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Andrea Monti

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  • B&W,  Boulevards,  Bruxelles,  Daily photo,  Streets&Squares,  Winter

    5 (random) frames of Bruxelles with a MIR-1B, a Pentax ME Super and a Kodak TMax400

    March 19, 2025 /

    The late hours of a day are dangerous times, because this is when the mind, lacking tasks, begins to look for a way to keep itself busy. To make a long story short, this is why, against what the common sense would have suggested, I decided to take a stroll in a (very) cold winter evening along and around Avenue Louise in Bruxelles to test a MIR-1B 37/2.8 mounted on a TMAX 400 loaded Pentax ME Super with an M42 adapter. Initially published on 35mmc.com. As much as this is not a ‘field test’, I was unfair to the lens because I used it in challenging conditions, starting with the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Ipad Shooter. Who needs a Nikon D4 anymore?

    November 3, 2013

    Roman Break

    April 21, 2013

    Sunny Afternoon

    January 22, 2013
  • Actors,  Autumn,  B&W,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Fighters,  Fighting Disciplines,  Photography,  Spring,  Summer,  Winter

    What Does ‘Professional’ Mean in Photography?

    March 19, 2024 /

    Pro’ is the photographer’s blessing and curse. It is the status we all – well, many of us – aspire to. It is the marketing gimmick created by the exploiters of the Gear Acquisition Syndrome to make people believe that tools make the craftsman. ‘Amateur’, on the other hand, is a word associated with casual photographers, ‘wannabe’ artists, and people who want to make you believe that tools make the craftsman. I have always been unconvinced that such a difference exists, at least in the general meaning associated with the words ‘pro’ and ‘amateur’, and in relation to the idea that the equipment used or the quality of the shots…

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Sunny day in Rome

    May 10, 2014

    Dreaming of a Lancia Delta Martini…

    March 24, 2013

    A Waiter in via Sardegna

    September 26, 2015
  • 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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    Ray-Ban in Milan

    October 5, 2015

    Phone Call – 2

    February 20, 2015

    The Seagull’s Rest

    December 18, 2013
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Fashion Shops,  Seasons,  Winter

    Cleaning the Tabernacle

    November 26, 2022 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Reflexes

    December 30, 2015

    Call On The Docks

    August 4, 2014

    A Modern Orpheus

    November 24, 2015
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  People,  Winter

    We Are All Made of Stars

    February 28, 2018 /

    The street is slick with rain, fenced for works in progress, cluttered with signs and barriers. Yet above it all, the stars have returned — bright, geometric, electric — heralding the slow, luminous arrival of Christmas in Brussels. A lone figure walks toward the camera, wrapped in a scarf and his own thoughts. He is grounded, ordinary, human. But above him, a constellation of neon dreams stretches deep into the vanishing point, inviting passersby to look up, to believe, even if just for a moment. This photograph captures the paradox of the urban winter: cold, messy, fractured — and yet luminous with potential. The construction fences are still up, the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Last Puff Before the Ride

    December 26, 2015

    The Answer is On the Wall

    August 28, 2020

    Waiting for (Supreme) Justice

    February 14, 2017
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Restaurants&Bar,  Winter

    Menu Meditation

    February 16, 2018 /

    There’s a particular silence in cafés just before ordering. That moment when the cold air from outside still clings to your coat, and all attention narrows to laminated options and the quiet negotiations of hunger. This was taken on a grey afternoon in Brussels. A couple sits across from each other, each reading their own menu as if studying for an exam. No phones. No talking. Just decisions to be made: sweet or savoury, warm or cold, this or that. It’s a familiar ritual, yet rarely observed this closely. What drew me in wasn’t the scene’s drama—there was none—but its quietness. The soft concentration on their faces, the gentle lean…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Watch My Back

    January 15, 2013

    Sales Force

    January 28, 2016

    Siamese Boats On the Seine River

    June 1, 2014
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Streets&Squares,  Winter

    The Bystander

    February 5, 2018 /

    Standing in the Grand-Place at night, I waited for something—anything—to break the near-perfect symmetry. Then he arrived. The man didn’t pose. He just paused in the middle of the cobbles, framed squarely between the elegant baroque façades and the soft reflection of lamplight on wet stone. His silhouette gave scale and narrative to the grandeur behind him. Alone but not lonely, motionless yet in transit—he became the photograph’s axis. I shot handheld at high ISO. Noise was a concern, but the Nikon sensor held up. I retained the grain because it added texture to the shadows without crushing the blacks. Technically, this is a symmetrical composition, but it’s also layered:…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Light Dance in Hamburg

    April 6, 2018

    The Chess Players’ Summer Nest

    July 31, 2014

    Leaving Home

    December 5, 2014
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Spring

    Intelligence Contest

    April 15, 2017 /

    A pane of glass separates two worlds. On one side, the hyper-stylised gaze of a model — digital, sculpted, aloof. His stare pierces outward from an ad inside a hair salon, promising precision, control, curated masculinity at €21. Behind the glossy veneer, real people go about their routines, dwarfed by the giant printed face that symbolises a synthetic ideal. On the other side, a cluster of balloons—soft, round, unformed—calls out with its own clumsy presence. Unintended perhaps, but visually evocative, the column of latex orbs resembles a puppet or caricature. In their simplicity, they reflect something the model cannot: humanity, imperfection, absurdity. The composition turns into theatre. A confrontation of…

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    Andrea Monti

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    A promenade

    February 24, 2013

    Easy To Shoot?

