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Thank You – Books for a cause close to my heart
1. “Thank You” is a collection of photo books, personal stories, and autobiographical accounts.
It was born from a simple idea: using beauty to do good.
All proceeds from these books—excluding printing and distribution costs—are donated to the Animal Aid Kythira association, which cares for abandoned animals on the Greek island I hold so dear.
“I write, take photos, and publish books not to make money, but to give something back. Every project you see here is part of the Thank You series: all proceeds, net of production costs, go directly to Animal Aid Kythira, an organization that cares for the abandoned animals on the Greek island I carry in my heart.”
2. What is the Thank You series?
Thank You is a self-published book series that combines personal commitment and solidarity. Each title tells a part of my story: a journey, a photographic technique, a family experience. And each copy sold is a small, tangible help for those who have no voice: the stray dogs and cats of Kythira.
My Kythira (1/4)
This book is about emotions.
You won’t find here descriptions or stories about the single places: you will just find the picture, the name and the position on the island’s map.
This is because what I try to do with my work is shooting what I feel rather than what I see. You don’t require explanations or directions for your feelings: just have a look to the picture, close your eyes, and let the emotions go. You could then feel colors, sounds, and fragrances, and this will be the best definition for this wonderful place that is Kythira: a place that reaches your deepest self and never lets you go (and you’ll never want her to).
So this is My Kythira, a place that not needs to be explained: just observed, breathed, and deeply felt.
Mia
Αυτό το βιβλίο μιλάει για συναισθήματα.
Δεν θα βρείτε εδώ περιγραφές η ιστορία για τα διάφορα μέρη: θα βρείτε μόνο μιά φωτογραφία, τον τίτλο και τη θέση στο χάρτη του νησιού.
Αυτό, γιατί εκείνο που προσπαθώ να κάνω με τη δουλειά μου ειναι να φωτογραφίζω αυτό που νιώθω παρά αυτό που βλέπω. Και δεν χρειάζονται εξηγήσεις η οδηγίες για τα συναισθήματά σας: απλά κοιτάξε την εικόνα, κλείσε τα μάτια σου και αφήσε τα συναισθήματα σου να βγουν.
Ετσι, θα μπορέσεις να φανταστείς τα χρώματα, τους ήχους και τα αρώματα,
Luce Residua (2/4)
English version coming soon.
This is not a technical manual, nor merely a portfolio — it’s a journey into HDR photography, seen through the eyes — and the lens — of someone who has made it a daily creative practice.
With irony, experience, and a certain stubbornness, Mia Battaglia shares her way of seeing, shooting, and processing reality.
A book for those who want to learn, and also for those who simply want to look.
Featuring over 50 original photographs, the result of years of exploration and visual experimentation.
This book is part of the Thank You series — a project born out of a desire to turn my passions into a concrete act of solidarity.
All proceeds — net of production and distribution costs — are donated to Animal Aid Kythira, an organization that has been caring for abandoned animals on the island of Kythira for years.
Buying this book also means lending a hand to those who have no voice.
Tutto su miə figliə (3/4)
Una storia vera, in un racconto così lieve da sembrare finto, in un diario così preciso e allarmato da non sembrare falso; un viaggio alla scoperta di un figlio quarantenne, separato, innamorato, con un segreto; una rivelazione che arriva da New York, una curiosa vigilia di Natale in una ancor più curiosa famiglia, le conversazioni online con quanti pensano che due generi (maschile e femminile) siano effettivamente pochi; un’esplorazione di sé e di tre o quattro mondi paralleli, tra rose telematiche, pizze transgender, piccoli drammi, mutilazioni progettate, sorrisi, non relazioni. Infine, come nelle migliori tradizioni, i più classici “lieti fine”: un anello, un matrimonio, un bambino. Ma non in quest’ordine.
Nel suo terzo libro (che è tuttavia il primo a uscire alle stampe), Buci Sopelsa, veneziana, pittrice, designer e stilista, racconta con sincerità disarmante (affiancata dallə direttə interessatə) la storia di un rapporto, quello con suo figlio Aug, e di una scoperta per lo meno sconcertante: che cosa può spingere un uomo di quasi 40 anni, bello, atletico, che ama (riamato) le donne, con un lavoro appagante e un comune infortunio matrimoniale, a dare vita ad un alter ego femminile, Mia? Che cosa proverà ad andare in bicicletta in minigonna, dall’analista o in enoteca con la parrucca?
Secondo recenti statistiche, solo nel mondo occidentale, le persone disforiche (individui percepiscono che profondo disagio o angoscia a causa di una discrepanza tra il proprio sesso biologico e la propria identità di genere) superano i 16 milioni (valore rilevato intorno agli anni 2000). Buci ne incontra alcuni, parla via Internet con parecchi altri, piuttosto sopresi di incontrare una madre così, ma si interessa essenzialmente di uno, suo figlio, interrogandosi sulle responsabilità materne, su un’educazione (troppo?) libera, sulle sue (incerte) prospettive di diventare nonna. Due personaggi a tutto tondo, simpatici, intriganti, con un problema che interessa tutti: che cos’è una persona?
All about my child* (4/4)
A true story, told with such lightness it almost feels made up, and in a diary so precise and anxious it can’t possibly be false.
A journey into the life of a forty-year-old son: divorced, in love, and hiding a secret.
A revelation that arrives from New York.
A curious Christmas Eve in an even more curious family.
Online conversations with people who believe that two genders—male and female—just aren’t enough.
A self-exploration that stretches across three or four parallel worlds: between digital roses, transgender pizza nights, minor dramas, planned mutilations, smiles, and non-relationships.
And finally—true to tradition—the most classic of happy endings: a ring, a wedding, a child. Though not necessarily in that order.
In her third book (and the first to see the light of publication), Buci Sopelsa—Venetian painter, designer, and stylist—recounts, with disarming honesty (joined by the person most directly involved), the story of a relationship: that between her and her son Aug, and of a revelation at the very least unsettling.
What could lead a nearly 40-year-old man—handsome, athletic, beloved by women and returning their affection, with a fulfilling job and a fairly standard case of marital misfortune—to bring to life a female alter ego, Mia?
What does he feel while riding a bike in a miniskirt, or going to therapy—or to a wine bar—in a wig?
According to early 2000s statistics, in the Western world alone, more than 16 million people experience gender dysphoria—a deep sense of discomfort or distress caused by a mismatch between one’s biological sex and gender identity.
Buci meets a few of them, chats online with many more—most of whom are quite surprised to encounter a mother like her.
But her attention is really focused on just one: her own child.
She questions her maternal responsibilities, a perhaps too liberal upbringing, and her (uncertain) chances of becoming a grandmother.
Two fully formed characters, witty and compelling, facing a question that concerns us all: What makes a person who they are?
4. Where the funds go
My books are created and distributed through the KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) platform. This platform allows small independent authors like me to reach the market without any upfront investment. At the time of sale, Amazon pays the author an average of 30% of the cover price (this percentage may vary depending on the type of book and the marketplace used); I donate 100% of these proceeds to Animal Aid Kythira, the organization that has been raising funds for years to support shelters on the island that care for animals in need.
So far, thanks to those who have purchased my photographs or a copy of the first edition of My Kythira, I’ve been able to donate €3,500 to this organization. Below, you’ll find the amounts related to the “Thank You” initiative (as soon as we have figures worth showing).
5. Would you like to help?
Just buy a book. Nothing could be easier.
One book for you, a helping hand for them.
And if you like the project, feel free to share it.