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To Do or To Own? (or the Photographer’s Dilemma)
To Own or To Do is the photographer’s version of Erich Fromm’s dilemma posed in his famous essay, ‘To Have or to Be’. I don’t have the authority to talk about a complex topic such as the relationship between individual frustration or lack of accomplishment and compensatory or self-delusional behaviour. I would rather like to focus on how putting gear ownership over gear use affects the ability to take meaningful shots. Initially published on 35mmc.com Like many fellow photographers, I have been affected by the Gear Acquisition Syndrome, which in my case has manifested itself not in a quest for a —whatever it means — ‘perfect image’ but rather a…
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5 Frames with various cameras – Ferrari On The Road(s)
Sports car photography usually happens in specific settings such as motorshows, official events, race tracks etc., where lights, crowds, fences and limited access to restricted areas are an issue. Doing the same on the street, however, is no less challenging as things happen unpredictably and, unless taking photograph of parked vehicles, there is no time to compose – Initially published on 35mmc.com In this photograph of a Ferrari F8 Tributo, the framing makes the car the focal point, and even though the door on the left adds a bit of visual clutter, it doesn’t detract from the overall result. The following image illustrate the trade-offs of reacting in real time…
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A Japanese Luthier and a Fingerstyle Player from My Home Region (and My Past) – A One shot story
I took this photo at GuitarPlanet, in the Ochanomizu district of Tokyo, because I was intrigued by the different bracing of the guitars’ lower backs. The picture in itself has no particular value, but on closer inspection it revealed a story linking a musical instrument, a Japanese luthier, a region of Italy (Abruzzi) and my past. – Initially published on 35mmc.com Pixel-peeping the photo, I noticed that the lower back in the middle bears the mark of Morris Guitar, a renowned Japanese acoustic manufacturer. The name rang a bell, so I went to their website to see what caught my eye. After some wandering around I landed on the page listing the…
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Mir-20 20mm 3.5 on a Pentax K1-II – A Field Test
Photographing with a 20mm lens is quite demanding on the eye, as the composition has to take into account many more objects than with a normal prime or telephoto lens. As a result, it is very easy to get meaningless ‘postcard-like’ images. Not having used such a lens before, I certainly fall into the latter category, so the following photos (possibly, but only one) only serve to show some of the optical features of the lens – Initially published on 35mmc.com Resolution Despite its age (the lens was marketed between 1973 and 1996), the optical resolution is not bad. In this image, apart from the chromatic aberration, you can clearly…
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One Shot Story: Behind the Fence
There is nothing special about this photo in itself, but when placed in context, it changes the way we may look at it – Initially published on 35mmc.com The photo was taken in the fishing neighbourhood of my home town. Behind the fence erected by the developers were the fishermen’s small one-storey houses. Once a testament to the hard life they endured, over time the neighbourhood was abandoned and the houses gradually fell into disrepair. Now, for security reasons, it is not possible to look through the fence and see what the developers are planning to build in place of this small part of the neighbourhood. I could ask the…
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7Artisans 35mm 0.95 – Testing this Fujifilm X Mount Lens in a Demanding Environment
So far I have been very happy with the 7Artisans 35mm 0.95 in X-mount, but I have only tested it in non-demanding conditions. Although the results were promising at first sight, only a real test could give a definitive verdict (at least for me). So I decided to put it on trial last December 13, shooting ‘La Cenerentola’, Gioacchino Rossini’s melodrama at the Teatro Marrucino in Chieti (IT), together with the ‘battle-tested’ Fujifilm XF 18-120. Initially published on 35mmc.com Did it work out? Let me spoil the conclusions: I really like this lens in absolute terms and not because of its value for money. The colour reproduction is excellent, the resolving…
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One Shot Story: (Un)Available Coin Lockers at Shin Osaka Station
コインロッカー, the coin-operated lockers, are fundamental to travel around Japan: this is the first lesson any first-timer to this Country should learn beforehand. – Initially publishd on 35mmc.com Almost ubiquitous, they are plentiful in train stations and airports and are a convenient way to get rid of your luggage for a few hours or days while you are on a stopover. Until a few years ago, finding an empty コインロッカー was not such a daunting task, even when there were large numbers of tourists. Now, however, things have changed for the worse. Recently, on my way to Tokyo from Kyushu, I did —as the automatic PA system of the Shinkansen likes…
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A Night at the Opera – Plays and Opera Photography
This is an abbreviated version of a talk I gave to a local chapter of the Italian Federation of Amateur Photographers (FIAF) on the challenges of photographing in a Teatro all’italiana environment. A word to the wise: this post has just a few pictures because it talks about what happens behind the camera and not about what happens in front of it Initially published by 35mmc.com To approach professional photography in Italian-style theatres, it is essential to understand and deal with a series of difficulties and critical issues that characterise this particular environment. The Italian-style theatre, with its architectural structure, lighting layout and show dynamics, imposes a series of technical and…
