Paul Tornaquindici

"I love going to an unfamiliar place, seeing it for the first time, looking and listening intently and photographing what and how I feel in that place"

Click. A simple click of the mouse. A click at 2 a.m. on a sleepless night and I was on my way to Iceland. It was a chance viewing of Michael Reichmann's photographs of Iceland on The Luminous Landscape website in the early hours of the morning. Something about the images that I saw beckoned.

I had not photographed anything in earnest since college, and that work was more photo journalistic than anything else. What was I doing in 2004 heading for Iceland to photograph landscapes?  I had learned photography on a 4X5 camera and rangefinders. Fred Pickers' Zone VI newsletters and classes with Mary Frey had taught me how to use them and to see. But this was now the digital age.

The first stop in Iceland I got out of the van with the other photographers and I was nervous; carrying my camera and tripod in hand with film cards and two lenses in a vest pocket. I set up the tripod and set the camera on it. I turned to reach for a grey card and out of the corner of my eye saw my camera and lens falling fast to the rocky ground! I spun and caught it inches from the ground. Groan. Did anyone see that? I put the camera on the tripod and this time locked it down properly. Thankfully, I met Daniel Bergman and Skyr and all was well.

I have had the privilege of learning from Daniel Bergman, John Paul Caponigro, Stephen Johnson, Michael Reichmann, and Ragnar Th. Sigurdsson. Their wisdom and kindness is greatly appreciated and I cannot thank them enough for their friendship, patience and care over the years..

This is the record of my journeys, the lessons learned, and the images that have come from my travels. I trust what has so moved my heart will resonate in yours!