• Home
  • Daily photo
  • Colour
  • B&W
  • Landscape
  • Cities
  • People
  • Sport
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Conctact
Andrea Monti

Photos, not gear

  • Home
  • Daily photo
  • Colour
  • B&W
  • Landscape
  • Cities
  • People
  • Sport
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Conctact
Menu
  • Home
  • Daily photo
  • Colour
  • B&W
  • Landscape
  • Cities
  • People
  • Sport
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Conctact
  • Home
  • Daily photo
  • Colour
  • B&W
  • Landscape
  • Cities
  • People
  • Sport
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Conctact

No Widgets found in the Sidebar Alt!

  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Milan,  Photography,  Street Photography

    How Privacy Hysteria Killed Street-Photography

    October 22, 2023 /

    At other times I would have dismissed this image as ‘out of focus’ and unusable. Just another missed shot caused by poor focusing technique on a fully manual film camera. Nowadays, however, I have begun to change my attitude towards these kinds of blurred images because of the privacy hysteria affecting the practice of street photography. There have been cases where people have been found guilty of harassment for covertly taking pictures in public spaces, but street photography has nothing to do with criminal behaviour. There is a huge difference between taking sneaky, random, meaningless pictures of people on the street and trying to freeze sketches of life to tell…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Waiting for the goal

    April 28, 2013

    Early Morning’s Cleanup

    July 21, 2013

    The Penguin’s Feeder

    July 25, 2014
  • Autumn,  B&W,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People

    The Traveler’s Dilemma: Where To?

    October 21, 2023 /

    Shot on a Voigtländer Bessa R2A with the Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4, this frame unfolded in less than a breath. A man, motionless, eyes scanning a departure board. Behind him, the chaos of travel hums, but he’s suspended—mid-decision, mid-wondering. No phone, no luggage in view. Just posture and projection. The Bessa’s meter can be unforgiving in contrast-heavy interiors, but I exposed for the board and let the shadows fall where they would. The Nokton, wide open or nearly so, brings in the classic swirl and falloff I wanted—enough sharpness in the centre, enough softness at the edges to suggest thought rather than define action. I didn’t wait for better light.…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Enough…

    March 2, 2013

    Unkempt

    December 4, 2015

    Roots On The Roof

    September 6, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Milan,  Winter

    Technogym Milan@Night

    April 3, 2022 /

    I photographed this storefront in Milan after dark, intrigued by the way its illuminated windows cut through the night. The architecture itself is not the subject so much as the grid of glowing rectangles, each acting like a screen against the blackness of the street. The strong yellow framing lines draw the eye, repeating rhythmically across the facade, while the deep shadows surrounding them emphasise their intensity. Compositionally, I chose a wide perspective to capture the full stretch of the facade. This decision places emphasis on repetition and geometry rather than on any single detail. The asymmetry of the right side, where a bright advertisement interrupts the rhythm, creates a…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Lifeguard’s Tools

    August 24, 2013

    Hidden in Plain Sight. A Japanese Journey

    August 3, 2023

    A Smoker

    September 2, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  Streets&Squares,  Winter

    Late Night@Piazza San Babila

    March 9, 2022 /

    Working with a compact camera like the Panasonic TZ-100 at night is a reminder that you don’t always need a full-frame monster to tell a story — but you do need to understand and embrace the camera’s limitations. The TZ-100’s one-inch sensor is not built for clean, clinical low-light work. Push the ISO and it will show noise quickly; underexpose, and shadow recovery will fall apart. But here, those very traits help carry the mood. The composition rests on a central axis — the illuminated corridor pulling the viewer inward, flanked by the Binova and Ivano Redaelli showrooms. Their glowing interiors act like bookends, framing the pathway and setting a…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Seagull And The Sentinel

    October 27, 2014

    The Expired Film Series – Episode 1 – Kodak BW400CN – Dec. 2014 shot in June 2023

    July 21, 2023

    Three Legged?

