Elliott Erwitt

I’m often asked about what advice I could give to young photographers. I would recommend studying the work of Elliott Erwitt, my colleague at Magnum Photos who has had an illustrious career in fine art, editorial, and corporate advertising photography.

Elliott has done it all – from creating films including The Glass Makers of Herat (1977) to exhibitions in London, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Zurich and New York. He is also coming out with two new books this year.

I spent almost a week with Elliott in Australia about 10 years ago on a book tour and I was struck by his curiosity and his keen eye, photographing even at the airport before we got on the plane back to New York. I discovered that we both have a love for Italy and Japan and both travel there often.

Milan

Recently I was in Milan to help prepare for a major exhibition at the Palazzo Della Ragione on the Piazza dei Mercanti, which opens in November.

Milan is one of my favorite cities, and I always look for an excuse to stop over and see old friends.  My friend, Biba Giacchetti,  invited some of us to her home.

I wanted to have a picture made with three important people to me.  Amanda Renshaw is the Editorial Director at Phaidon London, who I have worked with over the past ten years. We have worked on and produced 10 books together. She is one of the best editors in the business.

Francesca Lavazza is a Senior Director at Lavazza. We worked on an important project on helping tribal people to manage and grow coffee in a more productive, sustainable way. We traveled to Honduras, Colombia, and Peru. Apart from being a wonderful person, her company makes the best coffee in the world.

Biba Giacchetti is the Director of Sudest57. She is elegant and smart, and we have worked on some wonderful projects together in Italy. I have had the good fortune to work with and know Biba over the past 15 years.