No shortcuts, just hard yards. Melvin Berzamina scouts Euro city streets on his morning run ritual, tactically returning with his Fuji GA645 to capture their golden-hour glory. We think it's the unlikely lovechild of Magnum Photos and Google Street View.
Photos: Melvin Berzamina
In this edition of Photo Diary, Melvin treads through Denmark, Italy, Portugal and Belgium, proving your next best photo is just around the corner. You just need a little faith, and a lotta stamina. Lace-up and find out for yourself, or read Melvin's account below.
Most of the cities that I visited during this trip were cities that I fell in love with during past trips. I guess I was subconsciously seeing if these cities would impact me as much as they did when I was a lot younger, with a different mindset. The scenes in this series were bookmarked on my phone during my morning runs, coming back to them in times of better light, hoping for something special.
My trip started in Copenhagen, Denmark, and ended in Antwerp, Belgium. In between those two cities, I visited Napoli and Procida in Italy, and then flew over to Portugal, hitting up Lisbon, Ericeira and Porto.
Copenhagen was a city that I fell in love with seven years ago. It felt surreal being back in Copenhagen. I spent my time in Copenhagen as if I had lived there. It was the only city on this trip where I had a daily routine. I went to the same local café for the same order, which was black coffee and a butter and cheese sandwich. Going out for morning runs to start my day.
One warm-ish evening, the sun had finally started to settle in Copenhagen. I noticed candles sitting by the window ledge. The golden light had been hitting the candles, which exaggerated the golden finishes of the candle holder. The visual of it was calming and peaceful.
Napoli was one of the few cities on this trip that was a first for me. It was perfectly the opposite to Copenhagen. It was everything plus more than what I had expected it to be. It was busy, traffic and football paraphernalia in every corner of the city.
Trade workshops lined the streets of where my accommodation was. There were mechanics, stonemasons and a carpenter's shop. At the back wall of the auto mechanics was a collage of images of topless women, Christian iconography, and then a big image of Diego Maradona which had caught my attention. The way that the Virgin Mary, Jesus and Maradona were lined up next to each other, it was as if Maradona himself was a religious figure. Being from Australia, this love for football—or love for a football player—was unprecedented. Football was truly integral to the identity of Neapolitans. As a kid who was obsessed with Maradona, I had to capture this scene. I asked the mechanic in broken Italian for a photo, and he proudly agreed to my request.
The food in Portugal was incredible. I think I ate at least eight whole charcoal chickens there. The flavours were reminiscent of the Portuguese restaurant that my family and I used to go to every second Friday night. I think I was making up for lost time moving away from my home town of Sydney and not being able to eat good Portuguese food.
I managed to source and develop all my film in various countries around Europe, reducing the chances of film damage. What a logistical nightmare. I only found trouble requesting hand checks from the stubborn security in Napoli.With the reminders of my past ignited by what I saw during this trip, I found myself reflecting a lot about how it used to be. It was sad and sometimes revealing, but I concluded with the thought that the past is the building framework of an individual’s present.
Check out more of Melvin's work, HERE.