    December 12, 2020

    The Leica M9 CCDgate Outrageous Case

    December 11, 2014
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Patisserie,  Spring

    The Quest for Belgian Chocolate…

    April 11, 2017 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    A moment of break…

    February 22, 2013

    A ghostly bystander

    September 21, 2013

    The Expired Film Series – Episode 4 – Ferrania Solaris 100 – Dec. 2006 shot in August 2023

    September 3, 2023
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Spring,  Streets&Squares

    Outdoor Aperitif

    April 7, 2017 /

    I shot this on a cool evening in Brussels, with the last of the daylight just beginning to retreat behind slate rooftops. The city was shifting gears—post-work fatigue blending with the early stirrings of nocturnal energy. I had the Leica M9 slung across my shoulder, a camera that’s more than a tool—it forces you to see with intent, to commit before pressing the shutter. Paired with the Zeiss Biogon 35mm f/2.8, it draws sharpness out of corners and translates contrast with a crisp, unfussy tone that suited the moment perfectly. The scene was already composed for me: clustered chairs, half-filled glasses, side conversations in mid-stream. No one posed. No one…

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    Andrea Monti

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    LP – Live@Anfiteatro La Civitella – The photogallery

    July 11, 2022

    Hidden in Plain Sight. A Japanese Journey

    August 3, 2023

    A perfect match

    February 1, 2013
  • Bruxelles,  Cars&Bikes,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Seasons,  Winter

    Traffic Master

    December 19, 2016 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Just Another Times Square View

    July 9, 2014

    Spectral Lotus

    July 19, 2015

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

    February 5, 2023
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Seasons,  Social Control,  Summer

    Safe Living (?)

    July 28, 2016 /

    I took this photograph sitting at a café table in Brussels, camera inconspicuously in hand, not to catch a moment of drama but to freeze the dissonance that unfolded naturally. A plate of food cooling in the foreground, a couple mid-conversation, and beyond the empty chairs—military trucks parked tightly against the glass façade of a commercial complex. No one paid them much attention. This image isn’t about extremes. It’s about the almost absurd coexistence of casual living and implied threat. It’s a subtle juxtaposition—the idle comfort of café life shadowed by the presence of camouflaged machinery. Compositionally, I used the umbrellas and columns to frame the shot and push the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    An Asian Lion Guarding an Italian Town – One Shot Story

    August 27, 2025

    A Waiter in via Sardegna

    September 26, 2015

    Spectral Lotus

    July 19, 2015
  • Autumn,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Visual

    Washed

    November 22, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Alchoolist’s garbage

    March 5, 2013

    Did You Forget Something?

    October 3, 2016

    Creativity vs Originality

    March 11, 2024
  • Autumn,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Patisserie,  People

    Belgian Chocolate – Godiva

    November 20, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Labcoats In A Moment Of Rest

    December 28, 2015

    Every Single Day

    June 28, 2017

    A Lonely Table

    March 8, 2015
  • Autumn,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Jewellery,  People

    The Jewels Sale

    November 18, 2015 /

    Photographing through glass is always a test of patience. Here, I wanted to capture not just the jewellery but the human presence behind it—the quiet choreography of selling and browsing. The glass served as both barrier and canvas, introducing subtle reflections that blend the sparkle of the display with the blurred outlines of the people behind it. Compositionally, the image leans on the central placement of the black necklace bust. Its matte surface contrasts with the glint of gold and the shimmer of stones around it, giving the frame a clear focal point. The surrounding watches and earrings fill the edges without overwhelming the centre, leading the viewer’s gaze in…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Life And Work On A Fishing Boat

    January 9, 2014

    Fun

    November 12, 2014

    Rectangles

    March 12, 2015
  • Autumn,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Patisserie,  People

    Belgian Chocolate – Neuhaus

    November 16, 2015 /

    Photographing in a place like this Neuhaus boutique is always an exercise in restraint. The scene is a sensory overload: gold, red, pastel blues, mirrored surfaces, and the intricate geometry of countless chocolate boxes. It’s easy for the camera to drown in the details, and the trick is to find an anchor point—the human presence that gives context and focus. Here, that anchor is the shop assistant, absorbed in her task, the bend of her head drawing the viewer into the very centre of the composition. The overhead golden arc with the reversed “1970” is not accidental—it creates a frame within the frame, hinting at the brand’s heritage while subtly…

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    Andrea Monti

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    StreetPizza@Ueno Park

    August 4, 2018

    Action! (beware of Fuji X-Pro 2)

    February 2, 2016

    In a yellowtone…

    September 17, 2013
  • Autumn,  Bookstores,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Seasons

    Glancing Books

    November 12, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    @ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italy Beach Soccer Team’s Goalkeeper (and a primer on sport photography, part 2)

    September 24, 2015

    Wrecked Hull

    February 14, 2014

    When We Thought We Would Have Changed The World

    August 21, 2014
  • Autumn,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Groceries,  People

    Fancy a Beer?

