Andrea Monti

Photographer

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  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Technique,  Thoughts

    A creative approach to zone focusing with superfast manual lenses and mirrorless cameras in street photography

    September 28, 2024 /

    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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    Andrea Monti

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    StreetPizza@Ueno

    August 4, 2018

    Three Lamposts

    June 11, 2022

    The Ref

    June 6, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Technique

    Nikkor 16mm Fisheye – Three Ways to Make use of Such a Lens

    August 22, 2024 /

    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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    Andrea Monti

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    One Shot (Plus One) Story – All That Lasts

    April 19, 2025

    The Cupido’s Fall

    June 2, 2014

    Friends

    August 3, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Photography,  Spring,  Technique

    5 frames with a Kiev 60, a Volna 80/2,8 and a Ferrania Orto

    June 28, 2024 /

    Working on a ‘project’ or ‘series’ is a well-known way of giving meaning to the act of taking photographs. It serves many purposes, such as training in a particular technique, familiarising oneself with a camera and/or lens, or exploring stylistic options. A project is usually planned in advance, though not necessarily in great detail. However, as in the case of these images, sometimes the idea of a common thread linking different images just happens. I was wandering around the suburbs of my home town with a Soviet-era Kiev 60 and its ‘kit lens’, the Volna 80/2.8, and a roll of Ferrania Orto when I noticed the oddity of a worn-out…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Dark Omen

    December 31, 2021

    Hanging

    May 29, 2016

    Raus

    May 12, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Handball,  Sport,  Spring,  Technique

    How to Shoot an Handball Match with a Film Camera

    May 25, 2024 /

    Shooting an handball match between Italy and France, unfortunately with an unhappy ending for my Country, was an opportunity to bring back to life the rugged Canon Eos 1V, the mighty fifty and a roll of a (unexpired) Kodak Tri-X 400. When I shoot sports and, in general, events where shutter noise is not an issue, I made a point, indeed, to always carry a film camera, so this time it was Canon’s turn. Shooting handball matches is quite challenging for a number of reasons. The first thing to stick in mind is that the ball is everything: if you miss it, the shot is more often than not a…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Flashes’ Lost Powersuits

    April 11, 2014

    The BatFire

    April 29, 2016

    Inked

    February 12, 2016
  • Autumn,  B&W,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Seasons,  Spring,  Summer,  Technique,  Winter

    Yet Another WDISF Post

    May 5, 2024 /

    Yes, this is another ‘why do I shoot film’ post, and no, the answers are not ‘because it slows me down’, ‘because it connects me to the act of taking pictures’, ‘because I love the unique feeling of analogue images’, ‘because the inherent limitations of a film camera inspire creativity’, ‘why not?’ or any of the other common (and perfectly legitimate) reasons usually associated with the question. In addition, the wide range of post-processing options available to make a digital image look like an analogue one, even in terms of film emulsion, satisfies the need to produce an image with the ‘personality’ of a specific film. So, even the idea…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Matching Nails

    September 18, 2017

    Lunchtime

    February 18, 2013

    George Braque

    October 11, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Spring,  Technique

    How to Shoot Stand-up Paddle Competitions

    April 29, 2024 /

    Shooting Stand-Up paddle is complicated because, like in motor sports, things go on largely even until, all of a sudden action erupts. In other words, boredom is the first and foremost enemy of the photographer: it shuts down concentration because it is not possible to keep the focus (pun unintended) for too long. It may worth shooting a single athlete, for instance capturing an intense moment or a fall. However the final result will become more interesting if there is something (or somebody) else in the composition. The first key moment in an SUP challegne is the start. Once the signal is given, the athletes start running a few steps…

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    Andrea Monti

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    When the parking’s lost

    May 16, 2013

    Helios 40-2 85/1,5 and Fuji X-T5: a sample

    June 21, 2023

    Ashtray

    February 12, 2017
  • Artists,  Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Fighters,  Spring,  Summer,  Technique,  Winter

