Landscape photographer Gianni Saccardo: ‘contact with nature makes me feel alive’
For Gianni Saccardo, landscape photography is more than a way to document the world, it’s a way to feel fully alive. In this interview, the Italian photographer discusses his deep-rooted connection to the outdoors, his creative process and how Affinity helps him enhance the feeling behind every frame.
When did you first pick up a camera or become interested in photography?
I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was nine years old when my father gave me a task of great responsibility: to take a picture of him and Mum. Holding that little metal box in my hand ignited a passion for photography and all its secrets—a passion that has never faded and is still alive to this day.
What attracted you to landscape photography?
It has a lot to do with who I am as a person. I’ve always loved the outdoors: skiing, climbing, and walking at altitude. Contact with nature awakens something primal and profound in me that makes me feel alive. Being confined within four walls, even at home, makes me feel trapped, so every chance I get to experience the outdoors is a chance to reconnect with myself.
There is, in my opinion, nothing comparable to the feeling of being alone in nature, watching it wake or fall asleep naturally with the cycle of the sun, and catching its shifting light. From there, the step was simple: capturing with a camera what my eye already saw.
What do you try to communicate with your photography and how do you achieve it?
I try to honour the magnificence of nature. Our planet is uniquely beautiful—through eras, upheavals, and constant change, it remains endlessly fascinating. What we have lost in daily life is the sense of awe for this beauty, which for me is unparalleled.
With my photos, I want to remind people what a privilege it is to witness such majesty. Part of that comes from my search for hidden or little-known places—moments that allow me to express feelings and ideas I might not otherwise be able to articulate. These experiences are often deeply personal, yet they hold the power to captivate others as well.
Do you spend much time planning before you visit a location?
Yes, planning is a very large part of my work—the so-called submerged part of the iceberg. I don’t believe in the motto “being in the right place at the right time.” Not that fate doesn’t exist, but for me the photo already has a definite shape in my mind before it’s even in the camera. It’s necessary to consciously plan all the elements that make it real: weather, light, time of day, location, point of view, focal length, and camera setup.
For weeks, this planning becomes almost a sweet obsession in the background of everything else. If it were up to me, I’d try to plan even the impossible. I need it so that what I envision matches the image I can capture. Still, when I’m on location, it’s important to adapt to the unexpected, which can surprise you and often turn into inspiration. As they say, the unexpected is always just around the corner!
What is your favourite time of day to shoot?
My favourite moment is sunrise, without a doubt. Sunrise isn’t just the time with the best light. It’s that single instant when everything feels one step away from awakening. Like the silence just before a concert begins, that brief second when you know something wonderful is about to start. That is the moment most precious to me.
We were delighted to hear you use Affinity for your retouching. How did you first discover the app, and what impressed you about it?
I also work in graphic design and, around 2018, I remember reaching a small impasse. Once again, I felt trapped by the graphic standards of the traditional landscape. For me, my tools are something I cannot, and will not, compromise on. I needed software that could respond to me like an extension of myself, helping me effortlessly achieve the results I imagined.
I discovered Affinity online, and once I began using it, I reinvented my business. At last, intuitive, simple, and comprehensive software that avoids unnecessary complications or workarounds. I’m someone who likes to get straight to the point, and Affinity reflects that perfectly. It fits me like a glove.
What kind of editing do you do on your images? What is your aim with the final result?
I mainly work on contrasts and colour, with the sole purpose of correcting what are likely technical limitations of my camera. My goal is always to keep the image as natural as possible and, above all, true to what my eye saw, not just what the lens captured. For me, naturalness and authenticity are everything in a photo. Editing should feel like an invisible hand, correcting imperfections without altering the overall result.
How do you feel you’ve grown as a photographer over the last couple of years?
Photography, for me, is a journey where you never truly arrive, but can always continue to grow. What I can say for certain is that developing a deeper awareness of my equipment has helped me make better choices—especially when selecting lenses to faithfully reproduce my vision—while also keeping an eye open to details I once overlooked. This growth comes with experience, but as I said, it’s not a point of arrival, just another step in the journey.
Do you have a favourite photo, and if so, can you share the story behind it?
Yes, I do. And the story is quite funny, because I didn’t even take the picture! It was during a family vacation in Tuscany, our first trip with our little one, who was eight months old at the time. The plan was to wake up early and get to Podere Belvedere at dawn to capture what is considered a classic shot for anyone visiting the Val d’Orcia. As any parent knows, sleeping in is a luxury, so since we were all already awake very early, we decided to go together.
Naturally, the misty and striking sunrise had attracted many photographers, all so well equipped that my own gear looked almost like toys in comparison. It looked like a firing squad ready to shoot. We managed to get the last spot in line, and almost instantly I took my photo. “Okay, I’m good,” I told my family, surprising the other photographers, who couldn’t believe I was done so quickly.
As I was packing up, I suddenly heard my camera go off again—my little girl had pressed the shutter. And what’s funny is that her photo turned out far better than mine. Beginner’s luck, I like to say. Or maybe these new generations just have incredible talent! Here is the picture she took:
What locations are next on your list, and is there a dream location you would like to shoot someday?
In the immediate future, I plan to tour Liguria and return to Mont Blanc—a location I’m particularly fond of and one that has already given me more than one great photo. I’m fortunate to live in a part of the world that offers breathtaking views of rare beauty.
Of course, I have many dreams, and most of them marked as pins on my personal map. But my ultimate dream location is the extraordinary Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. It’s a magical place I’d love to see at least once in my lifetime, and one I couldn’t possibly visit without a camera.
Finally, what advice would you give a beginner looking to improve their landscape photography?
Be consistent. Every failure is a step forward toward your goal. It may sound obvious, but practice really does make perfect. Without an objective look at our mistakes, in photography as in life, growth and improvement aren’t possible.
You never stop learning on this exciting journey, so for anyone just starting out in landscape photography, I’d suggest patiently and persistently building knowledge in anything that might help—weather, composition, shooting techniques, post-processing, and more. As golfer Jerry Barber once said: “The harder I practice, the luckier I get.”
