An Antique Shop in via Cadorna

I made this frame with a Bessa R2 paired to a Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4, loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400. That combination has a way of imposing its character on an image, and here it played straight into the atmosphere of the scene.

The urn in the foreground caught my attention first, its surface worn and flaking, the sort of texture that Tri-X renders with a quiet authority. Its reflection in the shop window doubled the presence without turning the composition into a perfect mirror—imperfections in the glass kept it alive. The rust-speckled lamp leans towards it, both physically and compositionally, as though curious about the object’s past.

I exposed for the mid-tones, letting the highlights from the hanging lamp hold just enough detail to avoid blowing out, and allowing the shadows to deepen without smothering what they hid. At f/1.4, the Nokton’s signature softness and gentle vignetting gave the background—a scattered collection of chairs, cupboards, and bottles—a dreamlike fall-off.

Tri-X at 400 brought its familiar grain, neither clinical nor overwhelming, but organic, as if it were another layer of dust from the shop itself. The Bessa’s rangefinder view kept me anchored to the essentials—form, light, and timing—while the limitations of film slowed the process enough to see the scene for what it was: a moment of stillness, steeped in the weight of objects that have survived countless other moments.