    Photography and the Importance of a Proper Training

    April 23, 2024 /

    In photography, among the various activities falling under the ‘preparation’ label, training is oftend underevaluated. Just as many newcomers to the world of guns think that buying expensive equipment will make them better shooters, many photographers think that mastering a bunch of exoteric camera settings will be enough to get decent pictures. This is summed up in a common piece of advice to novice shooters (of both guns and cameras): get out there and shoot. Results will just happen. I have nothing against a ‘Zen’ approach to things, based on instinct and intuition, but my Western, Benthamite mind does not allow me to forget that preparation is necessary to achieve…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Business people in Rome

    February 23, 2013

    A creative approach to zone focusing with superfast manual lenses and mirrorless cameras in street photography

    September 28, 2024

    The Silent Dialog

    August 31, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Photography,  Rowing,  Technique,  Winter

    An Exercise in Composition (was: Rowing Boats)

    February 18, 2024 /

    Initially, I took this photo to document the poor state of a rowing teams’ dock. The idea was to praise the passion of this small group, who in the indifference of the general public, keep this discipline alive in a town, where soccer reigns supreme. However, when I saw the photo, it was the composition that attracted my attention: a classic example of the use of converging lines to drive the eye of the viewer. My only regret is that I failed to frame the small boat on the right, missing its bow. Had I been shooting digitally, I would have checked the result and retake the photo. Film, by…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Snorkeling

    August 24, 2014

    Italy, Landscape Photography and the Law

    January 23, 2014

    Gliding Away

    December 21, 2021
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Photography,  Technique

    A few test shots with an MC Cosinon T200/4

    January 14, 2024 /

    This lens has several shortcomings. It has a pronounced coma and the focus barrel requires a considerable amount of turning to get it right, thus making it challenging to fast focus when you need to. Camera sensor clearly influences colours’ rendition. Despite the ‘personality’ of this lens, the overall picture’s feel is clearly (to me, at least) that of the classic ‘cold’, slightly bluish Pentax (or, should I say, Sony) sensor. At f4 (all the images published here were taken at this aperture), the bokeh is pleasant. Nothing exceptional, but for a lens that sells for around 15 euros, the results are good enough. That said, a core question, asked…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Without Glasses @ via del Corso

    January 25, 2016

    Arrested Behind the Door

    March 29, 2015

    Wrecked Hull

    February 14, 2014
  • Airport,  Autumn,  B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Photography,  Technique,  Tokyo

    Different Stories

    December 30, 2023 /

    Taking ‘static’ pictures, such as those of buildings and other architectural structures, can be quite challenging, as it is easy to fall into obvious, already seen compositions that rob the shot of any individuality.One of the things that can make an otherwise dull image more interesting is the presence of some kind of action that blends in with the stillness of the environment.In this case, the woman on the phone is in exactly the same position as the model on the billboard. Only they are telling two different stories.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Addicted to (Nintendo) Switch

    July 6, 2017
    Copyright Foto AFP / Issouf Sanogo - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

    A stupid quarrell

    April 7, 2013

    Easy To Shoot?

    December 12, 2020
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Rome,  Technique

    Processing DSLR-digitized film with and without Pentax K-1 Monochrome Custom Image profile

    April 30, 2023 /

    Digital Camera Utility 5.0 is a pain to use on a Mac with Monterey. It is slow and laggy. Its only use is to get the photo as shot, with the custom image profiles embedded in a K-1 (and other recent Pentax DSLRs), and export it as a 16-bit tiff for further processing.One might wonder, however, whether editing a RAW file without going through the DCU —and thus losing the custom image profile— would produce lower quality results. We are about to find out.The test is quite demanding, as it starts with a shot from an Ilford SP2 Super 400 (note: this is not a true B&W film, as it…

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Call

    March 4, 2014

    Good Idea

    January 31, 2014

    Conversation

    November 27, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Rome,  Spring,  Technique

    Tell me something I do not know…!

    April 23, 2023 /

    This hip shot is the result of a complicated process. It was taken with an expired Ilford XP2 Super 400, a Voigtländer Bessa R2 and a Voigtländer Nokton 35mm f/1.4. Focus was at infinity. There was no time to frame it properly, so in post it was necessary to rearrange the composition with a generous crop.Digitising the film with my homemade rig required 2 stops of underexposure with plus or minus 1 stop of bracketing.The DNG was first processed through DXO Pure Raw, then adjusted and cropped in Affinity Photo, and finally adjusted for simmetry in DXO Viewpoint.

