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  • 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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    Conversation

    November 27, 2013

    Where to?

    October 21, 2023

    Lotus Tweak

    July 31, 2015
  • 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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    Sun Worshipers

    January 3, 2022

    The SoundMaster

    July 10, 2013

    The Crew’s Rest

    July 20, 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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    The Financial Times at Night

    October 1, 2016

    Between Two Sets

    May 15, 2014

    As Seen on Ferrania Film’ Stories section…

    December 4, 2023
  • 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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    Partner in Glam

    May 3, 2023

    The Google Experiment

    February 1, 2014

    An unusual flowers’ field

    June 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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    The sentinel…

    March 8, 2013

    Lost in mumbling

    September 22, 2013

    Il barbiere di Siviglia – Don Bartolo mad at Rosina

    November 28, 2020
  • 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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    The Doorman

    September 1, 2013

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

    May 8, 2024

    Portrait of a Politician – 2

    June 15, 2014
  • 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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    Real Time Update

    February 20, 2016

    Easy Parking

    August 12, 2013

    Inside the Garrison

    May 14, 2014
  • Autumn,  B&W,  Daily photo,  Visual

    Three Lamps

    September 19, 2022 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    AI or not AI?

    October 3, 2023

    Alone

    January 1, 2013

    The Odd Couple

    January 30, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Photography,  Thoughts

    Is AI-generated art actually killing ‘real’ Art?

    September 16, 2022 /

    This picture is how Dall-e 2 interpreted a prompt like Kodak Tri-X 400 black and white sketch in the style of Andy Warhol of a scientist facing a hajime sorayama-like cyborg in a 1940 mad scientist sci-fi lab. Does that mean that —as everybody and his cousin keep repeating— that AI killed Art(ists)? Not very. AI-generated imagery serves to specific purposes and whether is creation or not is utterly irrelevant.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Lamp

    April 2, 2014

    Arrested Behind the Door

    March 29, 2015

    Blob

    January 4, 2014
  • B&W,  Beach&Shores,  Daily photo,  People

    On Photography and Self-Delusion

    September 4, 2022 /

    Only travelling abroad gets exotic photos. No need to travel overseas to get unusual images. Shoot digital is the only way ‘to stay in the moment’. Going retro with film is the only way to stay ‘in the moment’. Get the latest gear you can find. No, use the cheapest stuff because photography is about the man, not the machine. Do not post process, do post process. Shoot colour; no shoot B&W. Use Midformat, no full-frame, no APS-C, no smartphone-size sensors… The list of advice coming from (self-professed) experts, journalists (most often, web content editors with no editorial clearance), and ‘seasoned’ (wannabe) photographers could grow forever.More often than not, these…

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Man Behind The Croissant

    December 13, 2014

    Content Creators

    July 20, 2023

    Shooting Sanda (Chinese Kickboxing) Bouts

    June 26, 2025
  • Artists,  B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Summer

    Alessandro Valle – Live@Anfiteatro La Civitella

    August 11, 2022 /

    When I cover singers’ concerts, I make a point of not leaving band members behind. On their shoulders lies the burden of getting the show right. Without them, there is not much a singer could do unless he is gifted with a beautiful voice and proper technique. Still, they often come unnoticed. Kudos to these musicians who make the magic happens.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Fast Bus

    October 26, 2016

    Davide Grotta – Live

    December 8, 2018

    The Wild Bunch

    October 1, 2013
  • Artists,  B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Seasons,  Summer

    José Ignacio Franco – Live@Auditorium Petruzzi

    July 31, 2022 /

    He doesn’t need to sing. His fingers do it for him. Captured in mid-strum, tocaor José Franco radiates something far more profound than musical virtuosity: duende — that elusive spirit of flamenco, born of sorrow, defiance, and joy. His guitar is not just an instrument; it’s a second voice, one that speaks the unspoken, channeling generations of Andalusian lament and celebration. Notice the scene: the blurred silhouettes of fellow musicians in the foreground, the intimacy of a rehearsal or a small performance, where the bond between tocaores is more powerful than any spotlight. The photograph’s depth of field creates a natural hierarchy — we’re drawn not just to Franco’s position, but to his expression. His smile…

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Night at the Opera – Plays and Opera Photography

    December 21, 2024

    Every Single Day

    June 28, 2017

    A Sailors’ Warehouse

    September 9, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Parks,  Past&Relics,  Summer

    Three Lamposts

    June 11, 2022 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Seine

    June 9, 2015

    Pillars

    January 29, 2015

    Waiting for the Fish

    December 18, 2021
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Seasons,  Spring

    Three Sprouts

    May 22, 2022 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Drying Machine

    November 30, 2014

    Floating Flower

    May 19, 2015

    Action shot

    January 7, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Past&Relics,  Spring,  Visual

    Three Tires

    May 18, 2022 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    EOS-M. Manual focus tips and results for Street-Photography and more

    August 9, 2013

    The Street Photographer Rights In Italy. The Leaflet

    July 10, 2014

    Fireworks

    January 19, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Docks

    Game Over

    April 15, 2022 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Learning to Fly

    August 23, 2018

    Portrait of The Alfa Romeo Guru

    September 25, 2014

    Spectral Lotus

    July 19, 2015
  • B&W,  Beach&Shores,  Daily photo,  Winter

    Beach Party

    January 22, 2022 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Alien’s Seat

    October 19, 2013

    Behind The Shaft

    June 1, 2013

    @ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Female Rowing Team

    October 7, 2015
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Landscape,  Winter

    Dark Omen

    December 31, 2021 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Shooting an Outdoor Volleyball Match

    June 19, 2025

    Hard Spam

    April 1, 2013

    The Stare of a T800

    August 4, 2015
  • B&W,  Court,  Daily photo

    The Gate to the Appeal

    October 10, 2021 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Shooting the Shooter…

    February 12, 2013

    The EOS-M just sucks

    July 18, 2013

    A Master Luthier in his lab…

    May 14, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Shooting,  Summer

    Feuer

    July 10, 2021 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Fisherman

    August 29, 2014

    Footprint

    April 24, 2014

    Chasing the Runner

    October 6, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Moon,  Spring

    Moon, hand-held

    April 30, 2021 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Observer

    November 30, 2013

    Carl Zeiss T* 50 1,5 Sonnar and EOS EF-M 18-55

    August 4, 2013

    The Doorman

    September 1, 2013
  • B&W,  Beach&Shores,  Daily photo,  People

    Zombie

    March 4, 2021 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Real Time Update

    February 20, 2016

    @ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Wrestling, Italy vs France (And a primer on sport photography – Part 5)

    October 9, 2015

    Pino Ammendola – L’ultima notte di Bonfiglio Liborio@Teatro Marrucino

    May 13, 2022
  • 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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    The Penguin’s Feeder

    July 25, 2014

    A Weird Fujifilm Battery Issue for X-series cameras

    December 2, 2019

    An Altar for the Propaganda Machine

    November 17, 2013
  • Autumn,  B&W,  Daily photo,  Seasons,  Shooting

    Servicing a Beretta 98FS

    October 13, 2019 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Reasonable Privacy Expectation

    April 17, 2014

    Stand-up, Sugar!

    March 8, 2014

    The Casual Observer

    September 5, 2013
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