Even if you’ve never visited Rajasthan, India, it’s apparent in João Canziani’s photographs that Rajasthan is a land of sun-drenched desert landscapes, well-dressed gentleman in white suits and joyful women dancing in the streets. Similarly, you can get a pretty good idea about the Galapagos Islands after seeing Canziani’s portrait of a seal, sunning itself in the sand and the teal water crashing against a rocky intertidal zone.
Whether traversing northern Peru to photograph traditional fishermen in reed boats or the foggy skyline of Beijing, Canziani has made the illusive idea of “travel photographer” a real thing.
His images combine natural highlights, tight composition and provincial subjects that makes them feel effortless and beautiful. It’s no fluke that, since starting his career in the early 2000s, Canziani’s editorial work has appeared in publications like Afar, Travel + Leisure and T: New York Times Style Magazine, and his commercial clients have included Nike, Apple, Gatorade and Microsoft.
Photos Canziani made across Los Angeles for a Nike Summer 2017 apparel campaign.
Traveling sometimes as much as half the year, Canziani has seen many hidden corners of the earth. A recent assignment for Esquire, for example, had him on a remote lake in Patagonia, photographing the chef Francis Mallmann at his home. “It was a nine-hour flight from New York to Buenos Aires, two-hour flight to Patagonia, five-hour car ride and one-and-a-half-hour boat ride to get to this island,” Canziani says. “I needed a very small kit, so all I brought was my Nikon D810 and a few lenses [a AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm, 70-200mm and 50mm fixed].” After eating gourmet meals prepared by Mallmann for three days, Canziani sailed away with incredible landscape shots and portraits for the magazine.
But much like his trip to Patagonia, getting to this point in his career has taken work.
An image Canziani captured on assignment for Esquire to document chef Francis Mallman on a remote island in Patagonia.
Countries, Cultures and Coasts
Born in Peru, Canziani’s first entry into photography was experimenting with his father’s Pentax. When a 15-year-old Canziani moved with his family to Vancouver, Canada, the unfamiliar landscape—“wet forest and gringos everywhere,” he jokes—gave him a new world to document. He was soon “obsessive” about photography, using classmates as subjects and converting a small bathroom in his family’s basement into a darkroom. “It became a beautiful process of spending time alone, listening to music and printing images,” he says.
But photography as a career did not occur to Canziani at the time. Instead, he toyed with the idea of architecture as a respectable profession, then pivoted to majoring in psychology. Midway through college in Canada, Canziani went backpacking around Europe with his camera, and soon his path became obvious. He started developing his portfolio and finished his degree with the intent to apply to an art college in the U.S.
More photos from Canziani’s assignment in Patagonia.
Canziani was able to procure an American green card and stay with his mother, who was by then living in California. With a portfolio of travel landscapes and conceptual portraits of friends, he applied to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and got accepted to the BFA program with a modest scholarship. “[The BFA program] was an eye-opening experience because it wasn’t just a technical school, there was a lot of color theory and composition, fine art history, etc.,” he says. “They broke you to build you back up again.”
Eager to start working, Canziani drilled through his degree, taking classes during the summer and building a fashion-heavy portfolio, “stuff I cringe at when I look at it at now,” he says. Graduating right before September 11, 2001, he came to New York to shop his portfolio around during the worst possible week for America. “It was a shock for everybody, and a huge reset button for me,” he says of the 9/11 attacks. “I came in with a lot of cocky confidence about being a fashion photographer…yet after that [week], the world stopped for a long time.”
He retreated to Los Angeles, landing small photo and assisting gigs, transitioning bit by bit into the life of a professional photographer. But he never quite felt settled. “I got aimless and wasn’t sure what my path would be,” says Canziani, who eventually returned focus to his personal work, editing a small series of images he had shot in Peru in early 2000.
Portraits Canziani captured for a Nike apparel campaign
“I sent a small and humble set of promo cards that I printed myself to about 30 magazines I loved, including The Fader,” he says. It caught the eye of an editor there who assigned Canziani a few initial L.A.-based stories—among them a portrait of actress Shannyn Sossamon and Australian rock band, The Vines. An assignment for Travel + Leisure soon followed. The more he worked—and traveled, the more work came in. So much so that Canziani was named one of PDN’s 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch in 2005, resulting in an influx of work and exposure, albeit too soon. “It overwhelmed me, and I don’t think I was ready for it,” he admits. “I wish I’d had the same work ethic I have now.”
But by 2008, his motivation kicked in. While the recession had many photographers anxious about work, Canziani was itching for more: not just for new assignments, but also to find a supportive community of photographers. “I grew tired of L.A., I got complacent living there,” he says. “I got the crazy idea that I was finally ready for New York.” Where L.A. felt isolated and lonely, New York proved to be the opposite for Canziani. “There were events like Adhesive”—a network for photographers, producers and creatives—“and photographers wanted to meet me,” he says. Canziani proactively set up meetings with editors he’d worked with, and wanted to work with. “People were receptive,” he says. “It taught me how to hustle.”
Practical Application
In the years that followed, Canziani’s career grew consistently. Along with the hustle, he learned that traveling and making personal work was absolutely critical to getting the jobs he wanted. “I always want to experiment more, play with light and discover more aesthetically,” he says.
When he first came to New York, his goal was to get one advertising job per year. He got some agency names and contact information from a photographer friend, and supplemented with a subscription to Agency Access. Then, he used the same approach as he did with magazines: emailing to set up meetings. “[Agencies are] a bit more intimidating, but it’s possible,” he says.
After getting a few large jobs, he realized he needed a New York agent to help him navigate the business end, so he hired a consultant and through word of mouth met his current rep, Giant Artists, in 2013. The partnership has led to jobs for Nike, Delta Airlines and American Express.
Portraits Canziani made on a portrait assignment for The Red Bulletin at Barcade in New York.
But even when assignments don’t give him an awe-inspiring, natural setting to document, Canziani’s experience has taught him to see potential in every job. Once on a portrait assignment for The Red Bulletin at Barcade in New York City, Canziani showed up to a dark bar, seemingly lacking inspiration. “I shot what I needed to for the [assignment], then I noticed the people playing video games in the arcade,” he says. “The lighting was interesting, and a couple of men were really engaged in their playing. One of them reminded me of [actor] Idris Elba, a bit bashful with his hoodie open revealing his cut chest. I photographed him and his friend, and a few other people, getting a series of photos I was really happy with.”
—WRITTEN BY JESSICA GORDON
This article is excerpted from the Fall 2018 edition of PDNedu. To learn more about Canziani—specifically his foray into motion and his advice to emerging photographers—read the full article for free in the digital edition.
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