A photobook festival in southern Sicily on the seaside is really something peculiar, that doesn’t happen always. Or, should I say, that never happened before. The location chosen is Punta Secca, “Dry Cape”, a piece o land that lays on a wondeful see not far from Scicli. The name of the event is Gazebook.
So, at the beginning of a big heat wave that is bringing, still today, temperature around 36 degrees celsius, for the “opening” day, friday 11, I picked up a friend (Giuseppe in this snapshot) and drove 130 km from Catania south to Punta Secca.
The plan was to stay for the evening, listen the opening talks by Colin Pantall and Mark Power, meet some friends and take some photographs.
Punta Secca is lovely. Is quite, cozy and sicilian. Once you arrive, expecting photographs, you may find something like this:
And you wonder if you’ll see some photos or only photo books… 🙂
Indeed, few steps away, the beach:
And the first hung photographs, a great work by Guy Martin:
Locals are, of course, quite curious about all these people with cameras:
And it is quite funny to mix the photographs in exhibition with context: 
So where are you? Swimming or behind a curtain?
As many small towns in Sicily there is the playground for youngsters:
And one of the most famous houses in Sicily for the success of Andrea Camilleri’s “Il Commissario Montalbano”:
So it’s easy to fantasticate that this guy could be one of Camilleri characters (I would guess the Judge Surra – as you may guess I’m a great Camilleri fan).
And, being in Sicily, it’s impossible that you don’t find somebody playing cards…
… or photographs:
… or just arrived for a late swim:
… or simply enjoying the place and the wind:
… or running fast because young boys are faster then fathers:
… while photographers are enthusiastically helped by locals in setting up an exhibition:
… and it’s interesting to see how local people react to all it’s happening:
So, after some (good) food offered in the Piazza it’s time for Colin to talk about his german family album and the lie of photographs and for Mark to present his (great) work. The venue is surrealistic, the air is now fresh, the speeches interesting. Time to set the camera on a small tripod to get some photographs of iconic Montalbano’s restaurant on the see and of a chair behind a door.
Kudos to the Teresa, Melissa and Simone. Wasn’t able to attend the workshops but some friends were impressed about the quality and the general atmosphere. Can Gazebook “compete” with other “more important” photo-book related events? I don’t really care, I just hope that next year it will be Gazebook again.
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