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Andrea Monti

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  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Garbage,  Past&Relics,  Spring

    Too Big To Be Dumped

    January 10, 2015 /

    This frame came to life walking past an alley where time seems to have hit pause. The bins stand in perfect alignment, regimented like bureaucratic soldiers, while behind them, the decaying wall tells a different story—chaotic, layered, unresolved. I shot this with a 35mm prime, letting the midday sun carve stark shadows that add to the irony of this supposed order. The exposure demanded precision. Too much light and I’d have lost the texture on the old plaster; too little and the bins would sink into murk. I leaned into the contrast, embracing the Leica’s natural tonal harshness in black and white. No dramatic angles, no “decisive moment” flourish—just frontal,…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Norina shouts at Don Pasquale

    December 12, 2022

    Welcome in the Twilight Zone

    January 3, 2014

    The Silent Geometry of a Trabocco

    December 22, 2022
  • Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Landscape,  Winter

    A Panorama

    December 30, 2014 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Single(‘s) Call

    September 24, 2016

    Street Food in Via Salaria

    March 13, 2014

    A (Tokyo) Taxi Driver

    June 17, 2018
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  People,  Winter

    A Fisherman

    December 25, 2014 /

      In a quiet marina, under the forgiving light of the late afternoon, a fisherman tends to his nets. There are no waves crashing, no shouting, no sails unfurling—just the steady, patient work of untangling, mending, preparing. This is not a romanticised image of the sea. There is no dramatic storm, no heroic pose. Just hands worn by salt, wind, and time, labouring over nylon threads that, like veins, carry sustenance from ocean to table. These nets are not merely tools—they are lifelines, a continuation of tradition, a quiet resistance to obsolescence. The photograph captures a kind of devotion: to craft, to survival, to family. Each knot tells of a…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Empty Spaces

    May 23, 2014

    Tired or Fascinated?

    October 21, 2013

    Learning to Fly

    August 23, 2018
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Landscape,  Winter

    Pouring Water Since About 300 Years

    December 23, 2014 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Crate

    January 24, 2015

    Sailing Home

    October 4, 2023

    Damned Pidgeons…

    October 8, 2017
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People

    Freeze!

    December 19, 2014 /

    A word. A command. A moment suspended. The photograph captures a wedding not through its sentiment, but through its construction. The couple stands solemn, framed by stained glass and garlands, their faces lit by artificial flashes more than divine glow. “Freeze,” the photographer says. But the word travels further—it crystallises not just the posture, but the entire choreography around them. Like statues in a contemporary ritual, the photographers orbit in silence. Each holds their position, camera drawn like a weapon against time. The irony: in freezing the subjects, they too must freeze. Each frame they take is built on the shared stillness of others. The sacredness of the altar competes…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Photography and the Importance of a Proper Training

    April 23, 2024

    A useless photo

    July 23, 2013

    Cupido’s Fall

    June 2, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Winter

    Switch

    December 18, 2014 /

    Today is this photo blog’s second birthday.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Late Night Conversation at Cardinal’s Wharf

    September 29, 2016

    Ready For Lunch

    November 1, 2014

    The Changer — Glass Walls, Paper Smiles, and Currency Drained

    October 12, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Streets&Squares,  Winter

    Red

    December 17, 2014 /

    The image was taken in the evening, when artificial lights mix with the faint remnants of daylight, producing a palette that can easily become muddy if exposure and colour balance are not carefully controlled. The choice to keep the scene in its natural ambient light preserves its authenticity, though it comes at the cost of some detail in shadowed areas. The central figure in the red jacket acts as a visual anchor, standing out decisively against the more subdued hues of the crowd. From a compositional standpoint, the frame is well balanced: the converging lines of the street lead the eye into the depth of the scene, pulling attention from…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Why a Longterm Relationship (with your camera) Makes You Feel Good

    March 26, 2025

    Mind Your Way!

    May 28, 2013

    Negrita’s Cover Band

    September 19, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Restaurants&Bar,  Winter

    Busy In A Call

    December 16, 2014 /

    Shot handheld at night, available light only. I leaned into the blur and grain—ISO pushed to 3200, wide open at f/2. The result isn’t clean. It’s fractured, noisy, restless. Which fits. The moment wasn’t about stillness. Foreground holds two figures, tight in the frame. One in profile, on the phone, thumb pressed to lips, nails yellow against a black handset. The other’s back to camera, only form and volume—hair and jacket. Behind them, the café scene unfolds: overlapping bodies, light bouncing off glass, talk and gestures suspended mid-motion. Focus was shallow and uncertain by design. The camera caught the caller’s cheek, soft but distinguishable. The rest bleeds into motion. Technical…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Portrait of a Politician – 2

    June 15, 2014

    Shooting Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA)-like Events

    August 15, 2024

    @ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Female Rowing Team

    October 25, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Visual,  Winter

    Yellow

    December 15, 2014 /

    The photograph hinges on the interplay between colour, geometry, and omission. By keeping the frame cropped tightly, I remove any narrative context — no faces, no full figures, just the assertive yellow of work trousers, the partial arc of a bicycle wheel, and the tiled pavement as stage. The absence of a complete subject forces the eye to wander across shapes and lines rather than fixating on identity. The composition is built diagonally, with the wheel anchoring the right edge and the worker’s feet drawing the gaze upward and left. The black tile bands slice the frame, adding structure and contrast to the more neutral beige of the pavement. It’s…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Wasubot. A Stiff Organ Player@Tsukuba

