Vero o Falso?
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Suzanne Salvo told me during a great chat on Wednesday. She was laughing but speaking in earnest regarding the difficulties of passing the Italian drivers license exam. Given the utterly perplexing diagrams she posted in a hilarious post on her fantastic blog the other day, I can see why the test would be so hard. Still, I can’t really believe it’s the hardest thing she’s ever done. (See Bolivian jungles below.)
For his part, Chris Salvo (the amazing lens behind the husband and wife team of Salvo Photography) still hasn’t passed the driving portion of the test. Given that the guy has been driving for three decades now, I had to make fun of him, but Suzanne, with good humor, explained that the driving classes are mandatory and you have to pay for them and so, um. . .
Here in Buenos Aires we call it a “coima,” which usually doesn’t translate to “bribe” in the strictest, harshest sense, but can often seem more like “creative money earning.” Sounds like it might be similar in Italy, which makes sense, consider how Argentines are often referred to as “Spanish-speaking Italians.”
In any case, Chris, who I saw on camera via Skype as the sun set behind him in the Italian hills where the Salvos moved a few years ago, certainly seemed nonplussed about the situation. We all agreed that inconveniences in a foreign land are less inconvenient when you are enjoying the place becoming your new home.
If you don’t know Suzanne’s blog, “Salvo at Large,” definitely take a gander. She mixes personal adventures with photo adventures with a true flair, providing plenty of business insights along the way. Actually, it was her great blog that brought me into contact with the Salvos, whom I featured in the AfterCapture article “Enter the Blogosphere.”
I think of the Salvos as the “Ultimate Photographic Road Warriors.” They’ve photographed extensively in 65 countries, often in rough territory (jungles of Bolivia, war-torn oil fields of Iraq), always traveling together, always traveling light, always bringing back the photographic goods. And, most wonderfully, always talking about life, photography, travel and business with a giddy enthusiasm.
I’m happy to report that Chris keeps on pushing himself creatively. Not only has he dived into video, but his still images continue to on a greater fine-art aesthetic — wonderful use of motion, super wide angles and abstractions. Pretty interesting, considering that he needs to make them of interest to his corporate clients.
She doesn't seem stressed.
I was interviewing them for an upcoming article for Rangefinder, and it was great to hear how — with a smile — they have been keenly adapting to the changing business environment over the last three years.
The best part of our talk was comparing our expat lives. We are both thrilled to live in countries where no one seems to give a poop exactly what it is that we do for money, and who are always ready, far more than in the USofA, to dine late, late into the wee hours of the morning.