Wedding Photographer Pietro Sorano is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From the project ‘Paso’. To see Pietro’s body of work, click on any image.

Graziano Pasini, aka Paso, is perhaps the only true Italian cowboy. He lives in Pavullo nel Frignano and by frequenting his ranch you find yourself immersed in an Old West film.

What amazes me is that Paso doesn’t “play” the cowboy, that is, he doesn’t voluntarily wear his clothes to appear like one. He is a cowboy in soul and life. Suffice it to say that he often uses a stagecoach (yes, a real stagecoach) to make purchases in the village. He’s a truly unique character.

I wanted to give him this short portrait, focusing on the most important emotion that knowing and spending time with him has given me over the years: freedom, which he embodies perfectly, conveyed by his boundless love for horses. Freedom is a very strong, difficult word, and for everyone it has a different meaning.

For me, freedom is being able to experience your emotions without suffering them, without being afraid of them. Savoring the freedom of Paso I also wanted to talk about something else, and probably a bit of nostalgia for that feeling of freedom that I was able to caress as a child, but which I have never found again. Being free from yourself is perhaps the most difficult feat to achieve in life.

This is why the choice of black and white, set in an almost magical atmosphere (even if it really is magical) and cinematic. Hanging out with Paso and his ranch was like being a child again and reliving those extraordinary, unforgettable moments in front of a TV dreaming of the Old West. With the difference that this time the dream was real, and I was part of it.

About

I am a wedding photographer registered with ANFM (National Association of Wedding Photographers).

Artistically I was born as a singer-songwriter, and I am used to communicating through notes and words.

The passion for photography came relatively late, at 33 years old.

I didn't know, or at least I didn't imagine, the communicative power of a photograph, until I started trying my hand at creating music videos to associate with my songs. This is how I discovered the “Stop-Motion” technique. Having to link a long series of images, I unconsciously used the compositional rules for the choice of frames.

Since then, every occasion has been useful for immortalizing moments from my point of view.

After some basic courses and workshops, I expanded my knowledge in the photographic field mainly as a self-taught person, discovering and studying the images of the great authors (including in particular Mario Giacomelli).

I began to frequent the stimulating environment of photography clubs by signing up to FIAF.

My artistic research faithfully follows, even if with a photographic guise, what I have always loved to convey with music: The continuous struggle, the search for balance and the symbiosis between the lights and shadows of the individual. The autobiographical element is present in every work and is often surrounded by a feeling of fear of time that passes inexorably, with everything that follows in the facts of life and society. A time that can only be stopped with photography.

All images and text © Pietro Sorano