When we speak of photography, we use words like “capture,” “take,” or “shoot,” but for photographer Anthony Graziano, he does not take but rather works in collaboration with nature, serving as a conduit between artist and viewer of nature’s beauty.
“Taking and capturing is the opposite of what I’m trying to do,” says Graziano, “I spend time picking up the energy of a place then photograph what is offered to me. When graced by nature’s beauty and power we can create our own narrative.”
For this reason, he shies away from large landscape vistas but instead puts his viewer in the scene as an observer in human scale. Graziano describes their reactions, “People say, ‘Wow I feel like I was there.’” A recent exhibit at the Lenz Winery on the North Fork showcased some of his vibrant images printed on ChromaLuxe aluminum panels which seem almost multi-dimensional and leap from the surface. His subjects are the unfolding four seasons of mother nature as the wheel turns. “It’s a metaphor for life,” he says, “We progress through nature’s seasons and for me it’s symbolic of life changes.”
His epiphany came during a backpacking trip in his twenties when he was dealing with anxiety and having a difficult time with job stress and the loss of an important person in his life. He recounts, “Around the third day in Shenandoah National Park I was exhausted. I sat on a cliff as the sun was going down, and something swept over me, a sense of absolute tranquility, and I had never felt that before. I credit that moment as the day I became a nature photographer. I wanted to recreate it in my work and share it. I didn’t have anxiety after that – nature was my refuge with its healing properties. All my work is intended to encourage that and also to make sure it is preserved.” It is no wonder that not only individuals but businesses choose his prints for their soothing effect.
Graziano went on to have a successful career as a management consultant which had him constantly traveling for over 20 years. A colleague asked him after a difficult day what he would want to do if he wasn’t working as a consultant. “I said I’d want to be in the woods taking photographs for conservation organizations.” It turned out his colleague was connected to one such organization and opened the door for him. His works went on to grace the interior of their offices and event space in East Hampton, exposing him to a wider audience. His photographs were also used to illustrate the urgency for the Community Preservation Fund which has raised over a billion dollars to fund open land, farm and clean water acquisitions on the East End.
As an early adopter of digital technology, the field opened up for Graziano to work remotely, allowing him to create his striking images when away using a computer instead of film. “I do very little editing to my photos,” he admits, “Nature is offering me an image to preserve. I try to enhance the moment but I don’t alter it.” Luckily for his audience, they can purchase prints in different sizes and formats to suit their taste. He also shares over 70 of his favorite spots on Long Island in his book “Seeking Serenity” so people can have their own nature experiences. Currently Anthony is enjoying sharing his experience with all levels of photographers and embracing a new generation of phone photographers through his workshops.
In terms of the future when asked about the encroachment of technology like AI, Graziano surmises, “Without human connection I think all art falls flat.” And the world he presents us is indeed three dimensional.
