“If your picture is not right, you haven’t been close enough”, said war photographer Robert Capa. This closeness is what I aim for. I have never been in a war but from time to time, life has its own times of war. I think that the challenge is to continue seeing life as a playground; with the imaginative power of our childhood, with curiosity – observing what we can feel but have no words for – and to enjoy the moment.

I don’t want to wait or waste a moment of this precious thing we call life, but follow the nagging urge to grab the essence of life with my camera.

For years I have been intrigued by the idea of objectivity, for example, in Italian postwar neorealist movies, although I know there is no such thing. Trying to find and mirror reality is what drives me.

With my camera, I reflect empathy for the one person in the street and daily life. Our place of birth may determine the opportunities we have in life, but we all share the same feelings of love, solitude, sorrow, joy, and hope.