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This is day seven of a seven day series celebrating the Cinque Terre.
See day six.
See day five.
See day four.
See day three.
See day two.
See day one.

All images by Elia Locardi.

About the photographer: Elia Locardi, a native Floridian, spent his childhood braving the electric blue waters and color filled reefs of the Florida Keys. This background helped engender his appreciation for the beauty of the natural world and no doubt contributes to his hyper realistic sense of color. Elia challenges the status quo by encouraging photographers to shed old-school stigmas and embrace new styles and techniques. With his quick wit and sarcastic sense of humor, he strives to enliven the field of photography and blur the lines between photography and art.

Armed with his camera, tripod, and an arsenal of caffeinated beverages, he travels the globe full time seeking out interesting photographic opportunities and the stories that accompany them. His unique vision of the world along with his impeccable eye for color and composition has helped gain him international acclaim.

I fall in love with each new place I visit, every time finding something unique and breathtaking. My goal is not only to photograph these places, but to truly capture all of their beauty, the way I perceive it, the way I want to remember it. With each photograph, I try to share my vision with others so they can see things the way I do, full of color and emotion, depth and texture. I hope to inspire people to travel for themselves, visit these beautiful places, and to fall in love with the beauty of the world.

My process: I’ve never loved the creative process as much as when I shoot and process photography. I hope that at least in some small part, that passion reflects in the final result.

 Keep in mind that even though I use many Post Processing Techniques, no new elements are added to these photographs. Once or twice I’ve fixed the moon but that’s all. Sometimes I paint things out like people, street garbage, power lines, Richard Simmons, and other elements that I feel are distracting from the scene. All of what you see is the pure and true result of old school photoshop voodoo, color correction, and a light application of HDR.

If you would like to know more about my Creative Process, I’ve written a detailed (and funny) series called: Technical Mumbo Jumbo, that outlines my entire work flow from concept to completion.

Elia remembers his visit in the Cinque Terre,

A few years back when I just started getting into travel photography, my wife and I visited our good friends near Florence. There, sitting in the living room was this amazing picture of colorful Italian buildings built into a seaside mountain. For me it had every visual element of a great photograph. At the time I had no idea that The Cinque Terre region even existed, let alone that it contained such unique and special beauty. I remember writing down in my notebook the word: Riomaggiore.

My wife and I travel full time, exploring and photographing unique places. Out of everywhere I’ve been, hands down, Cinque Terre was the most beautiful. The vista points blew our minds and we instantly fell in love. I’ve had a long love affair with the sea and for me, Cinque Terre embodied the perfect synergistic balance between civilization and the ocean. I instantly felt at home. To this day, my photos from Cinque Terre continue to be some of the most popular images in my portfolio.

Floods in the Cinque Terre:

This photographic tribute captures exceptional images taken before floods hit the Cinque Terre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprised of five villages built on the terraced slopes of Italy’s northwest coast.

Heavy floods that started on October 25, 2011 have severely damaged the villages of Vernazza and Monterosso in the Cinque Terre and surrounding towns in the province of Liguria and northern Tuscany. People have lost their homes and businesses and some have sadly lost their lives. Find out more here.

Government money has been donated to the region to help rebuild it; but it is not enough. People and organizations have rallied together to collect money that is desperately needed and I urge you to join us. You will find these following three payments gateways secure and require just three minutes of your time.

1) The non-profit society Save Vernazza was created to pro-actively raise funds and awareness for Vernazza via the English speaking community. They are accepting donations through Paypal. All funds collected will be directed towards the immediate efforts of rebuilding Vernazza, one of the two towns most affected in the Cinque Terre.

2) The Italian Red Cross is also accepting donations to assist in rebuilding all the towns in Liguria and northern Tuscany that were involved in this disaster. Donations are payable online via credit card. Please follow my payment instructions for NON- Italian addresses. Step 1: Go to the Italian Red Cross. Step 2: Using the drop down menu choose “Emergency Tuscany and Liguria”. Enter your donation in Euros. In the “zip” field enter 00000. Leave the “State” field blank. Choose your country (for USA choose Stati Uniti). Step 3: Choose payment method: Use a credit card; Paypal may not be accepted without an Italian address.

 
3) The City Hall of Monterosso is accepting Paypal donations. Monterosso al Mare was one of the two towns within the Cinque Terre most affected. This site is in Italian.

Thank-you for your support. TOGETHER we can do amazing things. History is PROOF! xxx Bianca

 

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