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Andrea Monti

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  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear

    FUJIFILM X-T5 RAF have problems with Affinity Photo 2.1

    June 11, 2023 /

    As this video shows, when opened in Affinity Photo 2.1, an RAF generated by a Fujifilm X-T5 shows a vertical stripe and a slightly higher resolution. The problem does not occur if the file is pre-processed with Iridient Transformer and converted to DNG, or if the file is processed with Pixelmator Pro 3, Lightroom Classic or the latest version of Capture One.

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Rusted Window

    September 11, 2014

    Hard work

    February 13, 2013

    Late for Lunch

    March 26, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear

    A pouch for the Fuji XF 150-600

    May 16, 2023 /

    The JJC Deluxe Lens Pouch model 811 fits perfectly with the Fuji XF 150-600 with the handle mounted and the lens hood reversd. It also leaves some room for filters, SD cards or small accessories.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Red

    December 17, 2014

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

    April 30, 2023

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

    June 28, 2024
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Seasons,  Spring,  Visual

    Abstract

    May 9, 2023 /

    There’s a particular pleasure in encountering an image that resists immediate recognition. This photograph—an interplay of industrial forms, bolts, struts, and cylindrical elements—sits somewhere between documentation and abstraction. Strip away the context, and it becomes less about what these structures are and more about what they do visually: dividing the frame, catching light, and setting up a rhythm of repetition and interruption. The composition is rigidly symmetrical along the vertical axis, yet it doesn’t feel overly formal or sterile. The imperfections—paint chipping, scuffs, a touch of grime—are what give it character. These blemishes remind us this isn’t a CAD rendering but a real, weathered object, doing its job in the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Up from the Waterline

    December 3, 2016

    An Essay on Light

    October 13, 2017

    (Not so) Intelligent Design

    October 26, 2018
  • Artists,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Spring

    Niccolò Fabi – Meno Per Meno Tour 2023 – Live@Teatro Massimo, Pescara

    May 7, 2023 /

    Covering Niccolò Fabi’s concert for Rockol, gave me the opportunity to test an X-T4 with an XF 150-600. The image quality is on a par with the X-T3. This was to be expected. However, I have some reservations about the autofocus. The lens also needs to be examined in more detail before I can form an informed opinion.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Late Night Arrival at Bertinoro’s Castle

    January 15, 2014

    Interior Design at Aurum

    May 26, 2013

    The Spanish Sense of Flesh – 2

    June 28, 2014
  • Artists,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People

    Backstage, Before the Downbeat

    May 4, 2023 /

    Shot on Kodak Portra 400 with a Canon EOS 1V and the humble yet reliable 50mm f/1.8, this frame captures the unspoken moments before the music begins. No spectacle, no spotlight, just the quiet mechanics of musicianship. I focused on the baritone saxophonist, half-turned, reading the score with that blend of tension and calm that precedes performance. Portra’s muted tones did exactly what I hoped they would—warm but never too rich, soft on contrast without washing out the mood. Skin tones stay honest. Brass textures from the saxophone register with depth, neither overly polished nor artificially gritty. The background instruments bleed into shadows, helped by the lens wide open at…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Kime in Photography

    June 9, 2013

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

    November 4, 2023

    The Way Out

    October 20, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Rome,  Spring

    Partner in Glam

    May 3, 2023 /

    I framed this shot fast — the kind of street moment that gives you three seconds to get it or lose it. What pulled me in wasn’t the man alone, nor the advert behind him. It was the convergence. His physical presence, heavy and brooding, intersecting perfectly with the oversized face of the model. Two expressions, one contemplative, one seductive, unintentionally in conversation. The poster reads Partner in glam. A marketing line, forgettable in most contexts. But set against this man, seated in shadow, caught mid-thought, it takes on irony. Or honesty. Depends how you read it. Technically, the photo leans hard into contrast. Shot in direct sunlight, the shadows…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Do Not Touch

    June 5, 2013

    Purple Haze

    January 3, 2013

    Watch My Back

    January 15, 2013
  • 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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    Just A Cat

    June 29, 2014

    Zebra Crossing, Again…

    June 22, 2014

    Who Needs A Wedding Photographer Anymore?

