often has no quality. Black and white is very useful in architecture because it best represents shapes and volumes

Does the photographer's eye see or look like everyone else?

Ithink the photographer's eye is different from others in seeing things.

To reach his own image, to "find it", a photographer draws on his sensitivity and experience to better photograph the subject. In some images, sometimes there is also the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time but, on other occasions, the search for the shot and the construction of the scene are fundamental and often require time and organization. It is not necessarily the case that the photographer's vision is better than others, but it is certainly different, personal and professional.

What role does photography play in the virtual era?

Today, with new and increasingly innovative technologies, photography is certainly within everyone's reach! Everyone can make good images and with the help of software be able to make them even excellent.

We are invaded by images everywhere because anywhere and anyone can take them at any time and in any situation, photography has lost the charm of that artisan activity in which the photographer shot without knowing the final result based only on his experience and often completed the work of craftsman in the dark room.

Unfortunately, today everyone is a photographer, and in order to stand out, the professional must put something of himself into the images, he must bring all his wealth of experience and creativity into the images.

New projects ?

My next project is an urban architecture reportage on the achievements of the architect Giò Ponti in Milan. Being an architecture photographer, I could only create images that concerned my city and the architect who had the most influence at the time of the development of the city of Milan.

Today some of his creations are still at the forefront. The work was done almost completely in black and white. It started in 2021 and should finish by this year .