The First Spark

Compagni, Florence 2011

Every passion has a beginning. Some start with a childhood hobby, others with a mentor, or maybe even by accident. For me, photography began with a single spark, a moment I didn’t recognize as life-changing until much later.

I was wandering the streets of Italy on a warm afternoon. I didn’t have a plan, no checklist of sights to capture, no idea of what I was supposed to be photographing. I was simply there, walking with a camera, letting curiosity guide me.

And then I saw them.

Five men, sitting outside against a wall, their posture and expressions effortlessly telling a story. They weren’t paying attention to me, or to anyone else for that matter. One leaned forward as if in conversation, another stared into the distance, arms crossed, while yet another had the relaxed patience of someone who had done this a thousand times before. Beside them stood a man in a red shirt, almost like an exclamation mark punctuating the scene.

It stopped me in my tracks.

What struck me wasn’t the setting or the light, but the feeling. There was history between them, a rhythm to their togetherness. This wasn’t just a group of men; it was friendship, tradition, and everyday ritual condensed into one frame.

When I lifted my camera and pressed the shutter, something happened that went far beyond the act of “taking a picture.” I realized photography wasn’t just about what I could see—it was about what I could feel. It was about preserving not just the visual, but the emotion and story that lived within that moment.

That photograph, which I later titled Compagni (Italian for “companions”), became the first image that truly meant something to me. It was the first time I understood the power of storytelling through a lens. The first time I grasped that photography could be less about perfection and more about connection.

Looking back now, I see that moment as the beginning of everything. Every project, every trip, every late-night editing session, every photo I’ve taken since, all of it traces back to this scene in Italy. To a group of men outside a shop window. To a fleeting instant that crystallized into something much larger.

That was the first spark. And once it lit, it never went out.

We all have a moment like this, the one that nudged us onto a path we didn’t know we were meant to follow. Maybe it was a book that made you fall in love with words, a song that made you want to play music, or a conversation that changed how you saw the world.

I’d love to hear about yours.

👉 What was your first spark—the moment you realized something you loved had the power to shape your life?