PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BY ELEONORA ZAMPATTI OF AARON SANTORO
YOGI ELEONORA interviews + photographs
PHOTOGRAPHER AARON ELEONORA ZAMPATTI // AARON SANTORO Where does your love for photography come from? I’ve always loved and studied art. However, my passion for photography started when my father handed down my grandfather’s film camera to me. This was during the digital age of photography but I enjoyed learning how the mechanics of the camera worked, and then being able to make art with it. I’ve been obsessed ever since. What inspired you to start photographing yogis? I like creating photographs with a human subject. Yoga adds a sense of emotion to my work that I haven’t been able to capture any other way. How has your personal yoga practice influenced your work as an artist? Yoga has provided me with a deeper appreciation for the present moment, that moment is what I try to capture with photography.
NY YOGALIFEMAG.COM
Which photo is your favorite you have taken so far and why is it your favorite? What camera did you use to shoot it? I like to label my favorite photographs “zen within chaos.” I try to capture the calm of a yogi/yogini in an atmosphere that seems rushed and chaotic. I use a Leica Digital Rangefinder for most of my work. It gives me the convenience of digital, but the feel and nostalgia of shooting the film cameras I learned with. How would you define desire? Desire, to me, is an intense passion for something. I’d like to think that what you desire is achievable, if you work hard enough for it. I desire a lifestyle that escapes the 9 to 5, eludes stress, and let’s me live free. I don’t just want this, I crave this, and so I desire it.
IG @aaron.santoro // www.aaronsantoro.com
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