A wooden snake seems to slither from an olive tree, unless it is part of the same tree. It’s one of the most powerful and evocative images taken by Guerino Trivisonno, an Italian 60 year-old doctor specialized in hematology – he also set up a local blood donor association — who devoted himself to photography, a long-time passion along with painting and art in general.
He is the author of the stunning images that were exposed in San Martino in Pensilis old castle on the occasion of Extrascape, the international olive oil and olive landscape competition organized by Molisextra, a local producers association led by Francesco Travaglini.
The small village in Molise, one of Italy’s less known regions, also hosted “Extrascape.jpg” — a photography contest about olive landscapes. Trivisonno decided non to enter the competition, but to donate his pictures just for the pleasure to see them displayed.
“I always had a deep passion for images and sculptures and when I was kid I wanted to study arts. But my parents didn’t agree so I choose another career,” he said. “I became a doctor, but I could never forget my passion. So I started taking pictures of the local villages I visited to promote blood donation, especially among young people. I could find that showing them their own places and life was a powerful way to let them feel more involved. So I started reading books about visual communication, and I also noticed that my pictures were highly appreciated.”
A completely self-taught photographer, Trvisonno refined his style thanks to a friendship with fellow photographers such as Tony Vaccaro, an American photographer whose family came from Bonefro, a small village in Molise. Vaccaro is well known for his photos taken in Europe during and immediately after World War II and for his fashion and lifestyle pictures for U.S. magazines.
Trivisonno also found that social media like Facebook and Flickr could be a good source of professional growth, getting in touch with so many other photographers, and he found his own distinctive feature in “petrifying” people.
Everything can touch him but his favourite subject remains nature, in all of its shapes. He has an impressive collection of the rarest bugs and butterflies living in this area, and now he also has a good repertoire of olive trees and landscapes.
“I’ve known Francesco Travaglini for a long time, since he is a blood donor, and we are good friends. When he proposed me to enter the competition, I didn’t liked the idea that my pictures could be judged but I would have been happy to participate to this beautiful initiative. So I spent five days roaming through local fields and oliveyards to take my pictures.”
“Olive trees are one of the main feature of our landscape. We have many impressive centuries-old trees, and what I love the best about them is that their green color never fades. The olive tree is one of the symbols of Southern Italy’s landscape, and it gives me a feeling of strength and restfulness at the same time,” he told Olive Oil Times.
“Going around the Molise countryside was an intense experience, bringing back old memories: the special atmosphere of olive picking, gathering together with family and friends and eating bread with the freshly milled oil. These are old traditions that can help us keep our society together, and olive oil is a genuine product of our land that we should conserve and enhance.”
You can find Guerino Trivisonno on Facebook, where he will be happy to be your friend and share his experience and his beautiful images.
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