Lea Capelli

Year of birth: 1998
Where do you live: Bologna, Italy
Instagram

What initially drew you to photography, and how has your relationship with it evolved since 2021?

As a kid and as a teenager I enjoyed taking random pictures of my friends, but in 2021 I decided to try film photography for the first time in my life nad bought a cheap point and shoot 35mm camera. I remember that my first roll came out a mess, and thinking about it now makes me smile. My relationship with photography evolved gradually and naturally. I practiced and improved by shooting pictures daily of what picked up my interest. Now I always carry a camera in my bag, because I like to be ready to take pictures in case I see something to frame.

Can you share how your Italian and French heritage influences your work or approach to capturing images?

When I think about my heritage, I mostly think about my family and the cities I’ve been to the most: Bologna and Paris. Bologna is a very small and cozy city compared to Paris, while Paris is a big and distinguished one. Staying in them feels different and each one highlights some parts inside myself in a different way than the other. Bologna is the city I know the most between the two, while Paris still holds an air of mistery to me. I long for both the known and the unknown and I think one can perceive it from my work.

Lea Capelli, Linear Coalescence, 2023

What do you find most captivating about analog photography, and how does it differ from your experience with digital photography?

Digital photography is more convenient in many ways, it gets the job done and it is more forgiving. It is a wonderful tool. However, analog photography feels different to me. I see it as a different process : slower, and more poetic. It feels like a mindful way to connect more with the world around me. By holding the negatives in your hands, I think the pictures can feel even more “real”.

Your journey into photography is also one of self-discovery. How has photography helped you understand yourself better?

Photography helped me focus more on the present and to experience what I am feeling in the moment in a more insightful way. It is a way of saying “I am here and I see you” to the world. And a way of feeling part of it.

How do you decide on the moments you want to capture? Is it instinctive, or do you have a particular process?

I personally think that the process of photography lays a lot in trust. Trust in the process, in yourself, your gear, and in the subject you are portraying. When I capture moments while street photographying, I try to blend in with my surroundings. When I capture portraits of people, most of the times I try to connect with whom I have in front of me. There have been moments in which taking portraits of someone came istinctively to me, as if in that fragment there was only them, my camera and myself.

Lea Capelli, Soul Gazing, 2022

Many of your images have a serene, reflective quality. What emotions or ideas do you hope to convey through your work?

My goal regarding other people seeing my photos is to make them feel. I might be able to convey some feelings or thoughts with my pictures, but most of it is not really dictated by me, instead it has more to do with the perception and the experience of the person seeing it. Nevertheless, I feel like my work is a reflection of how I see the world from my sensitivity regarding it.

Is there a particular subject or theme that you find yourself returning to frequently?

I love taking portraits of people. I try to shoot portraits whenever I can, even though street photography (and travel photography) is what I’ve been capturing most. One day I hope I’ll get the chance to explore reportage photography.

Lea Capelli, Trocadero, 2022