    May 29, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear

    Moonshot with a handheld Fuji XF150-600 and a Fuji X-T3

    April 24, 2023 /

    The moon doesn’t forgive technical sloppiness. Any softness in focus, hint of motion blur, or weakness in exposure shows up instantly. This crescent was taken handheld with the Fuji XF150-600 on an X-T3 — a combination that, on paper, might not seem ideal for lunar work without a tripod. Yet, that challenge was the point. The compression of 600mm brought the surface’s rugged texture into relief, and the X-T3’s sensor resolved the fine gradations between illuminated craters and the shadowed terminator with satisfying clarity. The key here was managing shutter speed — 1/1000s gave me enough to counteract handshake, but I kept the ISO just high enough to hold detail…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Portrait of a Judo Master

    November 14, 2013

    Pouring Water Since About 300 Years

    December 23, 2014

    @Rome Maker Faire – 1

    October 9, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Rome,  Spring,  Technique

    A Frame Within a Frame Within a Frame

    April 23, 2023 /

    The irony didn’t hit me until I developed the roll—an expired Ilford XP2 Super 400 that had been lounging at the bottom of a drawer for years. Shot with a Voigtländer Bessa R2 paired with the Nokton 35mm f/1.4, this image is as much a meditation on layers as it is a commentary on isolation. What initially looked like an ordinary street shot—girl on a call, perched on a windowsill—turned out to be a trifecta of enclosures: her physical pose wrapped in posture and winter clothing, set within the architecture of the window, itself encased in the framing of the building. Beyond, the city reflects itself, ghostlike, on the glass—another…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Lost in Le Puglie

    December 2, 2015

    The Jewels Sale

    November 18, 2015

    Steve Hackett – Live@Teatro d’Annunzio

    July 8, 2017
  • 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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    Without Glasses @ via del Corso

    January 25, 2016

    StreetPizza@Ueno Park

    August 4, 2018

    A Broken Gearwheel

    August 27, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Doors&Windows,  Gear,  Winter

    Powermeters

    February 18, 2023 /

    This photo was taken with an Ilford XP2 Super 400, a Voigtländer Bessa R2 and a Voigtländer 35mm f/1.4 II lens. The film was digitised using a Pentax K-1 and a Pentax FA 100/2.8 Marco mounted on a custom-built rig. The resulting raw was processed in Affinity Photo. In Develop Persona, first the image was turned in black and white, then the master curve was intverted and finally exposure, contrast and other parameters were tweaked.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Gary O’ Toole

    July 15, 2017

    Abruzzo’s made Coke??

    March 26, 2013

    At the theater, between two scenes

    June 15, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Daily Video,  Docks,  Photography,  Winter

    Editing a photo taken with a Carl Zeiss Jena 135/4 Sonnar and a Fuji X-T3

    February 8, 2023 /

    A vintage Carl Zeiss Jena 135/4 Sonnar whose RF mount has been replaced with a Fuji X mount by Adriano Lolli (https://www.adrianololli.com).Coupled with a Fuji X-T3, it delivers pleasant results. Post production is highly subjective, so the final outcome might no be ‘acceptable’ to some taste. Still, the lens is very good.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Underground Security RA(T)P

    June 5, 2015

    Creativity vs Originality

    March 11, 2024

    A Skateboarder

    November 23, 2021
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Photography,  Winter

    A sample of the Carl Zeiss Jena 135/F4 Sonnar and a Fuji X-T3

    February 5, 2023 /

    This photo was taken with an old Carl Zeiss Jena 135/4 Sonnar whose Contax RF mount was replaced by a Fuji X mount by Master Adriano Lolli.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Lost in Another World

    March 17, 2014

    Moistmaker@Piazza della Rotonda

    July 12, 2018

    Content Creators

    July 20, 2023
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Jewellery,  Winter

    Floating

    February 5, 2023 /

    This image was born out of a fascination with stillness in the midst of implied movement. The mannequin — suspended, curled, caught in an almost foetal position — seems to drift within a capsule that looks as though it could be orbiting somewhere far beyond Earth. The large, circular light behind it could be a porthole, a hatch, or simply a stage light; its blinding white obscures what might be beyond, giving the scene a surreal, detached quality. Technically, the biggest challenge was exposure. The extreme contrast between the brilliant backlight and the darker figure risked losing detail on both ends. I chose to protect the highlights, letting the shadows…

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    Andrea Monti

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    What, IMO, Street-Photography Is All About – One Shot Story

    November 9, 2025

    Life And Work On A Fishing Boat

    January 9, 2014

    Ottica Boncompagni

    November 7, 2014
  • 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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    A Fountain

    May 17, 2014

    The Expired Film Series – Episode 5 – Kodak Tri X 400 – September 2015 shot in Sept. 2023

    May 8, 2024

    No Tablet, No Problem

    April 12, 2013
  • 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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    Mind Your Business…

    January 9, 2013

    Batklubben

    July 23, 2016

    The Last Icecream?

