Chiara Dondi takes experimental analog photography to magical new realms. Her dreamy images are spun from a two-part technical process, of which photography is only the beginning. After an initial black and white film shoot, Chiara proceeds to careful hand-tint her chosen prints, adding a mystical aura of colour to the final composition.
“The sensations that I try to give to my photos are the same ones that I can breathe when I take a walk in the woods around me, looking for a great set. I can feel that everything around me is full of life, even what I can’t see with my own eyes. This is what I want to transmit to the person looking at my photo.
Take a deeper look into my inner world, into my sensations.”
Chiara draws much of her creative inspiration from her background and her home-place; the physical landscape and nature that fills her day to day consciousness. But she is also deeply moved by music; any and every type of music from Classical Music to New Wave. In fact, her photography shoots are always accompanied by an inspirational musical soundtrack, which she prepares during the incubation period of the project.
“I love film photography because you never know if your photo will be as you wanted. It’s amazing to use a support that has so much history behind it.”
These images were shot on a Lubitel 166B with B&W Ilford film.
Listen as you look:
