The 72nd GRist is Annalaura Pretaroli, one of the judges for GR PHOTO FESTIVAL 2024!

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I bought my first GR in 2020, prompted by its macro function.
 
I had been using DSLRs up until then, with different lenses. Whenever I wanted to shoot plants and flowers, I found it extremely tricky to focus at a short range, not to mention the fact that I had to switch between lenses quite often. 

The fact that the GR has an exquisite macro is something that not many people probably know. Also, being so small and compact removed completely the hassle of carrying heavy equipment with me during my shooting sessions in the gardens, and allows me to simply hold filters and props with my other hand.
I’ve soon realised that the quality of my images with the GR has nothing to envy to my old equipment. Being it plants, buildings, cars or people, this little camera has never failed, and allowed me to express my creativity in total freedom.
 
I shoot in both RAW and JPG simultaneously: colours are rich and true to reality, and the black and white options are also a good way to teach my eye to see things differently and concentrate on lights and shadows.
 
Being able to keep my GR in my handbag allows me to shoot whenever I feel like, and this is a great incentive to frame a moment and create an image: not many, heavy tools but only one, lightweight camera that does it all.
 
After all, if photography is about an instant, what better way to capture life before my eyes with a camera that is always with me, at the right time?

Annalaura Pretaroli’s Profile:

Annalaura is an Italian freelance photographer. She was born in 1979.
She started taking pictures around the age of 10, with disposable cameras that her mother got as freebies with the purchase of laundry detergents. 
 
Many years later, after a Law degree, Annalaura decided to move to London to give her photography passion a true chance, so she went and studied photography at Central Saint Martins. 
In 2015, she started her freelance career as an assistant to a renowned fashion photographer, working for modelling agencies first and then for magazines, focusing on portraits, flowers, architecture and "everything that is full of life”.
 
Together with photography, Annalaura’s big love is nature - gardens in particular. 
By combining these two, in 2018 she won an award for International Garden Photographer of the Year, a global competition organised by the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew.
 
In 2022 she met the RICOH team in London during a GR Cities event and her style stood out for her female perspective, as she captures real emotions in her botanical images. With this approach she looks for the beauty that’s all around us, drawing us away from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, bringing our focus back to the nature’s gifts.

Annalaura Pretaroli PHOTOGRAPHY https://www.annalaurapretaroli.com/
Instagram account: @AnnalauraPretaroli