‘Diana’ the Ascoli camera strap

Yes, that is right Ascoli have named their camera strap after me. I am more than honoured and am genuinely excited at what the beautiful things Ascoli will create for the photographers of this world.

Ascoli leather, for those of you who do not know, is an Italian leather accessories company based in Milan. I have worked with them on a number of occasions from self-portrait campaigns to photographing the artisans in their workshop in Italy. (In fact the set of self-portraits I took by the beautiful Lago d’Iseo will be released soon so keep an eye out!)

Everytime I work with Ascoli I fall more in love with their designs. It is a mixtures of the classically beautiful and the current so it still feels achingly cool. The last bag collection I photographed for the self-portraits was divine.

‘Diana’ the camera strap in orange, turquoise and light pink.

I was privileged enough to meet Sofia Ascoli to test one of the prototypes! They are stunning…well, I expected nothing less from Ascoli.

After I and gotten over the range of colours (there is also a burnt orange and a few others not pictured) and the understated design, I actually tried one out. It was very comfortable with a lot of padding for the base of the neck. Much better than my Nikon strap which tends to hurt after while, especially when I’ve been walking around Paris all day in search of stylish street walkers or just on location when the model has a lot of changes. There is one thing I have learnt whilst being a photographer and that is there is a lot of walking and carrying heavy equipment so comfort is essential when you choose your tools. However, no visual artist really wants to look simply utilitarian. Heaven forbid. That is why I could jump for joy knowing that Ascoli will start making high-end leather accessories for photographers.

So I cannot wait till the final Diana camera strap designs are available. I’ve decided to go for a turquoise one because it reminds me of very blue mediterranean oceans and to my Romantic brain it will be perfect for summer.

Oh, and also Ascoli are even talking of camera bags…the world of camera accessories may be a chicer place! I’ll keep you updated.

Love Diana
xxx