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Labour Spilling Into Transit Time
The underground systems in Tokyo, where this photo was taken during rush hours, offer countless opportunities to take interesting photos. It’s no surprise that coaches and platforms are an irresistible temptation especially for foreign photographers. Like every other first-time visitor, years ago I indulged in taking a few pictures in this environment, which, as often happens with photos taken by non-locals, were pretty similar in concept and composition to countless others. This is why I slowed down and tried to make sense of a photo before taking it (not only in Japanese underground). Sometimes, indeed, impromptu shooting works, but you have to be in a state of grace to actually…
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Ceci N’Est Pas Une Junior (or, Cognitive Dissonance – Part Two)
I took this photo last November while exploring a less touristy area of Tokyo: Ikebukuro. I went there hoping to see a limited edition Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, which was supposed to be on display at an official Alfa Romeo dealership. Unfortunately, the Quadrifoglio wasn’t there and the dealer was closed, too. So, the only option left to save the day was to take pictures of whatever could be seen through the windows. Peeping inside, though, I didn’t expect to find anything interesting in a car dealership, but I was wrong.
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How Nissan Crossing Has Changed Over Time
As a petrolhead, I always make a point of visiting Nissan Crossing whenever I’m in Tokyo, even if only for a few hours or half a day. Situated in Ginza, one of Tokyo’s most exclusive districts, Nissan Crossing is an open space in which the car manufacturer displays its concept cars and premium models.
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Relentless – A One Shot Story
When in Tokyo, I don’t go to Shibuya unless I have a specific errand to run. Least of the usual ‘things are not what they used to be’ lament, the place never struck me as it deserved more than a cursory glance. This time, however, I had a specific photographic objective: to capture the Shibuya backdrop, i.e. things and people that keep the place running ‘smoothly’ which are in plain sight but go unnoticed by tourists, residents and passers-by. Crowd management and safety control are two such things.
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On Film Simulation or ‘is fiction more real than reality, and why should we care?’
Simulations have turned an inevitable fact —using the chosen brand and type of film for an entire roll— into an aesthetic tool allowing the selection of the most appropriate image rendition for each single exposure. Using simulations is like having all the different kinds of film in the same roll with all the convenience of digital technology, opening a huge number of creative possibilities. Initially published on 35mmc.com This is what the standard marketing claims for software simulations are based upon, but is that actually so? As a matter of fact, the answer is yes, but if we look at the matter from a different perspective, we should consider some…
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DSLR-like…?
I decided to write this post after having stumbled across the next ethusiast review of a smartphone published on a reputable magazine, claiming that the device can deliver ‘DSLR-like’ photos. In fact, as is often the case with ‘camera experts’ who work for a magazine or earn money by posting videos making funny faces on social networks, it was just a rewrite of the manufacturer’s product specifications and promotional material. There are few things, in photography, I dislike more than than these ‘DSLR-like’ claims made in the advertising of smartphones and compact cameras because ‘DSLR-like’ is the archetype of a meaningless statement made to lure people into using an arbitrary benchmark…
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5 Frames with various cameras – Ferrari On The Road(s)
Sports car photography usually happens in specific settings such as motorshows, official events, race tracks etc., where lights, crowds, fences and limited access to restricted areas are an issue. Doing the same on the street, however, is no less challenging as things happen unpredictably and, unless taking photograph of parked vehicles, there is no time to compose – Initially published on 35mmc.com In this photograph of a Ferrari F8 Tributo, the framing makes the car the focal point, and even though the door on the left adds a bit of visual clutter, it doesn’t detract from the overall result. The following image illustrate the trade-offs of reacting in real time…
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A Japanese Luthier and a Fingerstyle Player from My Home Region (and My Past) – A One shot story