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Colour, Daily photo, Downtown, Nagasaki, Osaka, Photography, Streets&Squares, Thoughts, Tokyo, Travels, Yokohama
Why You Should Only Shoot in Your Backyard (or ‘The Art of Belonging’)
What do these pictures have in common (apart from having been taken in various places in Japan)? No, they don’t have the same look and feel, composition or use of light, nor they convey a particular meaning. What they have in common is that they’re just dull and boring —meaningless, indeed. This picture of the Yokohama’s Chinatown Dragon is hardly different than the others available on the Internet. Initially published on 35mmc.com It shares a similar fate with this one, taken last Mid November in Osaka, and, as Google Lens mercylessly shows, with this one, shot in Omura, near Nagasaki. One can hardly say that this is a never-seen-before view of Tokyo’s Kyu-Shiba-rikyū Gardens, or of…
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Gioacchino Rossini – La Cenerentola@Teatro Marrucino
This is part of a reportage I did on December 13, 2024 for the Teatro Marrucino in Chieti (IT) during the performance of Gioacchino Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Gear: Fujifilm X-T4 and X-T5 cameras, Fujinon XF 18-120 F4, 7-Artisans 35/0,95 X-Mount Find out more at https://andrea.monti.photography
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Portraits in Skating
In sports photography, portraits are as important as snapshots of crucial moments such as a win, a loss or an unpredictable event, for they are an excellent way to capture the humanity of the athletes, often and mistakenly seen – especially in high-level competitons and before the start – as soulless cyborgs. Initially published on 35mmc.com The very first moments after the game is over are a gold mine. Athletes are still full of adrenaline and eager to discuss their performance with their teammates. Before they shower, before they change into normal clothes, before they return to ordinary life their focus is on what went right or wrong. And when…
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Shooting a Roller Derby Bout
Of all the disciplines at the 2024 World Skate Games, which took place in Italy last September, roller derby is probably one of the lesser known, but also one of the most difficult to photograph. A contact sport, roller derby takes place in a very small space, in a very short time and at a very high speed. Once combined together, these three factors give the photographer a pretty hard time Initially published on 35mmc.com. Having been given a full access media pass to all the venues and the court, I was able to stay in a privileged position to take the shots. However, although in the past I have taken pictures of high…
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Padua, a photographer’s goldmine
During a few hours off work, I recently had the chance to wander around Padua, one of the many historical jewels that make up Italy’s immense cultural heritage. What makes Padua special is its devotion to a powerful icon of Christianity, Sant’ Antonio. A Portuguese by birth, Sant’ Antonio belonged to the Franciscan Order and gave birth to a religious movement whose importance is testified by the basilica that still bears his name – Initially published on 35mmc.com. For the photographer, Padua is a goldmine, not only for its architectural masterpieces, but also for the many less obvious and nonetheless interesting details. For example, here is a close-up of an antique…
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A Few Shots with the 7Artisans 35mm f/0.95 in X-Mount
Let’s get straight to the point: here are a few shots taken with a Fuji X-T4 and a 7 Artisans 35mm f/.0.95 (obviously) in X-mount. All photos were taken at the widest (nominal) aperture of the lens, i.e. 0.95. I’m not sure if this is a real value, but it doesn’t matter because comparing the shutter speed with (relatively) slower lenses like the Zeiss Planar 32mm F1.8 shows that the 7 Artisans is proportionally faster, and that’s enough for me. – Initially published by 35mmc.com This is an 8x crop of the featured image. Even wide open the lens was able to make the Ryanair word easily readable and I…
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Shooting Fast Alfa Romeo on a Race Track
“The Citroen went into second and remained there; slowly we puffed up the long ascent. We had gone about a mile, when we became aware of a noise coming up from the valley, a noise like the noise of massed machine-guns. It grew louder and louder. A minute later a huge red Alfa Romeo road racer, looking suspiciously like the machine that had just won the Grand Prix d’ Europe, roared past at a speed that cannot have been less than fifty miles an hour. It was evidently being driven by a genius; for, looking up, we saw the scarlet monster negotiating turn after hairpin turn in the zigzag road…
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A creative approach to zone focusing with superfast manual lenses and mirrorless cameras in street photography
Manual lenses on mirrorless cameras are often a match made in heaven: (once) cheap, high-quality lenses can finally be brought back from the grave and used on modern cameras. However, as with any marriage, there are some rough edges that are difficult to smooth out. In the case of manual lenses, the main problem is the lack of autofocus, which limits the street photographer’s options. Zone focusing is the usual way to overcome this limitation, but this solution has an inherent problem: to get a decent depth of field, you need to shoot at least at F8 or even F11. This means that, in street-photography, it is not possible to…
