COMACCHIO & PO DELTA 2024: A 4×5″ PORTFOLIO
THE MOODY, MELANCHOLY BEAUTY OF THE RIVER PO'S DELTA
The river Po, Italy’s longest, flows towards the Adriatic Sea where it scatters in a wide delta the waters collected along his journey through most of Italy’s width. Since the beginning of recorded history, man lived in a beautiful and terrible commune with the big river; its floods killed and destroyed, but they also made the soil rich and fertile. Man tried to contain and use the Po’s waters, attempting to harvest the good it brought while protecting themselves from the bad of the floods. Man reclaimed lands, only to see the river conquer them again.
This long history of interaction between man and nature left behind one of the most touching, melancholic and beautifully moody landscapes I ever worked on. Placed in a strategic position in the delta, Comacchio is my wife’s and my favorite base to explore and photograph this inspiring area.
A very welcoming small town, Comacchio’s center has canals making it look like a miniature Venice, one than can be walked in hours rather than weeks though. Charming, moody and beautiful, with a placid and enjoyable lifestyle, Comacchio is one of those places I am always happy to go back to.
We have been going to Comacchio – and to explore and photograph the Po’s delta – for a decade now, visiting as often as our busy schedule allows, and we have been running Workshops here since 2016. In early December 2024, after a long and busy fall Workshop season, on our way back home we added a stop in Comacchio for us to relax, and for me to do some work there with my new Arca-Swiss 4×5” F-line large format camera.
While they are home to glorious sunrises and sunsets if the weather cooperates, the river Po’s delta’s landscapes are especially beautiful under a cloudy sky and when wrapped in fog, lending themselves to minimalist work and to darker, moodier imagery.
I anticipated 4×5” black & white film to be a perfectly suited medium for the task, and I wasn’t disappointed; working on the Po’s delta’s landscapes with large format film was a real joy.
I am very happy to present you here the small Portfolio resulting from these 5 days of work in Comacchio and the Po’s delta (click on the images to enlarge them):
All photographs have been taken with Ilford FP4+, rated at 100 ISO, and developed in Pyrocat-HD for 12 minutes and 30 seconds, 30 seconds of agitation at start followed by 2 agitations per minute. The film has been pre-washed in water for 5 minutes prior to developing.
Thank you for joining me in this moody trip around the river Po’s delta, it was a real pleasure to share this Portfolio with you!
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2 thoughts on “COMACCHIO & PO DELTA 2024: A 4×5″ PORTFOLIO”
I’m on the cusp of acquiring a 4 x 5 camera. Your work is inspiring.
Hey Gary,
thank you for your comment, so glad to hear that you are enjoying my work and it inspired you to consider working with 4×5″ film! If you’ll decide to go for it, let me know if I can help you at all with your quest. Best regards,
Vieri