Fabio Bucciarelli

From the heat of battle in Libya, Syria and Ukraine to the devastating impact of flooding in South Sudan and Italy, Fabio Bucciarelli's photographs document the most testing of humanity's times. The Italian's visceral images of major global news events and their humanitarian consequences have made him one of today's leading international photojournalists, published in the likes of The New York Times, la Repubblica, Die Zeit, TIME magazine, Al Jazeera and Le Monde.

Fabio describes himself as a photojournalist, rather than a conflict photographer, because he is also concerned with documenting the aftermath of war, focusing his lens on all the wounds of humanity, along with covering clashes from Gaza and Iraq to Mali and Ukraine. He has tracked refugees displaced by conflict and, increasingly, by climate change, across the Middle East, Africa, America and Europe.

"I'm trying to walk the fine line between photojournalism and reflective photography, straddling the boundary between images that provide answers and those that provoke further questions," explains Fabio. "It's crucial to present evidence of what's happening, but equally important to encourage people to contemplate the deeper meaning behind it."

Joining Barcelona's underground photography scene, Fabio learned how to use analogue equipment and develop film, bought his first Canon EOS 5D (now succeeded by the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV) and attended a few photography masterclasses. "Everything was completely new to me," he says. "That year, I made the decision to leave engineering behind and pursue a career as a photographer."

When a massive earthquake struck Italy's Abruzzo region near his family home in 2009, Fabio returned to cover it, sending images to Italian agencies and getting his first publications. He documented the impact of the earthquake for months, and would continue to over the next decade. Thanks to this coverage, he secured a staff photographer contract with the La Presse/AP agency, where he honed his news gathering skills, covering breaking events ranging from politics to sport. But after a couple of years, he was ready to move on.

"I hadn't quit engineering to do those kinds of frames of Berlusconi or Messi," says Fabio. "It was not interesting to me, so when I had enough experience to start working as a freelancer, I quit. One newspaper in Italy decided to send me to Libya with some of the best conflict correspondents, from whom I could learn how to move in the field."

Capturing a photograph of the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was the "first turning point" of Fabio's career. Having spent several months covering the war from Benghazi to Tripoli to Sirte, it was a striking image of the fallen dictator which caught the attention of picture editors. "It was the first contact with international editors, which I then developed in Syria," he says. He went on to work for AFP covering the battle for Aleppo, as well as freelancing for leading global magazines and newspapers. Self-taught, his training continued in the field, as he got the feel of a 35mm lens in Libya and a 24mm in Syria – focal lengths he continues to use in his two-camera setup plus primes, with a Canon EOS R slung on one shoulder and a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV on the other.

After covering the Covid-19 outbreak in northern Italy – an early epicentre – for The New York Times, Fabio returned to his conflict photography roots in 2022, although his style has evolved over the years.

"My first images were screaming, they were punching you in the stomach," he says. "While I still keep doing some of those frames, my photography has changed in the way it is more about the emotion, and about asking questions, because I discovered that I also do not have the answers."

Fabio is now looking beyond the frontline, including documenting children undergoing cancer treatment in a warzone. "In the tradition of my work, the idea is to bring evidence, but it's not about conflict or mortar shelling – it's what a war leaves behind," he continues. "These days, I am interested in what happens next."

Why do you like shooting with primes over zooms?

"It's what Robert Capa said, 'If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough.' For me, it's not about physical distance, but emotional distance. You cannot get emotionally close with a long lens. When you use zoom, you aren't encouraged to get closer to people, and you're not shooting at, for example, 35mm, but you can shoot at 38mm, 42mm. This doesn't help you establish empathy with the subjects you're photographing, and your eyes will never learn to see at 35mm."

You've displayed work in some amazing locations, including churches. How important is it for you to exhibit your photographs?

"The main motivation behind capturing images is to share them. When you're documenting conflicts and nobody sees your photographs, it begs the question of why you're risking your life to be there. I'm deeply committed to showcasing images, not just in newspapers and magazines, but also in exhibitions. Whether it's in museums, galleries or places easily accessible to people, including street exhibitions, I always collaborate with artistic directors to curate my exhibitions in a way that fosters interaction between the audience and my pictures."

What inspires you visually and creatively?

"Photography is the art of using light. In a way, as photographers, we are the new painters. So if I need inspiration, I look at Caravaggio, Titian, and many Italian painters of the Renaissance and Late Renaissance. I am more accustomed to looking at paintings than photography because I draw inspiration from that reality, from the use of light, and the construction of the frame. If you see Vincent van Gogh's The Potato Eaters, you'll notice a perfect composition, with different layers and an intimate atmosphere created by light. This is photography."

How do you choose when to use colour versus black and white, such as in your long-term project on the refugee crisis, The Dream?

"Working mostly for editorial platforms, the majority of my productions are in colour since they mostly publish in colour, to enhance the perception with reality. However, when I'm engaged in long-term or documentary projects, I willingly opt for black and white. I've been working on The Dream for over seven years in more than 12 countries, including Syria, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Italy and France, among others, capturing various moments and atmospheres. On one side, I was shooting editorial assignments covering conflicts, and on the other side, I was documenting the consequences – the refugee populations that arrived in Europe. In this case, black and white helped me work on the story at another level and unify the work."

Do you seek to take iconic images or build stories across a body of work?

"More than discussing single frames, I prefer to focus on storytelling and stories. How you edit your images is incredibly important today. Think about a photographer who takes 3,000 shots and needs to select the best 15. If they aren't skilled at editing, they might end up being a subpar photographer. However, a photographer who can select the best frames can become an exceptional one. I've seen many talented photographers struggle with editing, which has led to them undermining their important stories and struggling to find publications and platforms to showcase their work. I highly recommend that the younger generation invests in honing their editing skills. I believe that how you tell the story is more crucial than capturing a single outstanding image. Sometimes, you have to 'sacrifice' your best picture to convey the essence of your story and reportage."

"To produce compelling stories, time is essential; it is the most valuable resource. Nowadays, it's often challenging to produce exceptional photojournalism within editorial platforms because they are frequently constrained by financial limitations or driven by political or editorial pressures, which don't allow photographers the necessary time to establish genuine empathy with their subjects. If you spend a month on a story rather than just a week, the outcome will undoubtedly be better. And if you were to devote a year to the same story, the material would be even more profound. Time is the most pivotal variable in our profession."

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