    June 21, 2018

    The Urban Chase

    April 10, 2013

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

    April 4, 2021
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Odds,  Winter

    Is This My Breakfast? (Kirobo, the new Pinocchio)

    December 14, 2014 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    One Coffee

    December 20, 2015

    Conversation

    November 27, 2013

    Handling the Fishnet

    October 28, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Patisserie,  People,  Portraits,  Winter

    The Man Behind The Croissant

    December 13, 2014 /

    It’s not just a title. It’s a layered truth. He’s literally behind the croissants — arms folded, resting gently on the chilled glass counter, smiling with the quiet confidence of someone who knows exactly what he’s made. But he’s also the one behind them in the deeper sense: the early riser, the flour-dusted craftsman, the keeper of recipes that live more in muscle memory than in ink. The Man Behind the Croissant is a portrait of work and warmth. Of a man whose day starts long before anyone steps into the shop. Who rolls, folds, rests, fills, bakes — not as performance, but as rhythm. There’s no spectacle here. Just trays of pastry…

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    Andrea Monti

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    An Athlete@Stadio Marmi, Rome

    October 11, 2018

    Without Glasses @ via del Corso

    January 25, 2016

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

    January 29, 2023
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Restaurants&Bar,  Winter

    Message Check Before Breakfast

    December 12, 2014 /

    This shot came together in the quiet seconds between espresso orders and the whir of the barista’s machine. I didn’t ask him to pose — I never do in moments like these. His posture, leaning forward, eyes fixed on the screen, scarf still clutched tight from the cold outside, told the full story. The light was unforgiving in its neutrality — ceiling fixtures and flat fluorescents don’t do any favours, but sometimes they just let the environment breathe. I pushed the ISO higher than I’d normally like, sacrificing a bit of cleanliness for immediacy. Still, the rendering holds: detail in the wool coat, a soft drop-off in the background, and…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Snorkeling

    August 24, 2014

    A Silent Dialogue

    December 21, 2012

    Having Sax

    February 6, 2015
  • Artists,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  People,  Summer

    The Leica M9 CCDgate Outrageous Case

    December 11, 2014 /

    This is not “new” news, but is getting momentum: Leica M9′ sensors (including those fitted into the more than expensive “special” models) are plagued. The repair cost is 1.800,00 Euros plus VAT and shipping, not to mention the time needed to get the camera back (weeks? months?) Leica claims to offer paid support to the older, out-of-warranty customers but just doing a few math shows that it doesn’t worth it: if you own a between-three-and-five-years old M9 you’re supposed to pay 600,00 Euros (plus VAT etc.) while more-than-five-years old M9 owner will pay 1.200 Euros (plus VAT etc.) to get an old and outdated camera new sensor, affected by the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Somewhere in Japan

    May 19, 2014

    Just a soccer field… Part 2

    February 4, 2014

    A Composition’s Dilemma in Black and White

    February 18, 2026
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Winter

    Branches On The Wall

    December 10, 2014 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Fujifilm XF 100-400: a quick test

    January 12, 2018

    Up from the Waterline

    December 3, 2016

    Why a Longterm Relationship (with your camera) Makes You Feel Good

    March 26, 2025
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Doors&Windows,  Winter

    Winter Leaves

    December 9, 2014 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Collision Path

    July 5, 2019

    Make Sense (or: Meaning is in the Eye of the Beholder)

    October 10, 2025

    Cornermen

    June 4, 2013
  • Chairs&Seats,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Landscape,  Winter

    A Rural View

    December 8, 2014 /

    The photograph frames the landscape through layers of architecture. Brick columns, wooden beams, and the shadowed floor lead the eye directly to the opening in the centre, where chairs and a table sit quietly against rolling hills. The space becomes a proscenium, turning countryside into spectacle, an everyday view into a staged scene. Composition is strict, almost symmetrical. The vertical columns create a grid that anchors the image, while the open middle draws attention forward. The empty chairs, evenly placed, act as stand-ins for absent viewers, inviting the gaze outward. Depth is built in three stages: the shaded foreground, the architectural frame, and the brightly lit landscape beyond. Technically, exposure…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Who Needs A Wedding Photographer Anymore?

    May 29, 2014

    W Verdi

    January 29, 2014

    Fancy a beer?

