First Generation Italian American: A Journey Thru Life's Difficulties With A Sense Of Pride And Accomplishment

By Hank Somma

Hank Somma learned the importance of detail in pursuit of a craft long before he photographed his first subject. Early in his working life, he designed and built beautiful wood cabinetry. Later he applied that same critical eye on a much larger scale, delivering drawings for major manufacturing facilities as founder of a Design and Drafting firm. Eventually, that eye drifted behind the lens of a camera, and he found his calling: photography. Somma has spent the years since always trying to depict life in a pure and simple - yet sensitive manner, uncluttered and un-staged. Giving the viewer the feelings and emotions he experiences while shooting is what he tries to accomplish in each photograph. Somma's first submitted work as a photographer, a portrait of two women entitled "Two on a Rail," captured the 1984 Kodak, Pittsburgh Press Grand Prize Award in black and white. Somma's work has since appeared in both local and national publications, including Pittsburgh Magazine, Pitt Magazine, Northwest Airlines In-Flight Magazine, and others. Somma toured America's deep south, photographing for a special issue of The Harvest Magazine, a publication of the Josephite Priests. His travels have taken Somma to such photographically productive locations as Thailand, Jamaica, Japan, and the Philippines. The Rockefeller Foundation, the Holy Childhood Association, The Carnegie, and numerous arts, health, and philanthropic institutions have commissioned his photos. Somma has exhibited his work in juried gallery shows and arts festivals throughout Western Pennsylvania.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1977229557
• ISBN13: 9781977229557
• Release Date: July 2020
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Length: 220 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"