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Andrea Monti

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  • B&W,  Court,  Daily photo,  Rome,  Spring

    Room 17 – VIXI

    March 27, 2015 /

    The steel doors of Aula 17 stand closed, expressionless. Matte black, scratched, impassive. Above them, a bureaucratic sign: 7ᵃ Sezione, Edificio B. On the right, a board once meant to list names and hearings is now empty—washed clean by time or intention. Seventeen is an unlucky number in Italy. Rearranged, the Roman numerals XVII form VIXI—”I have lived”, an epitaph. And so, Room 17 becomes more than a courtroom. It becomes a threshold. A place where the living confront endings. The end of freedom. The end of illusions. Sometimes, the end of justice itself. The symmetry of the composition tightens the tension. Every element is locked in place. Nothing moves, and nothing is random.…

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    Andrea Monti

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    No, You Don’t Need To Change Your Glasses

    June 14, 2014

    A true cricket?

    September 16, 2013

    Waiting To Board At Santa Margherita Ligure

    August 16, 2014
  • B&W,  Court,  Daily photo,  Rome,  Spring

    Legal Apartheid

    March 25, 2015 /

    Two elevators, side by side, divided not by function but by status. On the left, a small sign reads Pubblico. On the right, Avvocati. Between them, a strip of blank wall holds the call buttons and a standard notice: Non usare in caso di incendio. The symmetry is perfect, the contrast sharper for it. In the Court of Rome, this arrangement makes practical sense. Lawyers must move quickly between hearings; delays can derail the fragile timetable of justice. Efficiency demands a separate lift. And yet, looking at it here—reduced to a flat, black-and-white composition—the logic fades, and something else emerges. The brushed steel doors are marked with smudges and fingerprints, traces of the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Get Ready for The Duty

    July 13, 2013

    Not A Photography Anymore

    September 22, 2014

    A Shadow

    July 24, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Photography,  Winter

    YANE – Yet Another Nepal Exhibit

    March 23, 2015 /

    This the poster of Yet Another Nepal Exhibit. It is hard to see the point in going to the other end of the world  to take pictures that, as a Google Image Search shows, have already been shot zillions of time. In other words: taking original photos in Nepal is very hard. This teach a simple lesson: going overseas in the belief that the place makes the photo is wrong.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Stylish

    March 16, 2014

    The Skeptical Listener

    May 26, 2014

    Piero Mazzocchetti – L’ultima notte di Bonfiglio Liborio

    May 12, 2022
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  OutOfFocus,  People,  Restaurants&Bar,  Street Photography,  Winter

    The Street Photographer Dilemma: Film or Digital

    March 21, 2015 /

    To me Street-Photography is digital. I missed this shot because I wasn’t able to properly focus my full-manual kit, as I would have do with an average digital camera. There is no point in wasting film in an highly fault-rate activity such as Street Photography.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Red Fan

    June 14, 2022

    Lost

    July 13, 2015

    LP – Live@Anfiteatro La Civitella

    July 22, 2022
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Winter

    Milan

    March 19, 2015 /

    There are street scenes that announce themselves loudly, and then there are those that slip into your view almost without you noticing—until the details start to unfold. This was the latter. I was standing at the corner of Via Francesco Sforza when the alignment of people, traffic, and light presented itself in a way that felt quintessentially Milanese. The group waiting at the crossing tells a quiet story of the city: a man lost in his phone, another holding a leather briefcase, a woman dressed sharply but practically, and a cyclist easing forward, impatient to move on. Behind them, the ECOBus—route 73 to San Babila—anchors the scene firmly in the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Amex

    May 25, 2015

    Stylish

    March 16, 2014

    Passage Lost

    August 9, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Photography,  Travels

    From Camera to Print…

    March 17, 2015 /

    This is what happens when a shot is not taken thinking of its final destination (or when a graphic editor doesn’t consider what the outcome would be once printed): a poor rendition.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Ready For Lunch

    November 1, 2014

    Sweet Dilemma

    November 4, 2015

    Guess who’s happier?

    May 27, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Photography,  Winter

    Dress Different

    March 15, 2015 /

    According to the fashion-photography standards this is a perfectly usable shot. To me, that’s simply a missed photo.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Gary O’ Toole

    July 15, 2017

    Bored

    March 7, 2013

    Fishermen in Rome, Again

    November 5, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Lines,  Visual,  Winter

    Horizontal

    March 14, 2015 /

    I was walking past this building when I noticed how the afternoon light chiselled into the façade, pulling out volume from what is, in essence, a flat geometric rhythm. The composition demanded no embellishment — the image resolved itself into horizontal bands almost on its own. I didn’t crop for symmetry; I simply took the time to level the camera and wait for the shadows to deepen just enough to add a graphic weight. What you see is pure form. No context, no clutter — just tone, line and light. It’s often said that black and white photography strips away distraction, but in truth, it doesn’t simplify. It sharpens. Here,…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Too Young to Spend Time Watching the Ducks in the Pond

    October 22, 2013

    Traffic Jam in Bruxelles

    April 7, 2014

    Alive Or Not?