I took this photo at GuitarPlanet, in the Ochanomizu district of Tokyo, because I was intrigued by the different bracing of the guitars’ lower backs. The picture in itself has no particular value, but on closer inspection it revealed a story linking a musical instrument, a Japanese luthier, a region of Italy (Abruzzi) and my past. – Initially published on 35mmc.com Pixel-peeping the photo, I noticed that the lower back in the middle bears the mark of Morris Guitar, a renowned Japanese acoustic manufacturer. The name rang a bell, so I went to their website to see what caught my eye. After some wandering around I landed on the page listing the…
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Colour, Daily photo, Downtown, Nagasaki, Osaka, Photography, Streets&Squares, Thoughts, Tokyo, Travels, Yokohama
Why You Should Only Shoot in Your Backyard (or ‘The Art of Belonging’)
What do these pictures have in common (apart from having been taken in various places in Japan)? No, they don’t have the same look and feel, composition or use of light, nor they convey a particular meaning. What they have in common is that they’re just dull and boring —meaningless, indeed. This picture of the Yokohama’s Chinatown Dragon is hardly different than the others available on the Internet. Initially published on 35mmc.com It shares a similar fate with this one, taken last Mid November in Osaka, and, as Google Lens mercylessly shows, with this one, shot in Omura, near Nagasaki. One can hardly say that this is a never-seen-before view of Tokyo’s Kyu-Shiba-rikyū Gardens, or of…
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Creativity vs Originality
Is the photo above creative? Is it original? Well… yes and no. It is certainly original because I ‘in person’ took it, and it is creative because – regardless of the aesthetic result – I took the time to arrange all the elements (composition, light, etc.) in a coherent moment —and I have the film negative to prove it. On the other hand, it is neither original —as in ‘unique’— nor creative because the same photo can be found here and maybe elsewhere on the Internet. Obviously, the linked photo it is not ‘the’ same as mine, because it is clear that they were taken at different times and places (mine was…
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Different Stories
Taking ‘static’ pictures, such as those of buildings and other architectural structures, can be quite challenging, as it is easy to fall into obvious, already seen compositions that rob the shot of any individuality.One of the things that can make an otherwise dull image more interesting is the presence of some kind of action that blends in with the stillness of the environment.In this case, the woman on the phone is in exactly the same position as the model on the billboard. Only they are telling two different stories.
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As Seen on Ferrania Film’ Stories section…
A selection of the pictures I took this year in Boston and Tokyo has been published on the official Film Ferrania website, in the ‘Stories’ section.
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Ghosts of Ginza
Another shot from my last visit to Japan, taken with a Nikon 35TI and a Ferrania Orto in the corridors of the Ginza subway station, Tokyo.
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Isolation in Public Spaces
Tokyo’s subway is rarely empty, yet in the press of bodies and the blur of passing stations, solitude often asserts itself. This frame was made with a Nikon 35TI, paired with Ferrania Orto, whose orthochromatic palette brings a certain austerity to the scene. The absence of red sensitivity pulls skin tones toward pallor and renders signage and advertising in a flatter, more subdued register — perfect for distilling a moment that’s more about psychological distance than geographical setting. The composition is anchored on a single figure, set against the geometry of the carriage interior. Lines from windows, doors, and grab rails intersect in a way that almost corrals the subject,…
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An experiment with Dall-E, ChatGPT and a Nissan S8
This is an experiment based on a picture of a Nissan S8 taken at the Nissan Crossing in Ginza.First, I asked Dall-E to describe what he ‘sees’. Then I started asking questions to locate the place where the showroom should be, being careful not to give any hints.ChatGPT did not give a correct answer on the first try, but eventually it did. Me: Describe this photo ChatGPT: This photo features a futuristic-looking race car displayed indoors, presumably within a showroom or an exhibition space. The car is designed with an aggressive aerodynamic shape, with large, protruding front winglets and an expansive rear wing, characteristic of high-speed, high-performance vehicles, possibly a…
