GLLAVA, Elton

"I became a photographer with the idea of exploring and describing the world. After a few years I realized that photography is much more than that to me. It is a vital breath. I feel alive when I photograph, as if I am living not only my own life, but that of all the people I meet. Encounters made of joy, pain, suffering, beauty, struggle. It is in this incredible cocktail of emotions which surge though me that I discover  myself. A kind of sponge absorbing the world it meets and becoming part of it in order to recount those moments of truth." (Elton GLLAVA)

About Albanian photographer Elton GLLAVA (b. 1974, in Vlorë)

In 1992, when the communist regime collapsed and the borders opened, Elton GLLAVA seized his opportunity to experience another world and like thousands of Albanians made the crossing Italy. His early years in Rome exposed him to some of the darker sides of multilayered Roman society through various pursuits and employments……however in 2007 he made the decision to dedicate himself to photography. From 2007 to 2009 he made his diploma at Scuola Romana di Fotografia and went to the Masterclass in photojournalism and reportage, followed by some workshops with Lina Pallotta, Christian Caujollle, Morten ANDERSEN, Joan Lifting, Yolanda Cuomo as well as with Johannes Schwartz. He has also internationally exhibited, starting in 2009 with 'Panta Rei – Earthquake Abruzzo', at Scuola Romana di Fotografia e Cinema, Rome.

Photo books by Elton GLLAVA

• 'Bulqizë' (2017)

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