Federico Scoppa is a professional photographer from Napoli, Italia.
He’s also a serious devotee of the classic street photography approach; Scoppa always carries his Leica M or Minox 35GT, loaded with Tri-X.
He’s a dedicated and skilled darkroom worker as well, and loves to experiment with different cameras and formats. Scoppa was kind enough to share some of his excellent work with bwphotopro.com, and also talk about how the images were made
(see much more at his Web site;
http://www.scoppaphotos.com/Intro.html):
Are you a professional photographer?
Yes; I work in fine-art photography, reportage and sometimes in architectural photography.
Why do you work mainly in B&W? Why is B&W so special for you?
I always prefer to work in B&W even when I’m shooting for commercial photography (unfortunately this is not always possible). I think that B&W leaves to the viewer much more space to create fantasy than color does. Another reason is that in B&W I feel I have total control of each part of the process of the creation of the image, from the shooting to the printing.
Who are your photographic heroes?
My favorites photographer are all the reporters from the '30s '40s and '50s like Robert Capa, Henry Cartier Bresson, Weegee.
What is your favorite camera gear?
I work with all kind of cameras. I don’t have a favorite piece of gear. I think that a camera is only an instrument to get the right picture. Different kinds of pictures need different kinds of instruments. So I use Leica and Tri-X film for street photography and reportage that doesn’t require fast editing.
Canon EOS 40d for immediate reportage and for all the images for digital usage.
View cameras and large format film for architectural and creative photography. And I often like to use different cameras in all the situations just to have a different point of view, like using a Graflex Speed Graphic with flash bulbs for a reportage or a modified Holga for landscape shooting.
Tell us about your darkroom/setup and approach to & technique with darkroom work.
In film photography I work in a very classic way. I develop all my films (basically TX 400, TXP 320 and HP5) in D-76 in large tanks (4 gallons). Then I print on Ilford multi-contrast paper and Oriental Seagull graded paper with Durst enlargers (L-1000 and M-605) and cold light heads. All the prints are developed in Ilford Multi-contrast developer.
Do you carry your camera all the time, or do you set out on specific shoots?
I always have one or two cameras with me, mainly a Leica or at least a Minox 35GT, usually with a 35mm or a 50mm lens.
When I have a specific project I carry the camera I need, but I always have a Leica with me.
Tell us a little about some of the photos you selected: how/where they were made?
All the pictures that I’ve selected are from my street-photography portfolio. That’s because street-photography is my favorite kind of photography. It gives you the opportunity to have real contact with the people.
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
All these pictures were made on the streets with TX-400 film. I just like to walk in the streets and shoot unseen.
The picture with the four soldiers was made in Berlin during a parade with a Leica MP and a 35 mm lens. The one with the guy on the elevated subway stairs was shot in NYC (Bronx) with the same camera, just like the three men in the street that was made on the island of Capri. The woman walking near the bell tower is in Capri island and was made with a Minox 35GT. The woman in Matera (on the stairs under the clock tower) was shot with a Leica M4-P and a 35 mm, like the girl resting with Vesuvius volcano in the background in Naples. The man sleeping on a street with a accordion was shot in Venice with a Leica M3 and a 50 mm lens. Same camera, but with a 90 mm lens for the man walking in the street with the shadow, shot in Palermo. --ends--