    February 16, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Lines,  Visual,  Winter

    Rectangles

    March 12, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Just a Soccer Field… Part 1

    February 3, 2014

    Out-of-Focus

    September 24, 2013

    The El Prat’s Lounge

    June 5, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Fighters,  People,  Winter

    The Sharp Shooter

    March 10, 2015 /

    Midday light in snowy terrain is rarely a gift—high contrast, flat textures, blown highlights. Yet it matched the tone of this frame. The intensity of the shooter’s expression, the harsh sunlight, the targets standing in silent defiance—all fed into a sense of clarity and control. He isn’t performing. He’s working, and the cold has no bearing on his focus. The image demanded precision. Exposure had to be managed tightly to avoid losing detail in the whites without choking the blacks of the tactical jacket. I metered for the shadows and pulled slightly in post. The result is contrasty, yes, but not artificially so. The white balance swings cool despite the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Waiting to Go Home

    December 21, 2013

    The Shooter’s Dilemma

    July 12, 2014

    Photopanning in Rome

    December 3, 2019
  • Beach&Shores,  Chairs&Seats,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Restaurants&Bar

    A Lonely Table

    March 8, 2015 /

    I took this photograph through a glass window — not by oversight, but with full intention. The resulting layers were unpredictable, and that was the point. The sea outside, the perfectly set table inside, and the accidental human form reflected between them, all merged into a single ambiguous frame. At first glance, it’s just another seaside restaurant, waiting for guests. But spend a little time and the structure begins to unravel. The light played into my hands: late afternoon, strong enough to shape the objects on the table, yet soft enough to allow the reflections to register without dominating. The glass acted both as barrier and canvas. What you’re looking…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135/4 – A Demanding Use Case

    December 10, 2025

    Bless or Curse?

    August 12, 2014

    Lamp

    April 2, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Winter

    A Casual Walk

    March 6, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Nittele Tower

    April 25, 2022

    The Path To Freedom

    September 29, 2014

    Superpila still rides…

    December 10, 2018
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Garages&Labs,  People,  Winter

    The True Ironman

    March 4, 2015 /

      Not in a cave. Not in a suit. No arc reactor. Just grit, weight, and heat. This is a portrait of a welder—not fictional, not cinematic, but real. And yet, standing behind the mask, lit by the fierce white arc of molten metal, it’s hard not to think of Iron Man. Not the one flying through CGI skies, but the original scene: sparks, shadows, invention by necessity. But this isn’t fantasy. This is work. The man in the photo is sculpting structure with his hands, joining steel under blinding light. Every gesture is deliberate. Every spark, a fragment of labour. The mask doesn’t make him a superhero. It protects him—barely—from…

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Straycat

    December 3, 2013

    How to Shoot an Handball Match with a Film Camera

    May 25, 2024

    The Bystander

    February 5, 2018
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Streets&Squares,  Winter

    Stripes of Light and Decay

    March 2, 2015 /

    Shot just after sunset, this image pivots on contrast—between elevation and erosion, movement and stillness, designed flow and neglect. The high-speed overpass above, lit with sodium arcs, forms an uninterrupted stream of engineered repetition. Below, the descending ramp is paved with crooked bricks, softened by moss and time, sloping into a dim alley where parked cars and old plaster tell a slower story. I waited for the last of the ambient light to thin out before releasing the shutter. The idea was to balance the residual blue of the sky with the warmer artificial tones bleeding off the lamps and roadways. Technically, it’s not pristine. There’s a softness in the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Norina shouts at Don Pasquale

    December 12, 2022

    Quality Check. Try Before You Buy

    April 10, 2014

    Hell Behind — Tiny Holes Reveal the Flames

    March 19, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  OutOfFocus,  People,  Winter

    Out-of-Focus Once Again

    February 28, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Quest for Belgian Chocolate…

    April 11, 2017

    Who The Hell Killed the Light Off?

    August 2, 2015

    Dark Cloud Over San Pietro

    August 27, 2021
  • B&W,  Beach&Shores,  Daily photo,  Winter

    Last Wing Down

    February 26, 2015 /

    On an empty stretch of beach, a solitary sculpture rises against the horizon. It is the shape of a wing, its skeletal frame curved into an abstract S, crowned with a weathered propeller. It whispers of endings: of aircraft grounded forever, of journeys cut short, of stories that no one remained to tell. The black-and-white tones of the image deepen the sense of time suspended. Without colour, the scene feels like a fragment from the past, a memory caught in the salt air. Waves curl and break in the distance, indifferent to the monument on the sand. The tide comes and goes, as it has long before the flight this…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Segway Chase in Villa Borghese

    April 27, 2013

    As Deep As The Ocean

    April 15, 2016

    Is Batman Coming To Town?

    December 2, 2017
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Parks,  Winter

    Run Like Hell, Pinocchio!

