L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 11 L'Italo-Americano Marcello Moccia, trades Italy for California for photographic opportunities Abraham Lincoln once told of an Old Dutch farmer, who remarked to a companion that "it was not best to swap horses when crossing streams," indi- cating that doing so could be risky. Ignoring this sage advice, Italian Photographer, Marcello M o c c i a , b o r n a n d r a i s e d i n Naples, Italy, "one of the most beautiful cities in the world; full of history and art," accord- ing to him, recently moved to San Diego, California to contin- ue his 20+ years of photograph- ing exotic models, weddings a n d p o r t r a i t s . A l t h o u g h t h e change was a risk for Moccia, he indicates that life in Italy "was difficult, not only for pho- tographers, but in general." For him, "America is the realization of a dream," and he came here to realize that dream for the photographic opportunities and his new life. Now after being here for five and a half years, h i s b u s i n e s s i s e n j o y i n g t h e popularity it had in Italy. " I s t a r t e d m y c a r e e r l o n g time ago as a wedding photog- rapher because I enjoyed being p r e s e n t f o r o n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t d a y s i n p e o p l e ' s lives", remarked Moccia, who also enjoys dual citizenship and travels back to Italy from time to time to visit mother and two brothers who still live there. "In Italy, my name was added on the list of one of the best Italian p h o t o g r a p h e r , " s a i d M o c c i a w h o p h o t o g r a p h e d f a s h i o n m o d e l s i n M i l a n a n d o t h e r m a j o r I t a l i a n c i t i e s . M o c c i a actually started his photography c a r e e r a t t h e a g e o f e l e v e n , when he was his father's assis- tant helping to set up shoots and carry equipment. Although Moccia earns his living through his lengthy expe- rience and professional back- ground and lists photography as "my biggest passion," He also enjoys cooking, and has added photographing food for com- mercial enterprises to augment his income and pleasure. "As an Italian, of course, I enjoy cook- i n g a n d f o o d , s o n a t u r a l l y I have gotten into photographing food. His photographic skills have also led him to photograph charitable events, weddings and commercial ventures such as a d v e r t i s i n g t h e c r e a t i v i t y o f o t h e r a r t i s t s a n d c u l i n a r y events. He has recently com- pleted photographs for a mixed- media painter and his own web- sites. "One of my greatest joys i s p h o t o g r a p h i n g c h i l d r e n because they are the most spon- taneous and don't have to be told how to pose. They are natu- rals." T h e p h o t o g r a p h e r a l s o enjoys America's vintage auto- mobiles and is a collector of sorts who says he really "enjoys ROBERT GALLO my hobby of collecting antique cars." Thus far he has a 1953 White MG and a Model T Ford 27. "I got involved in collecting these cars through photograph- ing them first, and then collect- ing them. "I started photography with film cameras, developing my p h o t o s i n a d a r k r o o m . Unfortunately, due to the popu- larity of the Polaroid and then digital cameras, my job became easy enough to do for people w i t h l e s s e x p e r i e n c e a n d knowledge," recalls Moccia. " I started with well- known cam- eras such as the Canon FM3, Leica R6, Hasselblad CL, and now I use the most advanced digital cameras I can afford" r e m a r k e d t h e p h o t o g r a p h e r adding that his new darkroom became his MAC computer. "I can be paying greater attention to the details, colors and using m y f a n t a s y t o e l a b o r a t e t h e photos, making each of them unique and special for each dif- ferent occasion." Moccia utilizes the latest photographic equipment, but says he is not confined to the lab. He added that he is not averse to travelling to sites with his equipment and enjoys set- ting up and photographing peo- ple in their natural environ- ment. "I love natural light," r e m a r k e d t h e p h o t o g r a p h e r , adding that although a studio with lightening equipment can be necessary in certain situa- tions. His website attests to his love for photographing children and subjects in their natural environment where he displays photos of beach scenes, models, wedding events, and children. Looking back, Moccia says the risk of changing his work- ing environment (in midstream) f r o m I t a l y t o A m e r i c a w a s w o r t h t a k i n g t h e r i s k . "Everything becomes an oppor- tunity for me and although the first event of photographing events and other subjects came by chance, by now I am known a n d t h e w o r d t r a v e l i n g b y m o u t h i s b r i n g i n g m e m o r e opportunities," said Moccia, a d d i n g " I t ' s a l s o h a v i n g a n Italian personality that helps." Marcello Moccia

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