    October 30, 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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    UnortORTOdox (Ferrania)

    July 22, 2023

    The Hands of a Drummer (Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez)

    April 24, 2013

    Small Talk in Las Ramblas

    June 4, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Gear,  Stockholm,  Summer

    Another attempt at DLSR film scanning

    January 21, 2023 /

    Still trying.I digitised the negative with a Pentax K-1 and the FA 100 2.8 Macro lens using the JJC clone of Nikon ES-2. Postproduction is done in Pixelmator Pro. I used a Nikon 35TI and a Kodak BW400CN to take the original photo. Strangely enough, the JJC does not allow a 1:1 ratio with the Micro Nikkor 60 2.8.The instructions advise to mount the 62mm to 52mm step-down ring, the #2 52mm barrel-shaped tube and finally the film holder. These instructions are clearly wrong, as it is not possible to get 1:1 magnification with this setup.So I removed the tube and mounted the film carrier directly on the 62mm to…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Fujifilm X-T3 Video Cheat Sheet

    September 5, 2021

    Uncertainity

    August 11, 2013

    Settled in the wrong place

    January 11, 2017
  • 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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    Mind The Gap!

    July 5, 2014

    Floating Flower

    May 19, 2015

    Forza Italia

    July 12, 2021
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Winter

    Pixelmator Pro Debanding and Electronic Shutter

    December 24, 2022 /

    Pixelmator Pro Deband feature does not work on banding caused by the well known electronic shutter lag. The Deband feature has not been advertised as working also with ES-induced banding, so the fact that it can not handle it is not a bug. However, this limit seriously reduces the appeal of the new feature. I have flagged the issue to Pixelmator Pro Support: currently, they are out of work, but eventually, they should get back to me with some news. Good news, hopefully.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Another Bridge

    September 23, 2019

    Zebra Crossing, Again…

    June 22, 2014

    Late Evening Break In Piazza Dante

    October 21, 2017
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Winter

    The Silent Geometry of a Trabocco

    December 22, 2022 /

    This image came out of a walk I almost didn’t take. The light was beginning to fall into that uncertain hour, not quite golden but leaning into it, with a softness that flatters without deceiving. I was drawn to the trabocco — that wooden skeleton of fishing history jutting into the Adriatic like a forgotten broadcast antenna. Technically, the image lives and breathes in its lines. Everything points outward — cables, poles, railings — a quiet explosion of geometry pushing against the calmness of the sea. The house, slightly off-centre, serves as a visual anchor, balancing the thrust of the lines while allowing the scene to feel alive, not over-symmetrical.…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Professional Courtesy

    March 4, 2026

    The Day After The Tide

    December 12, 2013

    Hope after the Storm

    January 8, 2020
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Winter

    Fisherman’s Fatigues

    December 19, 2022 /

    I shot this one late in the day, when the light had softened just enough to graze the worn textures without flattening them. The fatigue in the title isn’t poetic—these clothes, half-limp, half-hardened with salt and use, are the remnants of someone’s labour, someone likely still out at sea. I didn’t stage anything. These were just there, draped across makeshift wooden trestles, drying under the weight of their own exhaustion. What makes this image work technically, for me, is the tension between stillness and implication. Nothing moves in the frame, yet everything speaks of motion just ceased—pulling ropes, lifting crates, hours on a rolling deck. The shallow depth of field,…

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    Andrea Monti

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    The last waltz

    January 24, 2013

    @ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Beach Volley Team – Marco Caminati (and a primer on sport photography, part 6)

    October 13, 2015

    Pentax – In Praise of Usability of Cameras and Lenses

    March 3, 2024
  • Artists,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Winter

    Daniele Silvestri – Teatri 2022 – Live@Teatro Massimo, Pescara

    December 16, 2022 /

    This is the Daniele Silvestri’s Teatri 2022 coverage I did on behalf of Rockol.it using good old Nikons (a D610 with the Sigma 150-600 contemporary and a D750 with a Nikkor 24-120). As a matter of personal taste, I still like a reflex more than a mirrorless camera. The possibility offered by the latter to shoot in total silence with the Electronic Shutter is invaluable in specific contexts such as classical concerts or theatrical plays, nowthistanding the downfalls (banding and distorted images). However (and, once again, this is a matter of personal opinion), a reflex still allow a better connection with the environment at least thanks to the optical viewfinder.…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Portrait of a politician – 1

    October 25, 2013

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

    April 4, 2021

    Waiting for (Supreme) Justice

    February 14, 2017
  • Actors,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Winter

    Norina shouts at Don Pasquale

    December 12, 2022 /

    This picture is part of the reportage I did for Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, featured on December 11, 2022, at Teatro Marrucino. It has been the chance to experiment a few tricks to avoid the banding effect caused by the LED pulse frequency and the sensor’s delay in EFC is used. I chose to go for time rather than aperture priority mode. I also set the shutter speed at 1/50, as suggested in many forums, and the trick worked. In some cases, banding was still present, but it was insignificant. I also tried to shoot in full manual (leaving only the focus in auto.) Some pictures ended up overexposed, and…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Staring At The Infinite (While Waiting For The Fishes)

    August 1, 2014

    A Fountain

    May 17, 2014

    London Swash

    September 3, 2014
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