As a portraitist and wedding photographer, Matteo Fagiolino likes to reflect his subjects’ personalities in his work. This photograph was taken after the first Covid lockdown ended, at the beach at Torre Pedrera, a town on the Rimini riviera in Italy.
“It was a summer afternoon after months of social distancing,” he says. “It had been so long since my whole family had spent the day together, it was a breath of fresh air for everyone.”
Fagiolino’s brother came, along with his two children – Andrea, in the foreground of this image, and Alice. “He is a very calm boy, she is a very determined girl, and I can see precisely these aspects of their character by looking at this image, especially in their eyes.”
While the children were playing in the sea at dusk, “the sun began to set and warm their faces, and I noticed their expressions reflected in the water,” Fagiolino says. “I thought it might be nice to have a memory of that day spent together, so I got out of the water and ran to get my iPhone before the light got too dim.”
Four years later, Fagiolino says the image reminds him of why he loves photography so much. “Every time we see a photograph, we strengthen the memory of that moment in our mind. I hope that people looking at this photo feel the same tranquillity I felt that afternoon. It was a moment of peace in a difficult time.”
