Alice Russolo Photographer – Interview
Alice studied to be a lawyer, but then found out her love for nature, traveling and mountains. Photography helps her to fly away and dream. And who can do that better, if not a girl?
Alice, tell me something about you.
I’ve always been a creative, hyperactive person! One of my grandpa was a carpenter, the other one a painter. I’ve spent part of my childhood with them and they have been the two crucial figures in growing up and developing my interests. One of them was a real lover of life, travels and adventures. He felt the urge to express himself through painting, he wanted his works to tell a story or a state of mind. I can really relate to him, we share the same enthusiasm and that’s what I try to do with my photography. My parents loved photography too. I’ve always seen a lot of film cameras in my home and as I child I was fascinated by them. But the time to choose what university to attend arrived and sport was crucial to me by then. I used to play tennis and the only thing I wished for was improving as much as possible and took part in tournaments. Between a training session and another, I decided to attend a Law school. I asked myself many times if I could make a living out of photography, and I ingenuously answered no. Law school seemed to be the obvious choice to me: near my hometown, so I could go on with my training; no mandatory attendance; not so strictly connected to a specific future profession. Two years passed by and I realized that was not my path, but I’m a not the kind of girl that leaves things half-done. So I took my degree in five years and put aside the University chapter. I wanted to try different sports, see new places, bring back home with me as much as experiences as possible. I could have done all this through photography. Staying in the sports world travelling, capturing moments and emotions with my camera. Bingo. So after graduating I literally flew to San Diego, United States, leaving the legal practice that in the meanwhile I had started and my job as a tennis instructor. I attended several photography workshops and worked as an assistant for a photographer that I met at one of those workshops. I also discovered surfing and California’s beer, so I decide to stay a little longer. After coming back to Trento, I had only one goal in mind: put together my passions e make a living out of them. Photography, sports and travel.
Today I can proudly and happily say that I made it!
Do you love more photography or the mountains?
I would say that they are on the same level. Mountains are an excuse to go out and taking pictures, and taking pictures sometimes bring me to the mountains. It’s a two-way path!
What kind of added value is working in a world you chose and taking pictures of what you love the most?
Being a photographer is a real job, but my passion is so big that sometimes I forgot I’m working! Doing something I love gives me great satisfaction: I can manage my time and my professionalism, I’m happy with a camera in my hands. And I think that the more happy we are, the more we are pushed to improve: to stay updated, to try new things and to think that, even if there will be hard times and some tough moments, it’s always worth it.
Is it important to know mountains and how to move through them to shoot them?
Sure, the most you know about an environment or a sport the more you’ll be able to represent it. You can caught some details that may seem unimportant to the majority of people, but not to the eyes of an expert. The better you move in that place, the more you are free to dare with points of view, without wasting precious time.
Tell me your last most exciting experiences.
A ski touring trip in Norway, into the Lyngen Alps. Sea, snow and endless sunsets. Again, travel, sport, pictures!
And what’s next?
At the end of October I’ll go climbing in California with my boyfriend, he’s an alpine guide and a filmmaking enthusiast. I hope to reach a decent level on crack climbing by the end of September, if not, I hope at least to bring back home with me some beautiful pics of the place where it all began for me.
Which photographers are you inspired by?
I’d love the positivity in Chris Burkard’s images, Jered Gruber’s point of views and Tal Roberts’s lights and shadows game. I really like the variety in the images of Ted Hesser and Jeremy Bernard, but luckily my list is always getting longer. What I like changes over the time as well as my shooting and the post production style.
Outdoor photography. Just a trend?
We live in a digital era when “taking a picture” is becoming easier and easier. Sometimes I wonder if someone is doing that just to post a pic on social media and not for the purest sense of the act itself, for the pleasure of photographing and being immersed into nature. Without sharing it, would it be the same? A dear friend of mine would say: “do less and share more” if you know what I mean! On the other side, for every mountains and outdoor lover the most beautiful thing, at least for me, is the experience. We love going to the mountains and experiencing new things, maybe in a place we’ve never been before, so why not taking a picture?
What’s your relationship with social media?
I use them a lot. When I feel like I’ve spent too much time on Instagram I say to myself: “Well, it’s for work”. Maybe it’s an excuse, but I think it’s essential to look at the work of other people, searching for inspiration and trying to improve ourselves. Instagram is a fantastic place to see others’ works and passion, and to show your work as well. If used correctly it has a great potential in visibility. I love to interact with people, read the comments under my pictures and sometimes share something of my personal life. So in the end I would never go without it!
A lot of girls are discovering the passion for the outdoor, what do you think about it?
There’s a lot to say. There’s more awareness on health, on our bodies, we put more attention in what we eat, in sports and in a healthy lifestyle. Female communities are growing, the purpose is to link women together in order to live more deeply the outdoor. Being in the mountains is beautiful and so is the physical effort, both for men or a women.
What would you say to a girl that wish to be an outdoor photographer?
Try and believe in it. With passion, humbleness and dedication you can do great things.
I would recommend her to start in a field that she knows well, and then try to gather experiences in as many branch of photography as possibile. You can learn something from every job, and that could have an influence on the following one. The best athletes stand out in their discipline, but thanks to their skills they can be good and well coordinated also in other sports. A photographer should be like this, being able to move in all the different situations that come up.
Are mountains democratic?
Mountains are open to everyone, but they’re not for anyone.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
With a camera in my hands and some more wrinkles. I don’t know where. A camera backpack on my shoulder, a bag ready to go and a lot of enthusiasm for the experiences that will come.
Website: www.alicerussolo.com
Instagram: @alicerussolo
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