2018 was the last time I was in Italy. I given workshops in Palermo, Milan and…Ostia. On the outskirts of Rome there is the beachside town of Ostia. But the crazy thing is that I proposed to two students to do the workshop by going to the most dangerous areas of the Roman coast.

Piazza Gasparri is a square located in the are of Ostia Ponente, including the port. It is considered the most dangerous area of Ostia and in general one of the criminal districts. Part of my childhood belongs to Ostia and also to those areas. My uncle lived there and my grandparents also didn't live far away. I was often in those places even when I was a teenager. My brother works there and for several years lived there. I am completely connected with Ostia. I could also tell you first-hand stories of fights, threats, stories that fortunately did not go further. When I was still in Italy I often found myself going there with my camera and taking pictures, despite my father having told me I was crazy to go there. To give you an idea of the place and the degradation of that suburb watch this video, by Simone cicalone, a channel that i want to recommend you:

Clearly photographing there is not for everyone. just think that a day I was in a bus with my wife and I took a picture from the window and a guy menaced me for that, implying that I was photographing because someone had died and staring at me. I kept my gaze on him, without fear. I know those places and I know the rules of the street, I am not intimidated.

In this post you will not see much obvious degradation. Just like the work in the barrios that I do here as a documentary photographer, I prefer not to speculate on violence and negative aspects, which however can be captured in some details of the images themselves.

However, I shy away from the idea that a street photographer should be one who focuses only on the historic center and quiet everyday life. I also have an idea of the street photographer not very compliant with what several photographers have: these daddy kids who enjoy taking pictures in places where they can go for sushi and hang out in nice areas, with their expensive gear.

For me the street photographer is like the skateboarder, the parkour, who plays basketball in a playground under an overpass. A metropolitan animal connected really with the city and city is not just nice. A city is an asphalt jungle where there are crimes, prostitutes, pushers, urban decay.

In Italy I photographed in Via Giolitti, the street running alongside the Termini station. I photographed in Pigneto, Magliana, Acilia, Quadraro, Spinaceto, Laurentino, Roma 70…at Termini I found myself to photograph a man while on the road above were African pushers…guys remove the idea of the street photographers going to work only in easy places. You have seen too many nice guys on the internet. Come on, let's see these photos:

Even so it reminds of a dead boy, respected boxer here. The importance of setting stories and giving them a soul is the first thing to do if you really want to document something.

The lifeguard sees us and asks us to testify in what state of abandon the beach is in. The neglect and lack of support on the part of the institutions is fueled and made strong by organized crime. And often, unfortunately, it is only a game of the parties designed to make this state of affairs persist for the benefit of corrupt and criminal politicians.

We meet these girls and having a tiger with them makes it fun. I show my students the importance of interacting sometimes, making the experience even richer in content.

One of the friends asks me to make a portrait of her and here she is satisfied. What I love is that thanks to photography, and in particular with Street Photography, I am exposed in public space for the simple fact of having a camera with me, a tool that can also break down barriers with people you don't know. You can see in both shots the relaxed atmosphere that has been established.

Obviously, to photograph in certain places you have to be aware above all of the risks. A simple photo, even of parked cars, can become the trigger for bad experiences. A few months before this workshop, a boss broke the head of a journalist. All fully documented in a video.

Once they stole my father's car and the cops found it in this area. There is the sea a few meters away, but this should not fool you. At the same time you must consider that most of the inhabitants are not criminals and are rather hostages of the degradation, of bad politics, of the mafias that permeate every aspect of social life.

I thank the value of these guys who agreed to have this completely different experience. When real photography calls, there are no places that should scare you.

There are so many stories that I could tell you. What you see on the left is the old colony, which now houses the municipal library, where I often went when I lived in Italy.

Photographing in this place where I grew up is a great experience since I have to take a plane to go back.

A pause to grab something at a bar becomes an opportunity for me to catch interesting compositions.

The workshop is over. We said goodbye to Michele and Jonathan and now he is waiting for us to return to the base.

The awareness of having proposed a workshop that no one has ever proposed. An experience that has included much of my history in over thirty years of living in Rome. In that year I made four workshops in a month.

However, this workshop is a sample of what I am as a photographer who teaches. I don’t look all the time for a comfortable and peaceful situation. And you can see from my work here in Mexico too. Everyone is able to go downtown to take pictures, another completely different thing is to do it in the popular neighborhoods where crime often reigns supreme.

Street Photography to me is a mission. It is a state of mind, an attitude, a way of living. And this is me as a Street Photographer. A metropolitan animal. For real.

That time I gave a Street Photography workshop in a high risk area

If you think street photography isn't politically correct, get out of my way

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