mighele_

Ljubljana, 5. 12. 2015, @sanya_lt

Instagram thought me an important lesson; before I go anywhere, I search through the #hashtags connected to the place I want to visit and I ask local Instagrammers for tips – where to go & what to see. Mighele_ is the person that ‘pops up’ when you are looking for ideas where to go and what to do in Italy, especially in its northern part, around Trieste. I have also found some of his photos of Slovenia and decided that an interview with a neighbour (with an amazing gallery!) is a must!

Can you present yourself? Who are you, where do you come from and what do you do?

My name is Michele and I’m from the north-eastern part of Italy. My instagram name is @Mighele_ but I have also another profile, @mighele_daily and of course – you can find me on Twitter & Tumblr.

 I currently live in Trieste, but I was born and raised in Udine, where I worked as a graphic designer for several years. Now I’m working hard on a new project with my partner Marco called “Dezen Dezen. It’s very exciting to see the project – slowly but surely – becoming a reality! The next big step waiting for us is to move our screen printing manufacture to Trieste.

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How would you describe your photography style? I find your photos very aesthetic, symmetry is importantto you and (especially lately) there almost must be a splash of blue here and there. Am I wrong?

You already told everything. It’s not easy for me to describe my style because I have a very spontaneous approach to photography and most of the time I just shoot what I encounter during my days and on my travels. My photos are often blue because blue is the colour that surrounds me most of the time between the sea of Trieste and the sky of the Friuli’s Alps.

Are you a professional or amateur photographer? What kind of equipment do you use for taking photos?

Absolutely amateur! For the last few years I was only using my iPhone for shooting and for editing my photos. However, recently, Nikon Italy invited me to take part in a photography project and having a Nikon Reflex in my hand gave me a lot of new inspiration.

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How did you end up on Instagram?

Honestly, I don’t remember! When I initially installed Instagram 3 years ago, none of my friends was using it and I hadn’t understood the potential at the beginning. Only after a few months of using it &  with the number of followers growing it became more interesting. And, as you know, I never stopped using it! 🙂

Instagram is my favourite social media mostly because it allows you to tell stories in a very simple way! In Italy the community of Instagrammers  is very large and united. The first one that involved me was Instagramers Italia and thanks to them I discovered how cool Instagram is and met a bunch of cool people from all around Europe and the world.

Can you share some tips for Slovenian Instagramers? How to act on Instagram? What is really important for you?

Instagram is all about storytelling: Show your passions and show the most beautiful places in your country! Those are my favourite contents!

In a nutshell: Less selfies and more interaction! That was my winning combination and it allowed me to get to know so many people and some of them became very close friends of mine. It also allowed me to get in touch with some cool brands with which I developed different kind of collaborations.

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Slovenia? How/when did you decide to visit? Why?

Living so close to Slovenia also means I visit it often, but unfortunately I had only a few occasions to visit it as a tourist. In the last year we participated many times on Ljubljana’s arts and crafts markets with our Dezen Dezen handmades and each time I take more confidence with the city and fall a little bit more in love with it.

What are your favorite places here?

I have seen more Slovenian highways and gas stations than cities, LOL, but as I said I love Ljubljana and Piran! I would love visit the beautiful Lake Bled and I hope I will spend a weekend there really soon. Until then I will admire Slovenia on Instagram!

Do you think that Instagram community could do something to help you while exploring Slovenia?

Of course! Browsing Instagram galleries of my favourite Instagrammers helps me discover a lot of beautiful places that I never visited or even knew they existed but are just a few kilometres away. When I find something new and interesting it immediately becomes my next destination! The community can become a great resource to discover beautiful places. When you use hashtags and geolocation correctly Instagram is a very powerful tool.

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