The Photojournalism Final

Since the halfway point of the semester, (midterms,) I’ve been working on my final project for my photojournalism class, which is due next week. For the final project, we have to present a portfolio of 10-15 full-page photo prints which satisfactorily cover different elements, and give a feel for the ambience of a small business in Florence.

When I first started working for The Setonian in my freshman year, I spent most of my week in a perpetual state of terrified. Having to talk to strangers was not my strong suit, and, being a shy, eager-to-please kid all my life, I was even more terrified of asking the wrong question and being thrown unceremoniously from some important person’s office. I was terrified of the administration hating me and even more terrified of the newspaper staff hating me if I dropped the ball on a story.

But then I realized that spending one’s life in a perpetual state of fear of everyone else’s reaction was a really bad journalism tactic. Also, and most importantly, it just made me a really cranky and stressed out person, and that’s not a fun way to go through the week. So, I got over it, and just learned to accept that if you do your best, nothing else matters.

Once I got this assignment, though, I felt a familiar prickle of fear as I realized I had to find a Florentine business owner who was willing to let some American student who barely spoke Italian wander around their business for hours at a time, making requests for poses and to go in back rooms and generally cause disruption, where there would be no real benefit to their business. Plus, I had to explain all this in my broken, kindergarten-esque Italian. By the end of my professor’s explanation of the assignment, my hands were literally shaking and I was imagining all sorts of awful scenarios, including, with some wild leaps of imagination, a run-in with the imperious and notoriously rigid Italian police officers.

Luckily for me, none of these awful scenarios occurred. In fact, the project only served to reinforce my love of the craft of journalism, as, week after week; I spent hours wandering around and snapping pictures of Nebrone, a fast-food shop in the San Lorenzo market.

Of course, to call it a “fast-food” restaurant, lumping it in with all the McDonalds’ of the world, would be a serious disservice, but I am unsure of how else to describe it. Nebrone sells Paninis, (roast beef, lamprodoto, and a Florentine special, trippa,) as well as many other specials that change daily, including soups, vegetables, desserts and pasta dishes,) and, because it’s Italy, they also sell wine by the glass and by the jug. Nebrone is open at odd hours because of the way the rest of the San Lorenzo Market is run, from 8 am-2:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and yet, every time I’ve been there, no matter what the hour or the day, there are always customers. The place gets so busy around lunch time that you have to fight the crowd to get your order in before it closes.

Not only did I have the pleasure of capturing this thriving, home-grown business and the special relationship the customers have with its employees, but I was able to bond with the wonderful employees too.

The first week I was there I asked for permission to photograph in Italian, trying very hard to explain that I was a photography student and this was for a school project. I think they got it, because they let me photograph, but they didn’t seem especially keen and I hung back. A customer I tried to photograph also made a very rude hand gesture and told me off in Italian and I left, dejected and in tears. My photography professor, though, gave me a pep talk in which he insisted I return, and, as a sort of bargaining tool, I took a print of one of my photographs as a gift.

The suggestion from my professor was brilliant, as upon presenting them with the picture, I got hugs and kisses from everyone and was immediately invited behind the counter and presented with a roast beef Panini. Each week I went back, I brought a photograph as a gift, and they continued to give me unlimited access to their store, even posing for me despite customers and other stand owners’ teasing. They also gave me free meals and wine, introduced me to all their customer’s and friends, and affably joked with me in broken English as I ride to respond in broken Italian. They were warm, kind, caring and thoroughly attentive to all their customers, (quite a feat considering how many of them there were,) and overall showed me exactly why this was the most beloved “fast-food joint,” in the area. I loved getting to know them, the business they all care so much about, and the customers they serve. It was a pleasure and an honor to photograph something that should be so common, and yet is so rare in this world, people who really love and care about what they do.

Thanks to everyone at Nebrone, especially Simone, Fabio and Stefano, for making my job incredibly enjoyable, too, (and for the Paninis, especially the “Caterina Panini,” named after yours truly.)

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