Before video, film photography was the first creative outlet I fell in love with. My parents had moved separately from Italy to the U.S. in the ‘70s, with my mom arriving via boat and passing the Statue of Liberty. When my dad arrived shortly after, one of the first major purchases he made was a Minolta SRT 201. He used this camera ten years later while on a return trip to NYC with my mom and older brother (then a baby). Interested in the large-scale restoration of the Statue of Liberty, he captured a photo of the landmark completely obscured and covered in scaffolding. As a child, this framed photo of the Statue of Liberty always stood out to me. My dad has consistently worked as a builder to support the family, but his photography allowed me insight into his creative life and ultimately affirmed my own unique ways of seeing the world through art. I used this same camera throughout high school and on into my adult life. To this day, I still shoot with my dad’s Minolta SRT 201 in combination with other film and digital cameras.
© 2021 simone scarpino