"this is how change happens. one gesture. one person. one moment at a time.

Dear Anya,

I would like to tell you a lot of things and as it often happens in this case, it's hard to find the words to share.

Thank you, for the message you left in my folder. Reading those words was a mix of emotions that brought butterflies to my tummy; I would have cried had I been alone and not trying to hold it back. I want to thank you because, contrary to my doubts,

to my insecurities, I immediately understood that this workshop would have been different.

I understood that we must not look for perfection, that perfect we are not and we will never be; but commit to give the best we can each time. Rather, we must try to keep in mind the WHY we take a picture and that the photo must be thought out, not left to chance. Details are important, but they must not be limits. I learned that I do not have to try to commit myself to take a photograph by force, but that by leaving room for what I see and feel, I could take better pictures than the ones I had in mind. I understood that the secret of your photographs is simply you, because they are full of you. They are the smiles with which you welcome people, they are the games you play with children, they are the trust you gain and they are the mirror of what for you is the essence of life itself. I have learned that I must look within myself for what is the essence for me, and that because strangers give me their emotions, I must give them mine. I learned that there are no wrong photos, but that I should always keep my focus in mind; and above all that I must be sincere and honest towards myself. Only in this way I will be able to be coherent with what I consider important.

I would like to tell you that seeing you work is beautiful, exciting. To see how sweet you are when you take care of the little ones, as if every time it was the first. Ending with, I cannot but congratulate you on the family you are, I have been able to observe you only for a moment compared to a lifetime, but you are doing a wonderful job. I tell you because it is something that struck me a lot. As your embrace and that of Adria hit me, the way she approached me and embraced me sincerely moved me.