    February 24, 2015 /

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

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    An update on the poor Canon EOS-M autofocus

    March 30, 2013

    Asimo’s Ancestor@Tsukuba World1985 Expo

    June 30, 2018

    Have fun…

    July 12, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Garages&Labs,  Winter

    What Lasts of A Workbench

    February 22, 2015 /

    Shot on 35mm film, this frame shows what remains of a once-active workspace—dust settled, air hoses tangled, the table cluttered in quiet disarray. I was drawn to the repetition of the coiled tubing, which leads the eye through the composition like a question mark—where did the work go? Technically, the image leans heavily on contrast. The film’s grain structure reinforces the tactile feel of the setting: the rusted corrugated metal, the splintered table legs, the pitted concrete. Exposure runs slightly hot in the highlights, but it works here. The wall texture and tool remnants need that brightness to emerge from the shadows. Compositionally, the corner perspective introduces depth without dramatics.…

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Cello’s Player

    February 8, 2015

    Home on the Range

    May 17, 2015

    Never Trust the Autofocus (not only) in Street-Photography

    July 20, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Winter

    Phone Call – 2

    February 20, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Boat Maintenance At Genova’s Porto Antico

    July 30, 2014

    My first shot (with purpose)

    December 22, 2012

    Enough Is Enough…

    March 2, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Winter

    Just A Phone Call – 1

    February 18, 2015 /

    Shot in stark monochrome, this image emerged from a walk beneath an underpass on a winter afternoon. The subject is unassuming—a lone figure, caught mid-step, carrying bags in one hand and a phone to his ear with the other. But it’s the tension between light and shadow, confinement and openness, that makes the frame speak louder than the moment it documents. Technically, this is a study in contrast. The tunnel acts like a natural vignette, swallowing the foreground in near-black shadow while casting the background in a flat, wintery glare. This duality pushes the eye forward. The silhouetted figure is placed just past the threshold of light, where the architectural…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Leaving The Actor’s Studio

    January 14, 2014

    Pure Joy. An Essay in Street-Photography

    May 25, 2014

    Happy New Year

    January 1, 2017
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Past&Relics,  Winter

    Inside an Old Gym

    February 16, 2015 /

    There’s a quiet dignity to this corner of a forgotten gym — the kind of place that smells faintly of chalk, iron, and decades of sweat baked into the walls. The dumbbells, spherical and capped with worn white bands, sit on their metal stand like relics from another era. Behind them, weight plates lean casually against peeling plaster, the faded “S.I.R.E.A. Roma” inscriptions a reminder that these tools once carried prestige in the hands of athletes who are now long gone. The composition makes excellent use of the tight corner. By framing the equipment against two converging walls, the photographer forces the viewer’s gaze into the scene, trapping it in…

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    Andrea Monti

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    A relic from the (recent) past

    April 30, 2013

    Via Collina, Empty, From Above

    September 13, 2014

    Vinyl Never Dies

    September 2, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Streets&Squares,  Winter

    Merleria Livia

    February 14, 2015 /

    Some signs don’t light up the street—they anchor it. This one simply says “MERLERIA LIVIA,” glowing white against the black. Not neon, not flashy. Just enough light to find your way back to something ordinary. Useful. Forgotten. Shot on a rainy night, the kind that turns every surface into a mirror. The pavement reflects the streetlamps like a memory trying to stay present. A man walks slowly, slightly hunched—not from age, maybe just the weather. Hands in pockets, coat zipped. Nothing urgent, nothing staged. The shop is closed. You can feel it. The shutters are down, but the sign is still doing its job. Reminding anyone passing that once, not…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

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    On Composition. Or: the eye sees what the mind is prepared to comprehend

    September 11, 2023

    Who Is The Machine?

    August 5, 2019

    Abruzzo’s made Coke??

    March 26, 2013
  • B&W,  Beach&Shores,  Daily photo,  Winter

    Between Sea and Sky

    February 12, 2015 /

    This frame was taken from the window of a descending flight—a rare moment when clouds, coastline, and light lined up like a deliberate composition. What I saw wasn’t dramatic, just elemental: water, air, light. That was enough. I chose monochrome not for effect, but for clarity. In colour, the image lost its cohesion—too many tonal distractions in the blue ranges, too much softness in the sea. Stripping it to black and white revealed a quiet structure beneath the atmosphere: horizontal bands of texture, density, and reflection. Technically, the image stretches the limits of what you can get through a scratched plane window and turbulent light. The glass wasn’t clean, the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Audience

    February 20, 2014

    Just a Bench (or a Sacrificial Altar?)

    January 11, 2017

    Portrait of a Master luthier

    October 26, 2013
  • Artists,  B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Reportage,  Winter

    John De Leo’s Grande Abarasse Orchestra – Live

    February 10, 2015 /

    This is a reportage I did during a concert of the John De Leo’s Grande Abarasse Orchestra. Covering this performance reminded me why live concert photography is such a balancing act between observation and anticipation. Each of these images, though part of a single reportage, serves as a fragment of a larger narrative – one built on rhythm, tension, and fleeting expressions. The colour frame of the full band provides essential context, grounding the viewer in the environment. The arrangement on stage is clear, with good use of depth to layer the musicians. The lighting, though moody and uneven, is handled competently, preserving detail without blowing the highlights from the stage…

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    Andrea Monti

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    One Shot (Plus One) Story – All That Lasts

    April 19, 2025

    In-Eye

    February 2, 2014

    Run Like Hell, Pinocchio!

    February 24, 2015
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