Originally from Cattolica, the Italian province of Rimini, Massimo Leardini has lived and worked in Norway since 1987 and has become one of the most sought-after photographers in Scandinavia. His works have received numerous awards and prizes and appear regularly in leading magazines, like Elle, S Magazine, Smug, Carl’s Car and Personae.
He moved to Norway because of a book project in 1987, a book featuring photographs with female models Iselin Steiro, Marianne Schröder, Viktoria Winge, Jenny Sinkaberg and Ophelie Rupp amongst others. His vision was to bring together the beauty of the human body along with the timeless Scandinavian landscape. He has always been captivated by the visual world.
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Italian Photographer in Love with Norwegian Nature
The result was a large format clothbound hardcover book, Scandinavian by Massimo Leardini. Later he has made another book, Iselin, in which he presents a series of intimate portraits of Norwegian model Iselin Steiro. Despite the seeming purity and innocence of these candid moments, a quite sense of melancholy pervades and hint at a deeper undercurrent of Nordic angst.
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Never willing to compromise
Leardini is basically interested in natural things. He makes portraits, landscapes and takes pictures of grass. To him everything is natural. He also works with fashion photography and says many of these pictures are like a diary to him. The simplicity behind his art is what makes it so easy for the eyes to appreciate.
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Placing the integrity of his work above everything else, Leardini is never willing to compromise on his vision. His images successfully create a timeless story of female adoration and empowerment – no clothes, no barriers, no messing!
Feature image (on top): Iselin, by Massimo Leardini
Italian Photographer in Love with Norwegian Nature, written by Tor Kjolberg