    November 10, 2015 /

    In the warm light of a Brussels beer shop, shelves stacked floor to ceiling with bottles, two men weigh a purchase. One holds the bottle carefully, the other studies it with interest, a wicker basket dangling between them. Their small exchange sits at the heart of the frame, illuminated against the darker figures of passersby drifting in and out of the doorway. The composition splits into layers: the inviting glow of the shop interior, the mid-ground where the buyers stand, and the silhouetted outlines of those entering or leaving. This layering gives depth, making the viewer feel both inside and outside at once. The shelves, neatly arranged in repeating verticals…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Fujifilm X-T3 Video Cheat Sheet

    September 5, 2021

    Small Talk in Las Ramblas

    June 4, 2014

    A Lamppost

    November 26, 2014
  • Autumn,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Social Control

    Inside the Palaces of Power – Bruxelles

    November 8, 2015 /

    The first thing that strikes me about this image is its deliberate sense of distance—not just physical, but psychological. We see a woman from behind, walking away toward a set of glass doors, her stride steady, her posture contained. There’s no attempt to catch her expression; her anonymity allows her to stand in for anyone navigating the quiet, often opaque corridors of authority. The architecture plays as much of a role here as the human subject. Vertical wooden slats flank either side, creating a symmetrical frame that channels our gaze straight toward the central doors and the clock above them. The space is clean, polished, almost acoustically still. The high-gloss…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Friend or Foe?

    January 21, 2013

    A chat on a lake shore

    May 6, 2013

    Mid-Knee Clinch

    July 7, 2019
  • Autumn,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Seasons,  Streets&Squares

    RedLight

    November 6, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Sad Cat in a Neko Cafè

    August 5, 2018

    Three Tires

    May 18, 2022

    Waiting for the Shinkansen – 2

    June 30, 2017
  • Autumn,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Patisserie,  People

    Sweet Dilemma

    November 4, 2015 /

    I took this photograph in one of those shops that could easily bankrupt anyone with a sweet tooth. The window was a theatre stage, and the protagonists were mountains of meringues, chocolates, and sugared confections, all arranged with military precision. The display was so perfectly composed it demanded to be photographed — though translating that abundance into a frame without losing the sense of order was a challenge in itself. I shot head-on, centring the display so the symmetry would hold the composition together. The large glass bowls act as visual anchors, while the pyramid of packaged goods in the middle draws the eye inward. Behind, two figures — the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Porter

    July 3, 2015

    Hard Worker

    February 9, 2014

    Using a 1960 Leica Elmarit 90/2,8 on a Fuji X-T3

    April 5, 2021
  • Bruxelles,  Cities,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Patisserie,  Winter

    Belgian Macarons

    November 2, 2015 /

    In Brussels, indulgence is not hidden—it’s celebrated, displayed like a jewel in a shop window. Here, two towering martini glasses overflow with macarons, their shells in perfect rows of pastel and jewel tones. Pistachio green, raspberry pink, lemon yellow, cocoa brown—each one a promise of texture and flavour, crisp edges giving way to soft, rich fillings. The composition draws the eye first to the abundance in the foreground, then to the warm wooden shelves receding into the shop’s interior. A figure in a red apron moves in the background, blurred but purposeful, the quiet curator of this edible gallery. The lighting is golden, not harsh, bathing the scene in the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Stinky Shoes

    June 3, 2015

    Multitasking

    February 10, 2013

    Busy (again)

    February 2, 2013
  • Autumn,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Patisserie,  People

    Buying Chocolate

    October 31, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Ryanair Aircraft

    August 21, 2018

    A Bad Experiment

    August 26, 2016

    Steve Hackett – Live@Teatro d’Annunzio

    July 8, 2017
  • Autumn,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Patisserie

    Macarons. Again

    October 23, 2015 /

    I made this photograph inside a pâtisserie, focusing on a glass bowl overflowing with pastel-coloured macarons. The shallow depth of field brings the confectionery into crisp attention while softening the background, where figures and shelves dissolve into warm blur. The arrangement of sweets, piled almost carelessly, conveys abundance rather than the rigid order usually associated with patisserie display. Technically, the image works through contrast of light and tone. The reflective surface of the glass bowl catches highlights, while the soft illumination keeps the delicate textures of the macarons intact. The exposure holds steady despite mixed lighting, managing both the bright surfaces of the sweets and the darker recesses of the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Peeping the Misery

    September 4, 2013

    Afternoon’s Mumbling

    August 27, 2013

    Bikers

    July 14, 2014
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