Name: Gabriele Mannelli
Picture title: Imaginary Creatures
Category: Plants and fungi
Nationality: Italy
Occupation: I’m not a full-time photographer, I’m also an entrepreneur in the public transport sector.
Technical information
Camera: NIKON D800
Lens: 80-400mm F4.5-5.6
EXIF: 80mm, 1 Sec, f/10, ISO-400
Accessories: tripod and underwater torch
HIGHLY COMMENDED CATEGORY PLANTS AND FUNGI
Gabriele Mannelli | Imaginary Creatures
Name: Gabriele Mannelli
Picture title: Imaginary Creatures
Category: Plants and fungi
Nationality: Italy
Occupation: I’m not a full-time photographer, I’m also an entrepreneur in the public transport sector.
Technical information
Camera: NIKON D800
Lens: 80-400mm F4.5-5.6
EXIF: 80mm, 1 Sec, f/10, ISO-400
Accessories: tripod and underwater torch
Gabriele Mannelli says:
I have been traveling the world since I was a teenager, pursuing long-term photography projects. Mine is not a search for the perfect shot, but rather a search for the perfect emotion that gives birth to a good image. As it happens, this photograph was taken a few kilometers from home. We often focus on big issues far from where we live, losing sight of precious details around us. It was spring 2022 when I took this image which is part of a wide-ranging project, born completely spontaneously from a very strong emotional need within me. I had recently suffered a bad, false, and deceptive situation, which had completely destroyed me. So I returned to the natural pond located within the Foreste Casentinesi National Park, a place I have been frequenting for some years. That time I was able to see beyond the usual images. The pond is located within an old-growth forest with the oldest centuries-old chestnut and beech trees in Europe. Numerous amphibians and insects live in the body of water, but also very interesting aquatic plants such as the Potamogeton Natas immortalized in this photo. Each image contains a sensation, a feeling, this was the objective of the project, which lasted about two months.
Gabriele Mannelli
Italy
Gabriele Mannelli is a photographer and entrepreneur who lives in Italy on the hills of Florence. His first contact with photography began as a child in the late 1980s with a Nikon FM reflex. Since then his artistic and spiritual journey has led him to travel to over 40 countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand, India, Namibia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central and South America, and Europe. His passion for endemic plants and rainforests led him to create important long-term video and photographic projects. Like the work carried out on the Laurissilva forest between the Canary Islands and the Azores with the focus on filtering light. The intent is to bring the observer greater knowledge and sensitivity about the fragility of our ecosystem.From 1994 to 2014 he constantly traveled in Africa, carrying out humanitarian projects in the most remote villages of the continent, creating countless photographic projects on local tribes and populations. Gabriele is the recipient of awards and publications such as FAPA – Fine Art Photography Awards – Asferico – National Geographic – Nikon photography.