Gigapixel Art, photography by Ghigo Roli
Backstage
The gigapixel images of this site are the result of the latest specialization by Ghigo Roli, who has gained a thirty years’ experience in the field of Cultural Heritage photography: “I had a special training: I worked for several years by using a large format view camera in analogical photography and this rigorous apprenticeship has naturally led to a strong focus on the laws of perspective. He has also taught me to respect the light. I am seduced by its nature and I continue to study its colour, shape and modelling as I am fully convinced that writing with light is not just a set phrase… Sometimes, in the darkness of a church and in the silence that surrounds it, when I begin to study how to illuminate the works of art and how to have them emerge from darkness, it seems to me that they come to life. It is in that moment when light unveils and reveals that the detail merges with the whole and the word illumination finds its complete meaning.”
“Inspired by the Renaissance idea that the artist is an artisan, I have always been determined to be technically self-sufficient by building or modifying scaffolding, stairs, light shaping tools and everything I may need. I find digital technology to be an amazing tool which allows me “to get into” works of art as it has never been possibile before. I use a Seitz Roundshot VR Drive robot that performs micrometric movements with extreme precision. It allows me to make hundreds of sequential shots, divided into rows and columns, which are then stitched in post-production by using specific dedicated softwares. I use high resolution cameras with Canon telephoto lenses of extreme focal length to obtain the desired resolution. By paying great attention to new technologies, I also take care of all the passages related to post-production and colour management in the workflow.”
