Framing Scenes with Francesco Legnani
Francesco Legnani captures the essence of place and moment. Explore his work through five captivating shots.
The pics of Francesco capture urban scenes and the essence of the places he visits. His work blends vibrant colors and strong black-and-white shots, depending on what each scene calls for. I’ve been following his photography for a while now, and I’m excited to share a preview of his work with you in this article.
A Story of Scenes and Places
I have always been interested in photography, initially as a way to build memories, and later as a way to document my travels, frequently in an urban context and sometimes in unusual destinations, mostly in Europe and Asia. During the years I have lived in two countries and traveled to over 40 ones, and while photography has never been the main purpose of my travel, I always have a camera with me.
The grass is always greener on the other side, and to me it looks like all other photographers have a more unique and more recognizable style, but if I had to describe mine, I would say that I am more interested in scenes and locations than in people. Which maybe doesn't perfectly fit within the definition of street photography, but it is how it is. It's not a defined choice, but looking at my shots, most of the time, light creates contrast, the color palette is limited to two or three main colors and there is just one person in the frame.
In terms of gear, I only use the Fujifilm X-T100 with XF 27mm and the Fujifilm X100VI. I shoot in raw to have flexibility and do post in lightroom, normally tring to edit in a way that doesn't change too much the picture but just emphasizes the key aspects.
Francesco Legnani
This picture has been taken in Zürich, the city I moved to about a year and a half ago. It was inspired by a famous picture by Fan Ho. I was crazy lucky to walk by just as the light created that strong contrast and the girl was perfectly framed in the middle of the door. What I love about this is that the real subject is the light, which doesn’t happen very often. I remember I waited there for about two hours trying to get another good shot but I didn't, then the light changed and the contrast wasn’t as striking anymore.
This photo was taken in Busan, South Korea, in a place called Gamcheon Culture Village, known for being "The Machu Picchu of South Korea". I have about 100 pictures of the same scene - believe me or not this was the best one - with the two painters doing the job. I stopped shooting when they noticed me, as I didn’t want to make them feel uncomfortable. For me, the real subjects here are the colors.
This was taken in the same place as the previous picture. I love how the red building stands out, with the person almost serving as a complementary subject. Once again, the focus is on the scene and the location, rather than on the people.
I shot this in a place called "Mercato Centrale", in Milan, where I lived for four years. While the picture is far from being perfect, cropped heavily and slightly out of focus, I like the framing and the contrast created by the steam.
Last year in November, I traveled above the Arctic Circle during the Polar Night, when the sun never rises, and even daytime feels like night. I was in Tromsø, Norway around noon. Again, the picture is not perfect, but the light from the building - it is actually a church - together with the cold tones, make the viewer feel what it is like to be there during that time of year.
More about Francesco Legnani
And that wraps up this article! I hope you enjoyed discovering Francesco Legnani’s work and the stories behind his captivating scenes.
If you’d like to be featured in a future article, feel free to drop me a message.