Passion and Curiosity - robertharding

A chat with Antonio Busiello

Italian-born wildlife and travel photographer Antonio Busiello is one of the latest additions to Robert Harding’s team of contributing photographers, and has won awards from the BBC, National Geographic and The National Wildlife Federation. His images cover a great range of stunning subject matter from huge stingrays and sea turtles off the coast of Mexico to Thai temples and bustling Guatemalan markets.

Antonio has loved photography ever since he was a child, “It is a passion which I inherit from my father,” he says. “When I was a kid I use to get his old and take photos of my family and friends. I was fascinated by the images reflected in the camera mirror.”

After serving as an officer in the Italian army and studying anthropology at the University of Naples, he decided to travel the world making photography his living. He has been a professional photographer for the past 15 years.

Antonio has won many accolades for his wildlife projects, some of the most challenging of which have been underwater. A highlight of his portfolio is a dramatic set of images showing sharks eating lion-fish in the Caribbean, helping to reduce the population of the fish, whose increasing numbers could otherwise spell disaster for the delicate ecosystem.

Antonio also loves to shoot people and social issues, documenting the lives of traditional communities in Central America and Buddhist monks in Thailand. “Lately I’ve become fascinated by people,” he says. “I guess my school studies in Sociology and Anthropology are coming out.”

He considers some of the best moments of his career to be simple interactions with the people he photographs. “Once in Guatemala I saw a very poor, old person carrying a huge amount of weight on his shoulders, walking up to a hill,” he describes. “He was sweating and exhausted, however he still had the strength to look at me, smile and say ‘hi’.”

Antonio aims to continue to use his photography to satisfy his naturally inquisitive character. “I want to carry on photographing everything that grabs my attention,” he says. His advice for young wannabe photographers is: “Keep your eyes open. Be curious, be patient, push yourself beyond your physical and mental boundaries, and never give up.”

http://www.robertharding.com/antoniobusiello
http://www.antoniobusiello.com