Photo Plus - USA (2019-07)

The Canon Magazine 45

DAVID NOTON COLUMN

T

DAVID NOTON

Pro travel & landscape photographer

DAVID IS AN AWARD-WINNING Canon

photographer with more than 30 years’

professional experience. During his career,

David has travelled to just about every

corner of the globe. In 2012, Canon invited

David into its Ambassador Program by

designating him an Official Canon Explorer.

Info and photos at http://www.davidnoton.com

he village in this picture doesn’t exist

anymore, or not at least as we see it

here. It’s just a pile of rubble now, like

so many in this region we know so

well. In October 2016 a series of major

earthquakes struck here where Umbria

and the Marche adjoin high in the

Apennine mountains, and Castelluccio was, near

enough, at the epicentre. Friends who lived nearby until

the quake destroyed their home told of the huge gash which

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picture rising above the village. And in the Valnerina below,

Norcia, that charming historic town where we used to buy our

salsicce di cinghiale (wild boar sausage), is in ruins, as is Preci,

Viso, Campi, and the 5th century abbey of San Eutizio. These

were the places we photographed, at dawn, at dusk, in the mist,

on warm golden evenings, sometimes in the rain, and more

than a few times even in the snow, for eight years in a row.

All shattered, most beyond recognition. And of the friends we

made there, like Santino the shepherd who so loved posing

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real, as in a few days we’ll be returning. We’re expecting it to be

a somewhat bitter sweet affair.

I shot this image over 11 years ago, in May 2008. Back then

we were into our second year of running our courses there in

The Green Heart of Italy. I stopped running photo workshops

and tours two years ago, as delivering photographic

opportunities on a plate for others to take advantage of, day in

and day out, was sapping the lifeblood out of my own creativity.

But those times leading forays up to the Piano Grande at dawn

were good times; we had some magic experiences and countless

laughs with our groups there. The best thing about running

workshops was the people we met, both those who came on the

courses and the people we relied on in

Umbria to pull it all together. And being

there in that verdant and rustic

backwater of Italy for the best part of a

month every year meant Wendy and I

both really got to know the area, and

forged a deep connection with it.

It’s such local knowledge and

connections that inspire and enable us

photographers to create truly unique

images. I think some of my best work

has been done in Umbria, and all

because of that connection with the

local area. And it’s that connection,

which is pulling us back to Umbria

again now, wounds and all.

I guess, like my images of New York

before 9/11, or Paris before the Notre-

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historical importance, as this scene

will never look the same again. It was a

picture in a travel guide of Castelluccio

perched on its mound overlooking the

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visit to the region back in 2006. We

were on a roving tour of Italy and

meant to stay just a few days; a

week later we were still there.

One morning I was out shooting Preci in the mist when Raffo,

the owner of Il Collaccio (the Agritourismo we were staying at)

drove by. Purely on the basis of the size of my big white lens he

suggested we work together to host photo courses there, and so

it came to be. That’s where we headed now, and, inevitably,

we’ll venture up to the Piano Grande again. It’ll never be the

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bursting with colour and the people have endured. The villages

and towns will be rebuilt, as they have been so many times over

the centuries in this earthquake prone region. It’s one place I

know we’ll inevitably just keep returning to; it would seem

that it's in our blood now.

NEXT MONTH CORSICA

The village of Castelluccio perched

above the Piano Grande, Monti

Sibillini National Park, Umbria, Italy

Lens Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

Exposure 1/40 sec, f/8, ISO100