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5 frames with a Canon R6 Mk II and its RF 50/1,2 L USM
I was recently given a Canon R6 Mk II and a set of lenses, including the RF 50/1.2, to test them in a specific environment, so to familiarise myself with the kit I spent a few hours wandering around with the most unlikely configuration for street photography: camera, battery grip and a bulky lens: not exactly what you would call ‘discreet’ or ‘unobtrusive’. However, as counterintuitive as it may seem, I had no problem carrying a ‘real’ camera with all the bells and whistles, as they often seem less threatening and creepy to the casual passer-by, the main target of street photography, because people think you’re just working. There would…
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Shooting Kite Surfing
Kite surfing is quite spectacular but difficult to photograph. As with any water sport, the main difference that affects the results is whether or not the photographer is embedded in the organisation. In the former case, being allowed to stay on the official boats allows him to be closer to the action and get better shots. In the other case, the photographer must essentially rely on a telephoto lens (the longer the better) at the expense of depth of field – Initially published on 35mmc.com. Jumps and the flight phase are the most spectacular moments to capture. However, as the next two photos show, it is essential that the autofocus works…
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The Stupidity of Being Stubborn
I knew exactly that I was going to fail, but I did it anyway, irrationally thinking that for some not well clear reason the law of physics and optics could be defied by the sacred mission of the photographer. Thus, contrary to basic common sense, a few weeks ago I brought a Nikon 35TI loaded with a Ferrania P33 (ISO160) to a jazz manouche concert of the Tchavolo Schmitt trio at the French Embassy in Rome. The outcomes, as it was easy to predict, were just (euphemistically) poor – Initially published on 335mmc.com Let’s start with a test shot to ascertain if there was some issue with the hardware: Apart…
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Nikkor 16mm Fisheye – Three Ways to Make use of Such a Lens
For me, a fisheye is the most challenging lens to use. Unlike other ‘normal’ focal lengths, a fisheye has an inherent deformation of reality. As a result, it is often used to create images with an unreal rendering, reminiscent of M.C. Escher’s self-portrait looking into a transparent globe.However, as happened in music with the advent of digital processors and effects, it is very easy – at least it was for me – to fall into the trap of focusing on the form rather than the message. In other words, as soon as a ‘weird’ looking photo is achieved, that was enough. Just like playing electric guitar back in the days,…
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Shooting Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA)-like Events
Historical reenactments are everywhere, and the volunteers who keep alive the memory of our past deserve our highest praise. Along with pure re-enactments, where the fate of the participants is already predetermined by history, and HEMA, where athletes compete using European weaponry and armour, there is a middle-ground discipline that is gaining momentum in Italy: Sport Reenactment – Initially published by 35mmc.com In short, SR players take part in reenactment events wearing faithful replica of the coats and arms of ancient Italian, Greek, Celtic and German tribes. But they also meet in forests and mountains to fight following a ruleset but without knowing in advance who is going to win. The…
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The Ferrania Film Series – Episode 1 – Ferrania Orto shot on October/November 2023
This is the first episode in a series documenting the use of Ferrania film in various contexts. Episode 1 features a Ferrania Orto shot with a Nikon 35 TI in Japan, between 25 October and 1 November 2023.
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How to (Unconventionally) Shoot Track and Field Competitions
Having been given a LOC pass for the European Athletics Championships currently taking place in Rome, I was able to practice unusual compositions in sports photography – Initially published on 35mmc.com Usually, the pictures taken by professional photographers working for media companies, broadcasters or magazines inevitably focus on the umpteenth iteration of the same actions (the concentration before the start, the relay change, the exertion after a fast or long run, etc.). Add to this the fact that the photographers are all in the same part of the venue, the results are very similar, at least in terms of perspective and field of view. This is an example: I don’t…
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Learning to Shoot Boxing Matches
Taking pictures in a boxing gym during regular training is a unique way to learn to understand when ‘the moment’ – a hit, a miss, a bob or a weave – is coming and develop an instinct for composition – Initially published on 35mmc.com This is important for two reasons. Firstly, as always with sports photography, you need to know the discipline you want to shoot and practice different options. But, in a classic Catch 22, if you don’t attend a fair number of bouts at ringisde, you won’t know the discipline and learn how to photograph it. Spending time in a gym, then, is the best second best option…