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Puff of Smoke

    August 29, 2013

    5 (random) frames of Bruxelles with a MIR-1B, a Pentax ME Super and a Kodak TMax400

    March 19, 2025

    Hanging Heart at via Olmetto

    March 31, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Technique,  Winter

    Coats

    March 19, 2023 /

    Getting rid of film noise is a recurring necessity when shooting film at (relatively) high ISO.In this photo the negative was digitised using a Pentax K-1 Mark I and a Pentax FA 100/2,8 Macro. Then, before inverting the curves to make a positive, it was fed into DxO PureRaw3 (by the way, it properly recognized the camera and lens). Finally, in Affinity Photo Develop Persona’s Details tab, once the curves were inverted, it was necessary to tweak the Noise Reduction options by setting Luminance to 50% and Luminance Details to 0.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Emanuele Cavallucci. The New Italian Pro Boxing Welterweight Champion

    March 9, 2019

    The BatFire

    April 29, 2016

    A Smoker

    September 2, 2015
  • Daily photo,  Daily Video,  Technique,  Winter

    Unattainable 1:1 magnification with the JJC FDA S-1 and Micro Nikkor 60 2,8

    January 29, 2023 /

    The JJC FDA S-1 does not allow a 1:1 magnification with the Micro Nikkor 60 2,8. It only reaches a smaller factor (about 80%.The probable reason is the excessive lenght of the original step-down ring.Using a thinner step-down ring, as it has been done in this video, does not improve the outcome.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Avid Readers

    August 17, 2013

    Good Idea

    January 31, 2014

    A Mesh

    February 16, 2021
  • Daily Video,  Photography,  Technique,  Winter

    Processing a DSLR Digitised Black and White Film with Affinity Photo

    January 24, 2023 /

    This videos shows how to process a Black and White film digitised with a DSLR camera.The process starts from opening the RAW file in Affinity Photo’s Develop Persona. In short and in order, the steps are:

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    Andrea Monti

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    Portraits in Skating

    November 30, 2024

    Remainders in Prati

    December 4, 2013

    The Casual Observer

    September 5, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Stockholm,  Summer,  Technique,  Travels

    DSLR film scanning: episode three

    January 24, 2023 /

    This is, by far, the most pleasing result I have ever had from digitising a film negative with a DSLR.Contrary to many suggestions found on Youtube, I did not invert the negative RAW curve by tweaking the Master RGB option. I did it, instead, channel-bychannel minding each clipping point. This approach allowed for a better reproduction of the grey tones, and in the end a fair result.

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Spanish Sense of Flesh – 2

    June 28, 2014

    Nico Cilli Band Live@Città Sant’Angelo

    October 23, 2013

    Couples

    May 17, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Gear,  People,  Seasons,  Summer,  Technique

    An attempt at DSLR-made film digitization

    January 14, 2023 /

    This is the first usable result of the attempt to DSLR-scan films. I tried several approaches, including the standard tripod holding the camera perpendicularly to a flat, LED-lighted surface. However, I finally went for a different solution: a horizontal rig with two moving plates, a micrometric head holding the film and three-axis and a panoramic head holding the camera.

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Skeptical Listener

    May 26, 2014

    Final Arrangements Before the Hearing

    April 19, 2015

    Remainders in Prati

    December 4, 2013
  • Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  People,  Technique

    Using a 1960 Leica Elmarit 90/2,8 on a Fuji X-T3

    April 5, 2021 /

    In short The Leica Elmarit 90/2,8 works flawlessly on a Fujifilm X-T3, also with third-party adapters having no electronic connection with the camera. It provides excellent results, notwithstanding its age. Using this lens for street photography requires using focus-peaking or zone focus. In this latter case, proper training is necessary to correctly assess the distance from the subject. Image quality On the X-T3 the lens preserves its unique identity. Its colour rendering gives pictures a distinctive ‘retro’ character. The Elmarit shows an excellent resolving power: thin lines are visible and well defined. Chromatic aberration is visible at F2,8. It disappears from F4 and ahead. Anyway, the lens profile is well…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Pillars Of The Beach

