Luca Invernizzi Tettoni was born in Turin, northern Italy. He has worked as a professional photographer in Asia for more than 30 years. Specializing in all aspects of Asian culture - fine arts, design, furniture, textiles, homewares, architecture, spas, landscaping and cuisine – Luca has contributed to over 120 picture books including The Tropical Garden, Thai Style, Tropical Asian Style, Bali Houses, Balinese Gardens, and The Tropical Spa and Ultimate Spa. Luca has just finished work on Ultimate Tropical, a book about tropical lifestyles from the Papuans to Jeffrey Bawa - which will be on the shelves this autumn.
Did you have an interesting childhood?
No, extremely boring. I am glad to be old and out of there.
What is the most vivid memory of your childhood?
Walking to school through the debris of the Hospital for Blind People that the British had bombed next to my house. This explains why I still cannot take the Anglo Saxons after 50 years. They don’t know that of course, so they just think I am rude.
What person has had the biggest influence in your life and why?
Nobody has ever had any influence over me either now or in the past, nor will anybody ever have. It’s difficult to explain…I’m like Kafka’s cockroach.
What are your hobbies?
Drinking and smoking.
What kinds of jobs have you held in your life?
When I was young, I was very interested in language and literature and worked as an editor of The Dictionary of Italian Language, a monumental work that took ten years to compile. I gave up after two years. I never had a regular job after that. In this sense, I’m still jobless.
When did you first become interested in photography?
I studied archaeology in Turin. It was part of my studies to record what I was doing.
What was your very first camera and what was you’re your first photograph?
I have always used a Pentax up until recently when I had to give it up because of the digital revolution. I actually made the switch when they stopped selling film. I took my first photographs in Tarquinia, an ancient Etruscan site where we were doing some excavation work.
Did someone teach you photography while you were growing up?
No, I learned just by hanging out with friends. No one really needs formal training as a photographer. Any donkey can take a photo.
When did you start to make money from photography?
I have not yet begun to make money, but I have managed to make a living for 30 years from those flimsy pieces of plastic.
Do you have a philosophy about taking good pictures?
Not really, but I think a photo should look like a clean, well-composed painting. Like a Caravaggio.
Which photographer’s work do you most admire?
Now no one. But when I was growing up during the hippy era, I loved Sam Haskins, David Hamilton and Larry Burrows.
Do you think that you take certain kinds of photographs better than anyone else?
What I can do better than anyone else - photography of antiquities - no one wants to buy, so I gave it up. I do women now, which is also enjoyable, but a lot of people can do that better than I.
What kind of photography is the most difficult?
The only difficult thing about photography is getting paid for it. Everything else is fun.
Which type of photography is the most profitable?
At the moment, the only really marketable images are those of models, and the cheap ones won’t do. I choose my models among the best women in Asia. Best does not necessarily mean “pretty;” it means interesting real women. Women who do something besides just sitting there being pretty. My photos are good because of them.
What do you like best and least about your work?
I took up photography not because I like cameras, but because I thought it would mean freedom. To some extent, this has been true, but it probably will not last much longer. What I like least is talking to the clients. The most common way a photographic shot is ruined is by listening to clients, art directors or passer-by.
Which of all your books did you enjoy working on the most?
I loved working in Burma on Burmese Style. I actually enjoy doing any kind of photography - gardening, cooking, whatever - as long as I’m the one in control. What I hate most is working on those projects where there is some editorial committee of useless old ladies commenting on my photos. These “photo editors” murder creativity, they are the tombstone of culture. I wouldn’t do that kind of work again if they paid me my weight in gold.
Have you ever taken your life in your hands while on assignment?
I think a photo is worth nothing, not even the life of an ant, so I would not take any risks for a picture. The only time I was in real danger was 20 years ago when a publisher friend of mine put me on a plane that was flown by a guy who was the designer of the fabrics for the seats of Nortanio airplanes and pretended to be a Nortanio pilot. Those kinds of things can happen in Indonesia.
Have you ever gotten into trouble for taking a photograph?
In Vietnam my writer and I got arrested while photographing a temple in a village. They tried to arrest EU embassy personnel, so we got rescued by the Chief of Police of Hanoi and escorted out of their rickety police station by motorcade. I love communists because they are even more naive than Ubud painters.
Do you ever do any pro bono work?
No, and I hate when people ask. What I’ve learned from Asian people over the past 30 years is that money is the only important thing to them, so why should I work for them for free? We should trade in the same currency. I never carry a camera unless I’m paid for. Charity is a loss of face. I never take casual photos.
What do you personally gain from your work?
Every time I tackle a new subject, I study it first. I don’t believe in running around snapping pictures and hassling people like National Geographic paparazzo. So after so many books I’ve learned about lot of subjects - from Venetian-style cooking to Cham Archaeology.
What valuable advice can you give to a young or beginning photographer?
Learn how to cook Italian food. It’s better for you!
Do you have a dream?
My dream is to have long blond hair again.
Where can people learn more about your work?
If you’re in Bali, just walk into any Periplus bookshop.
For anyone interested in being considered for Siapa, please contact: <pakbill2003@yahoo.com>
