Piero Pomponi was born in 1965 in Nettuno, Italy. His family upbringing and education at the institute Casamari San Bernardo, formed his humanitarian approach and interest in documenting world events.
As a young man in 1983 Piero began his travels and started his journey as a freelance photojournalist. His work was published in Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, Paese Sera, Panorama and L'Espresso, covering the events in East Africa first and then in South-East Asia.
From the start Piero realized that his vocation was to capture the truth, and 'a picture of actuality' began. With this uppermost in his mind Piero began his travels around the world from a primary base in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, from here Piero’s work took him to: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Asia, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines. The African continenent including Angola, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, the former Zaire and now Congo in Africa.
In 1997, Piero went to Colombia making his base in Bogota, and for the next 5 years he documented the current affairs and events of Latin America. During this period, Pieros’ groundbreaking work documented the war on drug trafficking in Colombia and the ongoing conflicts in the country amongst various outlaw groups for various internatioanl publishions: The New York Times , Newsweek International, Time Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Focus, Stern, Der Spiegel, Reuters, the BBC and the list goes on.
Piero also captured human interest stories in particular his world exculusive photographs of Hans Ertl, who was the official photographer of Hitler and the Berlin Olympics of 1936 and also the reports of Colombian paramilitary leader of the AUC, the 'Italian-Colombian Salvatore Mancuso, alias "El Mono".
In April of 2002, Piero returned to Africa, settling in Kampala, Uganda, where he now permanently resides. Here he follows the socio political events of African and its sub-continent producing images as a photographer and documentary film-maker for Italian and foreign television networks, with the production company Focus World International.
Piero speaks several languages, has a degree in International Politics and a Masters in the global effects of Islamic Fundamentalism. He divides his time, between work in the field as a photo-journalist and teacher at various institutions, including the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan. Piero has published three books and made several short films and charitable television commercials for the international organisation ONLUS, that focus on ethnographic anthropology.
Piero Pomponi nasce nel 1965 a Nettuno, in Italia e si e’ formato attraverso gli studi classico-umanistici nell’istituto San Bernardo di Casamari. Nel 1983 comincia a viaggiare e come fotogiornalista free-lance, inizia a collaborare con testate giornalistiche quali Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, Paese Sera, Panorama e L’Espresso, coprendo gli avvenimenti in Africa Orientale dapprima e successivamente nel Sud-Est Asiatico. Intuisce rapidamente che la sua vocazione e’ la fotografia di attualita’ ed inizia cosi’ il suo peregrinare intorno al mondo: Bangladesh, Tailandia, Birmania, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Filippine, solo per citarne alcuni in Asia e Angola, Sud-Africa, Kenya, Mozambico, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, l’ex-Zaire ed ora RDCongo in Africa, mantenendo sempre come base primaria, Dar Es Salaam, in Tanzania. Nel 1997 arriva in Colombia, dove rimane stabilmente per cinque anni sino al 2002, facendo base a Bogota’ e coprendo l’attualita’ in tutto il continente Latino-Americano, lavorando come free-lance per importanti testate giornalistiche internazionali quali il New York Times, Newsweek International, Time, The Chicago Tribune, Focus, Stern, Der Spiegel,la Reuters, il Corriere della Sera ed altri ancora. Numerosi sono i reportages esclusivi sulla guerra al narcotraffico in Colombia e sul conflitto in atto nel paese tra i varii gruppi fuorilegge. In particolare, in anni di duro lavoro in Sud-America, produce differenti esclusive mondiali, tra le quali le memorabili foto di Hans Ertl, fotografo ufficiale di Hitler e delle Olimpiadi di Berlino del 1936 ed il reportage del leader paramilitare colombiano delle AUC, l’italo-colombiano Salvatore Mancuso, alias “El Mono”.
Ma nell’Aprile del 2002, torna definitivamente in Africa, stabilendosi in forma permanente a Kampala,in Uganda, dove tuttora risiede in pianta stabile, seguendo gli avvenimenti del continente africano e producendo come film-maker, documentarii per network televisivi italiani e stranieri, con la societa’ di produzione World Focus International.
Poliglotta,e con studi universitarii in Politica Internazionale e con un master sugli effetti dell’integralismo islamico nel mondo, divide il suo tempo, insegnando fotogiornalismo in varie istituzioni, tra cui l’Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera a Milano. Ha pubblicato sino ad ora tre libri, producendo anche cortometraggi di carattere etno-atropologico e spot televisivi per una ONLUS internazionale.
Piero Pomponi
Speke H. Residential
Nile Avenue Plot 7/9
P.O.Box 7036
Kampala - Uganda - East Africa (Work&Home Address)
Phone Uganda : +256-778131392
International Roam: +1-201-282-5780
E-mail 1: pieropomponi@yahoo.com
E-mail 2: pieropomponi@gmail.com
Skype: pieropomponi
Skype: world.focus.international
www.pieropomponi.net