    July 21, 2017
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  PhotoCritics,  Winter

    Evolution in Red

    November 20, 2019 /

    The frame unfolds on a Milanese street, a busy scene of people moving in different directions, yet bound by an unplanned visual thread — the colour red. On the far left, a stroller stands out, its fabric vivid against the muted tones of the pavement and stone façades. On the far right, a man in a red jacket, phone pressed to his ear, anchors the other end of the composition. Between them lies the space in which meaning is manufactured by the viewer: a perceived transition from childhood to adulthood, implied but never intended by reality itself. The technical construction supports this interplay. The image uses depth rather than focus…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    A (Soon) Lost Banner

    November 1, 2018

    My camera’s early test shots

    December 20, 2012

    Bronine Volkit Camera Hub. Mixed feelings

    November 30, 2021
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Street Photography

    Caught In The Act… Almost

    October 4, 2018 /

    One of the unspoken truths of street photography is that the act itself is a balancing game between invisibility and intrusion. You work quietly, melting into the scene, but sometimes the veil slips. This frame captures that instant—when the subject’s eyes meet yours and the candid moment becomes a negotiation. I was mid-frame when the man on the right turned, fixing me with a look that could be read as curiosity or suspicion. The keys in his hand, his stance, and the faint tightening of his jaw all freeze into a moment that could unfold in multiple ways. The man in the background remains unaware, his more relaxed posture offering…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Conversations, Silences, and Street Life

    August 5, 2014

    It’s always the right time

    February 17, 2013

    A Waiter in via Sardegna

    September 26, 2015
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People

    Posing at Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

    October 1, 2018 /

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    @Rome Maker Faire – 4. The Hands Controller

    October 16, 2014

    The Spectators

    August 19, 2017

    Where Are Skilifts Supposed to Be?

    January 7, 2017
  • Cities,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Social Control,  Winter

    The Quiet Riot

    November 19, 2017 /

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    On The Rocks

    August 13, 2014

    Inside the Nazario Sauro

    August 10, 2014

    A Sailors’ Warehouse

    September 9, 2014
  • B&W,  Buildings,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Milan

    Renovating Milan

    November 18, 2017 /

    Milan, November 2017. A construction site—not the kind that demands attention, but the quiet kind that hides behind fabric and scaffolding. I took this photo walking past it for the third or fourth time. What stopped me wasn’t the building itself, but its ghost. Behind the mesh screen, the silhouette of the old façade still lingered, like a memory bleeding through fabric. Chimneys, outlines, the suggestion of windows. The city behind the curtain. At the bottom, the standard construction notice: printed bureaucracy stapled to metal, a reminder that change is always sanctioned, scheduled, structured. But the rest of the image resists clarity. Straight lines waver, verticals drift. Even the fence…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Sentinel

    August 13, 2013

    A young Iron Maiden fan

    April 8, 2013

    Photopanning in Rome

    December 3, 2019
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Milan

    Late Evening Break In Piazza Dante

    October 21, 2017 /

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Mind The Gap!

    July 5, 2014

    Inside the Nazario Sauro

    November 26, 2020

    Run Like Hell, Pinocchio!

    February 24, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Exhibitions,  Milan,  Spring

    Sala degli Onori @ Triennale di Milano

    May 19, 2017 /

    Photographing grand interiors is always a test of discipline — a challenge to convey scale, symmetry, and atmosphere without letting the vastness swallow the human presence within it. In this image of the Sala degli Onori, the composition succeeds in balancing the architecture with the people inhabiting it, rendering a space that is both imposing and accessible. The shot is anchored by a strong central perspective. The converging lines of the marble floor and rows of white chairs pull the viewer’s gaze directly towards the far wall, where the mural forms a natural focal point. The figure walking down the central aisle provides a crucial sense of scale; without her,…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Just A Cat

    June 29, 2014

    Mirror

    January 17, 2013

    None of my business…

    March 3, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Milan,  People,  Winter

    After a Tough Day

    January 30, 2016 /

    I  took this photo with a Fujifilm X-E2 and a Leica Elmarit 90/2,8. Manual focusing with the split-image option has been fairly easy.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    DSLR-like…?

