Making Cosmetics & in-Vitality 2024 — Observing Presence
Rho Fiera Milano, Italy
I don’t approach an event like this as a documentarian. I look for pauses.
At Making Cosmetics & in-Vitality 2024, commissioned by Step Exhibitions, my focus moved beyond the surface of the exhibition—beyond products, stands, and structured presentations. What interested me was the human layer: the moments between conversations, the way attention settles on a detail, the quiet intensity behind innovation.
In a space defined by movement, I worked by subtraction. Waiting for alignment—light, gesture, expression—to converge into something essential. My approach remains cinematic: isolating subjects within complexity, using depth and shadow to separate presence from noise.
Light becomes directional, almost narrative.
Faces emerge, then recede.
The frame holds only what matters.
Working with the Leica SL2 and Leica Q, I kept the setup minimal and responsive. The SL2 allowed precision and control in more composed situations, while the Q gave immediacy—letting me move fluidly through the environment without interrupting it. The APO-Summicron rendering shaped the image with clarity and depth, while I deliberately preserved natural contrast to maintain atmosphere.
This is not a record of an event.
It is a study of presence within movement.
