DADDY'S PORTRAIT
WHO
Piero Mescalchin ('daddy' for me writing) is among the pioneers of scuba diving in the Adriatic sea since the early 70's when he designed and manufactured one of the first underwater housing for filming cameras in 1972.
He has dedicated a lifetime to protecting sea life and underwater ecosystem especially locally where he dove countless times literally mapping the sea bottom in first person.
Working hard to establish a protected area off the coast of Venice, he realized his dream in 2002 and kept fighting for preserving marine environment from pollution and all other threats like fishing and ghost fishing.
WHAT
In a way, this is the most 'personal' project I've ever shot.
When my daddy sat down at the studio, I was truly honored and I took very seriously the opportunity of expressing my photographic vision in such an unusual setting. In facts, it's not everyday business being so personally connected with a subject. I enjoyed and explored this unique circumstance with curiosity and professional commitment.
WHY
My artistic goal for the series was early defined during the planning for the shoot. I aimed to creating a series of portrait images using very simple lighting to emphasize the authenticity of the posing. My area of interest was to explore the combination of very simple lighting diagram with very accurate light control in order to maximize the 'silence' feeling I love to infuse in the image through refined light occlusion. This worked to be the ideal environment for my work of research in capturing authentic expressions.
HOW
My lighting diagram for the project was very classic in directions but somehow innovative in occlusion (light control) and perhaps a bit unusual in terms of modifiers shapes. I worked my key-light with a generously sized 5' Chimera octaPlus, and used my 30" Octa Beauty dish for cross-lighting the backdrop.
Having such a big and soft key light, I maximized control with Lighttools 30° CUfocus Egg Crates. Exposure gradient from face area to the subject's lap has not been touched in post. What I like most about the CUfocus grid is the capability of using the full softbox softness into a precise sweet spot while creating a beautiful off-axis transition to the shadows.
For more on Piero Mescalchin visit www.mescalchin.it
Photography: Matteo Mescalchin
Studio host: digitalmovie.it
Lightcontrol tools: lighttools.com
Camera: Hasselblad H6-50c
Lighting shapers: Chimeralighting.com
Thank you for watching.