Andrea Monti

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  • 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…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Never Trust the Autofocus (not only) in Street-Photography

    July 20, 2013

    Silhouettes@Osaka Castle

    June 12, 2018

    Caught In The Act… Almost

    October 4, 2018
  • 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.…

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Seagull’s Rest

    December 18, 2013

    (Not so) Intelligent Design

    October 26, 2018

    Black Cat

    October 31, 2021
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Milan,  Winter

    Technogym Milan@Night

    April 3, 2022 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Burnt

    November 12, 2021

    A relic from the (recent) past

    April 30, 2013

    Uchi-Mata

    November 8, 2014
  • 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…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Santino’s Photo& Video at Broadway

    August 7, 2014

    Between Two Sets

    May 15, 2014

    Conversation

    September 14, 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…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Los Niños y El Tocaor

    October 30, 2017

    Intelligence Contest

    April 15, 2017

    Under the Bridge

    November 6, 2013
  • 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…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Alone

    December 31, 2017

    Luggages

    April 20, 2019

    Switch

    December 18, 2014
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People

    Posing at Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

    October 1, 2018 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Self-Defense

    July 27, 2013

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

    April 30, 2023

    Stairway to Nothing

    March 9, 2014
  • Cities,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Social Control,  Winter

    The Quiet Riot

    November 19, 2017 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Passage Lost

    August 9, 2014

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

    May 8, 2024

    A Ferrari 812 GTS in Boston

    July 14, 2023
  • 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…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Lost Bag

    December 8, 2016

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

    November 4, 2023

    Framed

    November 26, 2015
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Milan

    Late Evening Break In Piazza Dante

    October 21, 2017 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    An inconvenient way to spend time.

    March 15, 2013

    An Old Wi(n)dow

    November 17, 2014

    Rest under a tree

    May 31, 2013
  • 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,…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Modern Times

    January 6, 2013

    Who Is The Machine?

    August 5, 2019

    Hard Stare

    April 26, 2016
  • 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.

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Standup Paddleboarder

    August 25, 2014

    Claws of Fire

    September 27, 2017

    Red Tears

    June 7, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  Restaurants&Bar,  Winter

    Reflexes

    December 30, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    A comfortable chair

    November 8, 2013

    Suspicious

    September 8, 2013

    Waiting for the Shinkansen – 2

    June 30, 2017
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  Reportage,  Winter

    Labcoats

    December 28, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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

    December 8, 2015

    Red Wine Makes Good Blood…

    April 27, 2014

    Late for Lunch

    March 26, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Winter

    Last Puff Before the Ride

    December 26, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    A manual-focus atteimpt on a moving target

    July 26, 2013

    Trespassed

    May 3, 2015

    Three Tires

    May 18, 2022
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Restaurants&Bar,  Winter

    Busy

    December 24, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Sleep Wins

    August 30, 2013

    Right before the gig

    September 14, 2018

    Oops!

    July 4, 2014
  • 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…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Kite Surfing, Again

    February 19, 2017

    Lost in Le Puglie

    December 2, 2015

    Alfa (1750) … Dog

    July 25, 2015
  • Colour,  Milan,  OutOfFocus,  People,  Restaurants&Bar,  Summer

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

    December 8, 2015 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Silent Listeners

    December 27, 2013

    A Lockheed C-130 Hercules

    January 31, 2021

    The Unconvinced Listener

    June 25, 2014
  • 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…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Canon EOS-M. Useless for Street-Photography

    March 28, 2013

    Relax At The Rapallo’s Marina

    August 2, 2014

    A Green Patch

    August 26, 2014
  • 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…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Is Batman Coming To Town?

    December 2, 2017

    It’s always the right time

    February 17, 2013

    Do Not Touch

    June 5, 2013
  • 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.

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    London Panning

    December 30, 2013

    The Driver

    August 8, 2015

    Inside the Elevator

    May 9, 2014
  • 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…

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    Underground Security RA(T)P

    June 5, 2015

    Crowd Control

    July 16, 2013

    Full Moon

    September 30, 2018
  • 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.

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Blue Vespa

    November 3, 2014

    Hanging Clothes

    February 18, 2014

    The Answer is On the Wall

    August 28, 2020
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Restaurants&Bar,  Winter

    Message Check Before Breakfast

    December 12, 2014 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Trento, After Dark

    June 23, 2013

    Barbarians At the Beach

    August 30, 2021

    The Watchman (Street-Photography Shortcuts)

    January 21, 2016
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