My name is Carlotta Roda and I was born in Como Province, Italy. My father has given me a passion for photography since I was a little girl. In fact, at the age of 6, I received my first semi-professional camera. I still remember it. It was a compact Canon and I used it for many years, before moving on to reflex cameras as a teenager and then mirrorless cameras.

When I was 19, I decided to make my passion my job. I enrolled at the IED in Milan and obtained a degree in photography in 2021.

What I want most in my life is to be able to produce photographs that can leave a mark on people. I would like people to feel emotions in front of my photos and keep them in their minds.

The compliments that help me the most are from my family. They are the ones who motivate me, who give me the strength to continue in my career as a photographer, and without whom I would feel alone and lost.

I think it's a beautiful achievement and it's worth a lot to me. I honestly didn't expect it. I had to reread the email several times to understand that I wasn't dreaming.

In this competition, I decided to present a project that I care about a lot and that I think I will continue to do for the rest of my life. I brought a series of images taken in New York at night from above, the main theme of which is light pollution. I wanted to participate in this competition because I wanted to show viewers from all over the world the wonder that night can offer, creating fascination in the viewer to discover how much light there is in the darkness.

The advice I can give to a starting photographer is to start without setting limits but rather experiment as much as possible. Today I'm mainly a night and astronomy photographer, but just three years ago I would never have thought this would become my niche. We need to try out as many photographic genres as possible and gradually leave behind those with whom we feel less comfortable and continue with those we feel are ours. For me, forcing myself into a specific genre right from the start can be limiting and doesn't always allow people to realize themselves.

I think my greatest strengths are determination and passion. Thanks to this, I can achieve my goals and be ready for new stimuli. Another important aspect is the desire to continue to discover and always want to learn something new. The world goes on without man. Man must be able to keep up with the world.