    November 3, 2021
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Winter

    The Racers

    December 7, 2014 /

    This frame plays on contrast — not in light, but in intent. A man on a bicycle, casual and calm, drifts past a car caught in traffic. His posture suggests ease, purpose even, while the driver beside him grips a phone, half-engaged elsewhere. The child seat behind the cyclist, though empty, tells a story of movement beyond the individual. Domesticity, transport, and pace: all converge in one mundane but resonant street encounter. I shot this with a 35mm at f/8 to hold sharpness across the scene. The lens rewarded me with clarity on the cyclist’s face and detail in the background signage. Timing was key. I waited until the rider…

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Temple of Justice

    February 25, 2017

    Red Beam

    October 24, 2023

    Old Rolls, Immortal Style

    August 12, 2019
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Winter

    Portrait with Skewers

    December 6, 2014 /

    I took this indoors, handheld, under mixed lighting, using a short focal length and no modifiers. It’s not a technical showcase. It’s a study in immediacy—an encounter frozen before refinement. The figure stands close, wide lens pulling in distortion around the edges. Face and skewers both sit in the shallow foreground, lit unevenly by ceiling fluorescents and ambient bounce from a warm source camera-left. The colour cast is inconsistent. I left it. Adjusting white balance to neutrality would flatten the artificiality that holds the image together. The context is a real room, not a set. Composition favours gesture. The skewers point forward, catching highlights and pulling focus. His hoodie and…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Ugo Pagliai – Romeo e Giulietta@Teatro Marrucino

    March 29, 2022

    A Great Marketing Stunt

    May 27, 2014

    Lost Cigarettes at Piazza Affari

    January 22, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People

    Leaving Home

    December 5, 2014 /

    Distortion in this case matched the reality: walking beneath modern high-rises can feel surreal, oppressive even. The warped geometry bends the building into a looming wave that seems to crash down on the lone figure below—an ordinary person dragging a trolley bag, perhaps on the way back from errands or returning from a short trip. The photograph captures a dichotomy I often return to: the indifference of urban architecture versus the vulnerability of human movement. I didn’t wait for this person. I framed the architecture first, then let the rhythm of the street fill the gap. When he entered the frame, posture slightly hunched, shadow tracing behind, I released the…

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    Out-of-Focus

    September 24, 2013

    Ready for lunch

    September 2, 2014

    The Day of the Zombies

    October 23, 2016
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Visual,  Winter

    A Modern Nazca?

    December 4, 2014 /

    This image is one of those moments when photography abandons literalism and moves into interpretation. What you’re looking at is, in fact, a stretch of pavement and asphalt intersected by strong shadows—but the shallow depth of field and the grain structure render it unmoored from immediate recognition. The blurred lines could be mistaken for ancient geoglyphs seen from above, hence the tongue-in-cheek title. The parallel bands, intersecting curves, and sudden diagonals call to mind aerial archaeology, even though the camera was barely a metre from the ground. The ambiguity invites a double take, and in that pause, the viewer starts to reconstruct meaning. Technically, this is a photograph of deliberate…

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    The Lifeguard’s Tools

    August 24, 2013

    Portrait of a Professional Pugilist. Davide De Lellis

    March 8, 2019

    The Chess Players’ Summer Nest

    July 31, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Odds,  Visual,  Winter

    Alien Veins

    December 3, 2014 /

    It could be a close-up from a science fiction set—a fragment of skin stretched over something alive, the faint ridges and channels mapping a circulatory system not of this Earth. The blue-grey surface is both organic and mineral, a texture that resists quick identification. The lines that run across it, some deeper, some fading into the background, suggest veins—arteries carrying whatever fluid an alien physiology might depend on. They seem to rise and sink, as if the surface itself were breathing. The faint crosshatch pattern interrupts the flow, adding to the unease: is this grown or manufactured? In reality, the subject might be utterly mundane. But in photography, truth is…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Carl Zeiss Ultron 50/1,8 and Pentax K1 – An Empirical Field Test

    February 11, 2026

    Out Of Focus, Once More

    October 6, 2014

    An experiment with Dall-E, ChatGPT and a Nissan S8

    November 4, 2023
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Streets&Squares,  Winter

    Suspicious

    December 2, 2014 /

    Every street photographer knows that moment — the fraction of a second when a stranger’s gaze brushes against yours and something shifts in the air. Suspicion. Wariness. An almost imperceptible tightening of the body. That’s the curse: the invisible threshold you cross when candid turns into confrontation, even if only in the subject’s mind. In this frame, the man in the magenta sweater and black coat is mid-stride, his expression caught somewhere between concentration and mild irritation. He’s moving with purpose, but his eyes — just soft enough in the focus to keep anonymity intact — seem aware of my presence. The shallow depth of field lets the textured walls…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Early Leave at Bruxelles-Midi

    March 23, 2014

    When the Rubbish Basket is full…

    December 13, 2013

    Late Night Arrival at Bertinoro’s Castle

    January 15, 2014
  • Buildings,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Gates&Fences,  Rome,  Winter

    Guest Are Welcome!

    December 1, 2014 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    5 frames with the (much awaited) Ferrania P33, a Nikon F3 and a Nikkor 50 F2

    April 30, 2024

    An Attentive Listener

    July 18, 2014

    An Unplausable Perspective

    May 6, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Doors&Windows,  Winter

    The Drying Machine

    November 30, 2014 /

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    Alone, Together…

    June 19, 2013

    Photopanning in Rome

    December 3, 2019

    The Last Icecream?

    October 30, 2013
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