Italian photographer Paolo Pettigiani, known for his infrared landscapes, is back with a new series of pink-hued photos. After his photos of New York, he tackles a space closer to home—Italy's Dolomite mountains. Proving once again why the infrared technique is one of our favorite types of photography, he turns the natural world into a candy-colored dream.
Exploring the invisible, unseen world that infrared photography opens up is part of what pushed Pettigiani to explore the technique. After viewing Richard Mosse's famous infrared reportage of the Congo, he was hooked and began his own experimentation. Merging this with his studies in design and visual communication, he has a unique point of view. “I had the idea to merge graphic design and photography in a single image, playing with colors, shapes, and contrasts in order to distort reality,” Pettigiani tells My Modern Met.
For his Dolomites series, Pettigiani was challenged to find new vantage points of the famous mountain range, which stretches across northern Italy. By layering together different types of vegetation, he's able to pull out subtle shades of pink and blue, which help define the surreal landscape. “A beautiful forest, a big tree, isn’t enough for my shots,” he explains. “I want to create a strong contrast between vegetation, water, and sky playing with the blue and red/pink colors. This is the reason why I spend a lot of time planning my projects, travels, and final photos.”
Certainly, this latest series proves that all the planning is worth the result. Pines spring up like cotton candy, dotting the shoreline and creating streaking trails up the snowy mountains. It's clear that for Pettigiani, it's a pink and blue world, and we're all just living in it.
If you like what you see, Pettigiani has prints available via Lumas.
Italian photographer Paolo Pettigiani, who specializes in infrared photography, has released a new set of images taken in the Dolomites.
The northern Italian mountain range is the perfect setting for Pettigiani's signature pink and blue infrared landscapes.
