Marco Longari

In a career lasting more than two decades, Italian photojournalist and Canon Ambassador Marco Longari has covered news stories in countries including Kosovo, Rwanda, Israel and the Palestinian territories, and South Africa. His images capture the reality of life for ordinary people, especially during major social upheavals, conflicts and demonstrations.

Born in Rome, Marco's love of photography began when his father gave him a Canon A1 film camera as a present in 1995. He went on to study photography at the city's ISFCI Academy, where he specialised in photojournalism.

"I was always interested in history and current affairs," says Marco. "Then, at the academy, I met a teacher who helped me understand that what I really wanted was to get involved in photojournalism and documentary photography. He transformed my vague infatuation with photography into something much deeper that has shaped the past 20 years of my life."

In 2000, Marco moved to Rwanda and while there discovered that Agence France-Presse (AFP) was looking for a photographer to cover the region. He stayed for four years, then moved to Nairobi in Kenya for another four years, where he photographed news stories around East Africa.

This was followed by seven years based in Jerusalem, from where he covered events in Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as Egypt, Libya and Syria. In 2012, he was named Best Photographer on the Wires by Time magazine for his coverage of the Arab Spring in North Africa and the Middle East.

Since 2014, Marco has operated out of Johannesburg, South Africa. As AFP's Africa Chief Photographer, he assigns other photographers to cover stories while still continuing to go on assignment himself. For the past four years, he has also been working on a long-term project about politics in Africa, which includes coverage of elections and demonstrations around the continent.

Marco's photojournalism has always been driven by his ambition to record what's really happening in the world today, which has often led him into dangerous situations.

"While pursuing this idea of being able to bear witness to the time in which I live, inevitably I have found myself in places where events are unfortunately surrounded by a good dose of violence," he says. "I'm not attracted to violence or danger, but I'm extremely interested in the predicaments of the people involved in these kinds of situations. This feeling of empathy is what really brings me to those situations. I feel close to the ordinary citizens that are paying the price for what happens around them."

How do you prepare photojournalists for covering potentially dangerous situations?

"What goes through my mind, most of the time, are the same questions I have when covering stories: is it safe, do we have enough information about the situation, are we correctly representing the situation represented in the story? You just have to make the best decisions you can with the facts available."


When you're covering conflict or unrest, how do you decide where to go and what to shoot?

"With experience, you develop a certain level of intuition about where you have to go, and then you try to concentrate on what is really at the heart of the story. You don't have time to tell the story of everyone you meet, so you have to focus on people whose stories are universal. By telling a story through the eyes of one person, you also tell the story of those who have similar backgrounds and are in similar predicaments."


Which assignment has brought you the most satisfaction?

"In 2005, I went to Nairobi, Kenya to do a story about water and sanitation. One of my pictures showed a little girl sitting next to a tap that was closed with a padlock. That picture was shown in The Guardian and when entrepreneur Duncan Goose saw it, it inspired him to set up The One Foundation. That organisation has now raised over £20 million for clean water and sanitation projects in disadvantaged communities."


What personal attributes does a photojournalist need?

"Kindness and empathy. I don't think you can do this job if you're not a kind person – someone who really cares about other people."

What piece of Canon kit can you not live without, and why?

"The perfect combination for me is the Canon EOS R5 Mark II and the Canon RF 35mm F1.4L VCM. The camera contains the best of Canon colorimetry, a spectacular sensor and an exceptional dynamic range. I know that in every light situation the camera will render precisely the same colours that I've originally noted in the scene. That lens is pure magic: incredibly sharp, with snap-fast autofocus. It allows me to be in the 'zone' and enjoy that special distance with the people I am photographing."


What else could we discover in your kitbag that helps you elevate your work?

"After years on the road, I have stripped down to the bare minimum: two Canon EOS R5 Mark IIs, a Canon RF 35mm F1.4L VCM, a Canon RF 50mm F1.4L VCM and a Canon RF 135mm F1.8L IS USM. This is 'THE BAG'; the one that makes sure I get what I need. Batteries, of course, notepad and pens, and, for good measure, a Canon RF 24mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM just in case it gets very crowded. Small, compact, powerful: it's a solid recipe for magic and good pictures!"

Marco Longari