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Nittele Tower
This photograph was taken on the move, from the Tokyo Monorail, aimed at the glass façade of Nittele Tower. Shooting through layers — the monorail’s own window and the tower’s reflective panels — created a composition that is equal parts interior, exterior, and abstraction. The grid of the building’s structure acts as both frame and subject, compartmentalising the scene into individual vignettes where people, staircases, and architectural lines intersect. The DA* 16-50 on the K-5 handled the mix of reflections and transparency better than I anticipated. Exposure was tricky: the overcast light outside diffused evenly, while the building’s interior lighting added warm pockets of contrast. I kept the balance slightly…
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Tsutaya Bookstore@Ginza
Photographed inside the Tsutaya Bookstore in Ginza, Tokyo, this image celebrates the bookstore as a curated stage, where books are not simply stored but presented as artefacts. The frame is dense yet controlled, offering layer upon layer of shelves, display tables, and oversized art books. The eye is immediately drawn to the centre, where a large black-and-white wildlife photograph dominates—its scale and high contrast making it the de facto anchor of the composition. CompositionThe photographer has worked with a classic layered approach. Foreground tables angle toward the viewer, drawing them deeper into the mid-ground where the hero book sits open, and then further into the background shelves which fill the…
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A Sad Cat in a Neko Cafè
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StreetPizza@Ueno Park
I took this photograph during a humid summer afternoon in Ueno Park, Tokyo, a few metres away from the art museums and temples that draw both locals and tourists. Amid the buzz of the park’s cultural gravity, I was drawn instead to this fleeting vignette of street food preparation—quiet, unassuming, yet visually dense. What first caught my eye was the can of tomato pulp, “A Pummarola ‘Ncopp,” planted squarely in the middle of the frame like an improvised totem. Its bold Neapolitan red, combined with the colloquial script and graphic of tomatoes, adds a deliberate contrast to the surrounding functional, almost makeshift textures. Everything else in the composition plays a…
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Shrinking Knowledge Into A Small Brain
The composition presented itself almost too perfectly: two heavy book presses clamped around vintage volumes, framed by old clocks, writing tools, and artefacts of once-essential objects. It was in a display window of Itoya Ginza—a stationery temple in Tokyo—and the irony wasn’t subtle. Books literally compressed, as time ticks above them. Nothing staged, everything intentional. I shot this straight on to preserve the museum-like symmetry. The verticals are deliberate: spines, handles, clock faces, and the clean architectural grid outside. The lighting inside was soft but layered—enough to pull texture out of the pressed leather bindings and chrome bolts. ISO pushed slightly to handle shadows beneath the glass shelf, but noise…
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A (Tokyo) Taxi Driver
I caught this frame mid-morning, in Tokyo’s Minato ward, just as the light turned hard and directional. The geometry of the taxi stopped at a crossing gave me a textbook profile—clean lines, bold colour, and a perfectly lit subject behind glass. But it’s the stillness that made me press the shutter. The driver, upright, masked, motionless, waiting. Not just for the green light, but within his own geometry of routine. This is a city known for velocity, and yet here he sits—disciplined, stoic, almost ceremonial in posture. The orange livery and chequered band recall a different decade, and with the crisp white gloves and lace seat covers, the car itself…
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Pizza Maker@Ueno’s Park
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Shin Pepper@Harajuku
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Yet Another Tokyo Tower Nightshot
It’s a cliché, and it knows it. Tokyo Tower, photographed countless times from every angle, under every sky, in every season. And yet—here it is again, demanding to be seen. This frame sidesteps the usual postcard treatment. Shot from below, the tower’s latticework bursts upward into the night, slicing through blackness with an almost aggressive geometry. The steel glows in saturated reds and yellows, while electric blue dots climb its spine like frozen sparks. The colour contrast is jarring, theatrical, impossible to ignore. What makes it work is the tilt. The camera’s skewed perspective turns the familiar into something unstable, almost vertiginous. The structure seems to lean, to lurch forward,…
