Biography

I was born in IItaly in San Bonifacio, near Verona, on June 1st, 1953.

I have been working as a photographer for publications, still life, advertisement and research since 1979.
In the 80s, my work was divided between photo reporting, in Europe and in the United States, and advertisement jobs for important Italian companies like Asolo, Belfe, Campagnolo, Canguro, Hatù, Nova Serenissima, Sauber, Zonin, Zuegg.

The early 90s were important years. With Bugatti Automobili I shared the exciting Italian adventure; with Mondadori, I realized about eight hundred images for a series of books; Franco Maria Ricci,gave many assignment for the prestigious magazine FMR and memorable books like "Divina Bugatti" and "Il cavaliere insistente".
Later on I worked on important projects for Bburago die cast models, Fisher Italia, Volkswagen AG on the Bugatti trademark, Würth.

The advent of digital

In the late 90s, I started moving towards digital, by discovering the Imacon scanners with the 3F system, that seemed to have been created for my personal needs. Thanks to this, important works of personal research, realized throughout the years in Italy and abroad, came to life with amazing results.
The year 2000 started with a remarkable project with the prestigious "Museo Valenciano de Arte Moderno" (IVAM). At the same time, I developed a partnership with Ideal Marketing of Merano, working for some of the most important companies in SouthTirol (Doppelmayr/Agamatic, Apparatebau, Turbinebau Troyer, Pedross).

At the same time, I also developed, with increasing interest, what I like to refer to as "special projects". These were an attempt to recover methodologies and extraordinarily efficient approaches of documentation and reporting. Photo shoots to work on for years to come, if necessary, without any commitment. Ceccarini, Shooting the Shoothers, Wonderful Mistakes, are some examples.

The Hasselblad digital backs and the "impossible shoots"

In 2003 I switch to digital, only after finding the right tools, the Imacon digital backs, that allowed me to highly improve the quality of my work. Thanks to these tools I was able to develop my specialties, like overhead shoots, which brought me to specialize in what I call "impossible shoots". Overhead shoots, panoramic shoots without distortion and other shoots that present apparently impossible problems.

Digital photography consulting

In the same period, I gradually built a consulting business for digital photography. I specialized in the Hasselblad softwares and Adobe Photoshop, for individual photographers, companies and Hasselblad itself. I took many courses, seminars and conferences. I'm "Hasselblad Photo Partner" for Italy. For Hasselblad I test new products and the Beta versions of the software. I'm also consultant and product tester for the Manfrotto Group and consultatnt for the digital quality for FMR Publisher.

Art publications and advanced technology

At the moment, I am divided between self-produced editorial projects, that I care a lot for, and "technological" photo shoot for Manfrotto, Gitzo, Monier Roofing, and some of the most important companies in Southern Tyrol (Doppelmayr/Agamatic, Apparatebau, Turbinebau Troyer, Pedross).

Two of the books I worked on received important prizes and recognitions. The first one, for the Milan antique dealers Cesati, received a prize at the antiques show in Maastricht; the second one, "Alta Cucina in Alto Adige", by Ideal Edizioni, on the most important chefs of Bolzano province, received a prize for best food photography in Italy for 2007.
I developed many cooperations working again with FMR of the Group Artè and starting a fascinating and intense work with southern Italy's Institution of Cultural Assents, especially in Naples. I also created, together with Massimiliano Sampaolesi, an esteemed Neapolitan restorer, Acme21. This is a specialized company in advanced services for Cultural Assets.

1976-1992. A very serious, semi-serious biography

Roberto Bigano

This is my semi-serious biography, written in 1992. It narrates my beginnings as a photographer, first as an amateur then as professional. It is especially targeted to those young people about to embark in this tough but beautiful profession. In order to break through, they will have to overcome great obstacles, because of the competitive nature of this field: nobody dreams of becoming a butcher or a pastry chef nowadays, but many want become photographers. Just remember that, before them, we have all had our fair share of experiences, failures, sufferings, and gaffes.

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