FRANCESCO MERLINI
Where are you from? Where do you live?
I was born in Aosta but I’ve always lived in Milan.
How old are you?
I’m 25.
How do you pay your bills? Are you working as a professional photographer?
Yes, I’m a professional photographer but this doesn’t mean that I pay bills only with my pictures. I got a small notoriety and I’ve entered Prospekt agency thanks to my personal projects but most of them are not about news and current events. They have brought me a lot of
satisfactions but it’s hard to get them published on magazine and earn money. The most of my incomes are from commissioned works, news pictures and from my role of web, archive and desk coordinator for my agency even if, with the actual crisis of publishing industry, it’s
getting more and more difficult.
What cameras do you use?
I used a lot of compact film cameras as Yashica t4 and Minolta Tc-1 for my personal projects but now I’m using only digital cameras: Canon 5d and Fujifilm x100.
Any photographer or artist inspiring you?
Everyday I see dozens of good pictures that leave something in my mind to think about. I’m inspired more from single pictures rather than photographers. Anyway if have to tell some names, I say: Anders Petersen, Daido Moriyama, Jacob Aue Sobol and Michael Ackerman.
It’s much more inspirational to me seeing how great photographers work and how they manage the entire process of creation: this has happened with the photographers from my agency Prospekt and other ones like Bruce Gilden and Paolo Pellegrin.
What/who do you enjoy to shoot the most?
Formal and moral decay.
Do you believe in god?
No.
What do you drink on a night out?
Moscow Mule with Ginger Ale.
Do you like dancing?
Yes, but I have to be quite wasted to feel confortable with dancing.
What’s your favorite first name?
I don’t have favorite names; all the names I like it’s because I love
the people they belong to.
Are you a fashion addicted?
I love aesthetic. More than a fashion addicted I’m an aesthetic
addicted. Sometimes it collimates with fashion, sometimes not.
What’s your favorite tv series?
Well, I’ve loved so much Lost and I’ve been so disappointed about how
it ended that I don’t watch tv series anymore.
Recommend us a book.
Traumnovelle by Arthur Schnitzler.
What’s the country of your dreams?
A country where I can take good pictures that have never been taken.
Have you ever been to Iceland?
No, too much restfulness would make me nervous.
What song would you choose for a slideshow of your work?
Something of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Death in Vegas or Bauhaus.
Ask yourself a question. Tell me your answer (like Marzullo does)
Why do you take pictures?
Taking pictures is a great way to explore your subconscious without spending money for psychological therapy.
website: www.francescomerlini.com
blog: vlprs.tumblr.com
mail: francescomerlini86@gmail.com
tutto quello che ti va di linkare: www.prospekt.it