    March 21, 2025

    Las Ramblas’ Lifestyle

    April 18, 2014

    Freeze!

    December 19, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  Restaurants&Bar,  Winter

    Reflexes

    December 30, 2015 /

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Hanging Heart at via Olmetto

    March 31, 2014

    Footprints in the Snow

    December 25, 2012

    Though Choice

    June 23, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  Reportage,  Winter

    Labcoats In A Moment Of Rest

    December 28, 2015 /

    The lab was quiet. Machines still hummed, but the people had stepped away—lunch maybe, or a seminar down the corridor. I found this row of coats, slack and ghostlike, lined up with the kind of accidental symmetry that only happens when no one’s trying. Each hook bore a name: Stef, Erica, Anna, Sara, Giorgio… markers of identity in a place that prizes protocol over personality. Shot on a Canon 5D Mark II with the 24–105, the image leaned into its neutrality. No attempt to stylise the whites or fake a sterile glow. The coats were wrinkled, some slightly yellowed at the seams. I kept the exposure honest—highlights restrained just below…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Fujifilm X-T3 Video Cheat Sheet

    September 5, 2021

    On Photography and Self-Delusion

    September 4, 2022

    Come on in…

    September 11, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Winter

    Last Puff Before the Ride

    December 26, 2015 /

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Full Moon

    September 30, 2018

    Perfect Strangers

    April 5, 2014

    A London’s Skyline

    September 13, 2016
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Restaurants&Bar,  Winter

    Busy

    December 24, 2015 /

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Score Keeper

    April 25, 2019

    The Lost Hotel

    September 5, 2014

    The missing guest

    April 19, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Winter

    Earbuds

    December 22, 2015 /

    A man crosses the street in mid-stride, headphones enclosing him in his own private world. Behind him, a line of people stands at the tram stop, their stillness a counterpoint to his movement. The tram, painted in tired colours, seems almost fixed in place, its presence dwarfed by the weathered façade of the building above. The sign EgyptAir—faded, peeling—hangs over the scene like an echo from another time, hinting at journeys and destinations that have little to do with this grey urban moment. The building’s windows are uneven in tone, some dark, some reflecting a pale sky, all framed by streaks of wear from decades of weather. What draws the eye…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Teleferic de Montjiuc

    May 28, 2014

    Urban Desolation

    September 18, 2014

    Lost in mumbling

    September 22, 2013
  • Colour,  Milan,  OutOfFocus,  People,  Restaurants&Bar,  Summer

    A (Out-of-Focus) Break Between Lunch and Supper

    December 8, 2015 /

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    RedLight

    November 6, 2015

    A Sad Cat in a Neko Cafè

    August 5, 2018

    二千円

    December 20, 2023
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Milan,  Streets&Squares

    Ray-Ban in Milan

    October 5, 2015 /

    It’s not just about what sits on the roof—it’s about what it says without blinking. Shot in the heart of Milan, this image captures a building that has seen eras come and go, crowned by a brand that has spent decades convincing the world to look cool while blocking out the light. The lettering floats above the stone like graffiti gentrified by permanence. I framed the photo dead-on, as if to let the architecture and the logo negotiate their own contrast. The façade is neoclassical, orderly, almost too proud to wear an ad. But there it is—Ray-Ban—scribbled in neon above cornices and keystones, as defiant as it is inevitable. Black…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Bystander

    February 5, 2018

    Negrita’s Cover Band

    September 19, 2013

    Photography and the dangers of ethics

    April 17, 2013
  • Autumn,  B&W,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Milan,  People

    Shaken

    October 1, 2015 /

    The frame is a study in disarray — not in subject matter alone, but in its very execution. The scene, taken on a busy street, is blurred throughout: the figures, the car, the elegant repetition of arches behind them. Whether caused by an unsteady hand, a slow shutter, or a deliberate choice, the result is an image where nothing stands still enough to become the focal point. Two figures anchor the composition: one in the foreground to the left, caught mid-turn, the other to the right, hunched over something in his hands. Their outlines dissolve into the tonal softness, denying the viewer access to facial expression or fine detail. The…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    An Attentive Listener

    July 18, 2014

    Das Feuerwehr

    April 17, 2018

    A Sound Engineer

    March 10, 2016
  • 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.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Counter-intuitive Focus

    February 9, 2020

    A Fishnet – 2

    October 29, 2014

    Have fun…

    July 12, 2013
  • 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…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Should I Seat?