    August 25, 2013

    The worst moment

    April 14, 2013

    Late-afternoon’s snack

    April 15, 2013
  • Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Technique

    In praise of ‘cheap’ lenses for ‘pro’ works

    April 4, 2021 /

    Full disclosure: I have no relationship with Viltrox. I purchased the lenses with my own money and did not receive any request to write this post. I have recently discovered Viltrox, a Chinese manufacturer of lenses for the Fujifilm X-system. I am using the AF 85/1,8 II XF and the AF 56/1,4 XF and I am very satisfied by their performance. They are very good for ‘professional’ sessions, however, there are many online reviews that snobbishly rate these lenses as ‘amateur’, ‘non-professional’ or ‘first time portrait photography enthusiasts’ grade. I think that these reviews are unfair and here is why: What does ‘better’ mean? It is a known fact that…

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    Andrea Monti

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    A few test shots with an MC Cosinon T200/4

    January 14, 2024

    Slow Walk at Mulberry St.

    January 16, 2014

    Freeze!

    December 19, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Streets&Squares,  Technique,  Winter

    A Skater

    February 23, 2021 /

    Framing the whole statue would have made this photo better. The mistake was caused by the necessity to shoot fast, the lens’ field of view and the distance between the subject and the focal plane.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Three Legged?

    July 21, 2017

    Mind Your Way!

    May 28, 2013

    The Silent Dialog

    August 31, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Kite Surf,  Seasons,  Sport,  Technique,  Winter

    Kite Surfer Under Duress

    January 29, 2021 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    The New Church

    May 13, 2014

    London Panning

    December 30, 2013

    A moment of break…

    February 22, 2013
  • Actors,  B&W,  Daily photo,  Gear,  PhotoCritics,  Portraits,  Technique,  Winter

    Easy To Shoot?

    December 12, 2020 /

    This picture might look “ordinary” but for the fact that I shot it with a rangefinder film camera (guess which?) during the scene change between to acts of a theatre play. Scene assistants were placing the furnitures, actors were trying to focus on their parts, there was no time (and place) to design a proper composition and set the camera. No autofocus, no real-time exposure and white-balance setting. Maybe I have been lucky capturing the match flame close to the cigar, maybe it was because of “muscle memory”, but I did it nonetheless. Problem is that I could not be sure if I succeeded until, one week later, I saw…

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    Andrea Monti

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    An Open Gate

    January 13, 2015

    The Heart of the Nazario Sauro

    August 10, 2014

    Kime in photography

    June 9, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  PhotoCritics,  Technique,  Winter

    Breaking the Fourth Wall

    February 17, 2020 /

    Shooting a play is challenging because you must be ready to seize ‘the moment’ and, at the very same time, think of unusual compositions to avoid the boring ‘frontal’ perspective. Shooting part of the reportage from the backstage of Hamlet, with Giorgio Pasotti and Mariangela D’Abbraccio directed by Francesco Tavassi I had the possibility to experiment the breaking of the fourth wall. This picture is one of the results.

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    Andrea Monti

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    @Rome Maker Faire – 2

    October 10, 2014

    Watch My Back

    January 15, 2013

    Lifeguard

    August 24, 2013
  • Artists,  Colour,  Daily photo,  PhotoCritics,  Technique

    Counter-intuitive Focus

    February 9, 2020 /

    This photo I took during a reportage for a theatre hosting a concert of Uto Ughi shows a counter-intuitive use of focusing. Rather than go for the obvious option, the attention is shifted on the two musicians in the background capturing their concentration, with the leading violin blurred and conceptually, thus, ‘left behind’. The global effect is reinforced by a neat separation between the dark and light parts of the frame.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Lost Cellos

    August 30, 2014

    Indifference

    July 5, 2015

    A Modern Nazca?

    December 4, 2014
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