    December 15, 2021

    The Seagull’s Rest

    December 18, 2013

    Quis Custodiet…

    January 26, 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.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Access Denied

    June 1, 2015

    Get Ready, Set, Go

    February 2, 2022

    A Lamp in an Old Teather

    March 8, 2016
  • 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…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Late Afternoon Workers

    December 23, 2013

    The dilemma

    January 11, 2013

    An Attentive Listener

    July 18, 2014
123

Projects

  • Daily photo (1,397)
    • B&W (279)
    • Colour (1,104)
  • Daily Video (16)
  • Portfolio (2)
  • Projects (1,311)
    • Airport (15)
    • Bottles&Cups (12)
    • Cars&Bikes (42)
    • Chairs&Seats (19)
    • Cities (455)
      • Barcelona (16)
      • Boston (11)
      • Bruxelles (66)
      • Hamburg (3)
      • Helsinki (2)
      • Kyoto (2)
      • London (27)
      • Milan (50)
      • Nagasaki (2)
      • Nagoya (8)
      • New York (9)
      • Nikko (1)
      • Osaka (3)
      • Oslo (17)
      • Padua (1)
      • Paris (31)
      • Rome (147)
      • Stockholm (11)
      • Tokyo (28)
      • Tsukuba (2)
      • Venice (22)
      • Yokohama (1)
    • Court (23)
    • Landscape (99)
      • Beach&Shores (78)
    • Lines (19)
    • Marketing (5)
    • Moon (7)
    • Observer Bias (14)
    • Odds (21)
    • OutOfFocus (13)
    • Parks (6)
    • Past&Relics (57)
    • People (626)
      • Actors (16)
      • Artists (87)
      • Fighters (29)
      • Portraits (42)
    • Seasons (925)
      • Autumn (145)
      • Spring (185)
      • Summer (265)
      • Winter (350)
    • Shops (166)
      • Barber&HairStylist (1)
      • Bookstores (10)
      • Brand Stores (1)
      • Fashion Shops (16)
      • Garages&Labs (11)
      • Groceries (3)
      • Jewellery (3)
      • Patisserie (11)
      • Restaurants&Bar (92)
      • Street Markets (15)
      • Tobacconists (2)
    • Social Control (51)
    • Travels (19)
    • Urban Landscape (294)
      • Boulevards (12)
      • Bridges (7)
      • Buildings (23)
      • Docks (74)
      • Doors&Windows (26)
      • Downtown (29)
      • Exhibitions (11)
      • Fountains (6)
      • Garbage (17)
      • Gates&Fences (12)
      • Parks (21)
      • Streets&Squares (67)
      • Works (2)
    • Visual (67)
    • WideAngle (13)
  • Reportage (17)
  • Sport (71)
    • Beach Handball (1)
    • Beach Volley (5)
    • Billiard (1)
    • Body Builiding (1)
    • Cycling (1)
    • Fighting Disciplines (24)
    • Handball (2)
    • Kite Surf (4)
    • Road Running (1)
    • Roller Derby (1)
    • Rowing (2)
    • Shooting (11)
    • Skating (4)
    • Soccer (6)
    • Swimming (Fin) (1)
    • Track&Field (5)
  • Thoughts (228)
    • Gear (69)
    • Photo Journalism (6)
    • PhotoCritics (19)
    • Photography (64)
    • Street Photography (85)
    • Technique (30)
© 2025 Andrea Monti - all rights reserved