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A coffee at Saint Eustachio’s
Saint Eustachio is not a place for rushed photography. Between the crush of customers, the warm glare off the coffee machines, and the tight spaces, you’ve got to work with precision — and patience. Using the Fuji X-E2 with a Zeiss Planar 50mm f/1.5, I knew this would be a manual focus game. Autofocus would have been hunting in the low light, and besides, the Planar has a way of rewarding the slowness it demands. I focused carefully on the barista’s eyes, knowing that at f/1.5 depth of field would be razor thin. He was completely absorbed in his work, and I wanted that concentration to be the anchor…
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Action! (beware of Fuji X-Pro 2)
I’ve shot this picture with a Fujifilm X-E2 and a Zeiss C Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM. The split-image manual focus confirmation worked properly (though with a strong light it’s more difficult to handle it) and the resulting file in term of size and quality is fairly satisfying. Enter the X-Pro2 with a bigger resolution and new RAW format. While a 24 Megapixel APS-C sensor creates file that can be handled by most of the computer currently in place, the new RAW format will require the latest Photoshop CC/Lightroom update. So, if you chose not to enter into the mud of a subscription-based software licensing model, all of a sudden you…
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Max Gazzè Tour 2016 Live @Pescara
For this reportage I’ve borrowed a Canon 5D Mk III coupled with a EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM and my Fuji X-E2 with the XF 18-55 f/2.8-4R LM OIS. Of course, I got no operational problems with the 5D (if you know how to overcome its limits) and the lens performed very good, but I must admit that I’ve been surprised by the quality of the X-E2 images, taken at ISO 3200. Does this means that is time to trash the Canon and go for a “Fuji-only” setup? I don’t think so, in particular if telephotos are a recurring presence in the jobs. True, now Fujifilm too has a…
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After a Tough Day
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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Should I Buy It? (Best Taken With an 85mm)
…but actually with a 23mm (35mm equivalent, cropped.) It’s not just a shopping street. It’s a stage. Look closer: this frame holds a silent performance — a subtle interplay of desire, decision, and doubt. Three women stand just outside the warmth of the boutique, their eyes fixed on mannequins who, ironically, seem far more confident than the living observers. The mannequin inside strikes a bold pose, clad in red and certainty. The women outside? Bundled in coats, their body language somewhere between ambivalence and negotiation. On the far left, another kind of window. A glowing child’s fantasy, plastered with Disney’s “Frozen” — a reminder of simpler times, when wanting something…
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The Watchman (Street-Photography Shortcuts)
As every thing under the sun, Street-Photography too has its own shortcuts: freaky street-portraits are one of those. It’s easy to have your pictures noticed when your subject is a 60-years old Brit-Punk, an implausible-color dressed man or whatever alike: these subjects do the work on your behalf and it is very hard to obtain such kind of picture AND conveying actual meaning. Personally I like photos that – alone or made meaningful by a title – can tell a story. This way I can try to (pretend to) make “unique” shots, that stand with dignity in front of the zillions of 500px/Instagram/Flickr’s great images that are often perfect but…
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True Leather (Saved by Photoshop’s Crop)
A 35mm focal length is definitely much too wide for my kind of street-photography, but I must admit that the advantages of using a Fujifilm X100s in terms of efficiency and portability, beat any other issue related to the wideness of the lens. And the X100s’ resolution is good enough to obtain a good composition through Photoshop’s crop feature.
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Fujifilm X-Pro 2: Does It Worth It? (Lost In Via Del Corso)
As a Fujifilm camera early adopter (during time I got the X-pro 1, X100, X100s, X-E1 and X-E2) I was waiting for the X-Pro 2 to come and when that finally happened I didn’t feel so compelled to trash my (now) old cameras to do the switch. Long gone are the days of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), so I shall not buy this new piece of electronics because it doesn’t do anything that I can’t do with my actual set up (in particular, with the X100s and the X-E2.) The only actual point of interest, to me, are the dual-slot card and the weather sealed body: but I never needed…
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Last Puff Before the Ride
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Busy
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Earbuds
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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One Coffee
The man was seated comfortably in the outdoor café, not in a hurry, holding a small cup of espresso with the ease of someone for whom this ritual is long-established. His posture—leg crossed, coat unbuttoned just enough, scarf tucked in with care—suggested familiarity rather than performance. What interested me most was the way he occupied the space. He wasn’t watching the street or waiting for company; he was simply present. The café terrace around him was active—people talking, a stroller being adjusted, the waitress passing through in mid-step—but his stillness formed the quiet centre of the frame. It’s not stillness as in isolation, but stillness within movement.
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The Coffin
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A (Out-of-Focus) Break Between Lunch and Supper
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On the Range
Some photographs work because of what they don’t show. This one places us directly behind the central figure, hands clasped loosely at the back, body framed squarely in the centre of the image. The ear protection, branded shooting vest, and steady stance make it clear we’re at a firing range, but the subject’s face — and therefore any emotional cue — is withheld. We are instead invited to take in the scene from their perspective, sharing their field of vision, yet also remaining an observer of them. Compositionally, the image uses depth effectively. The open car boot in the middle ground, with its blurred figure in white, provides a counterpoint…
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Perfectly Framed
Shot mid-morning, full sun. The geometry did the work before I raised the camera—white steel structure aligned perfectly with the vanishing line of the tiled path. I didn’t move to exaggerate it. I centred and waited. The figure stepped into place on her own. No staging, no instruction. The image hinges on alignment. Horizon dead flat. Frame edges square. The walkway pulls the eye through sand to sea, leading to the human anchor: black silhouette, back turned, red scarf cutting the blue. She’s secondary in scale but critical in balance. Focus was locked on the frame structure. Aperture at f/8 gave enough depth to keep the figure and horizon legible…
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A Modern Orpheus
Shot in a southern Italian city on a humid evening, this frame owes as much to the ambient noise as it does to light. The man with the guitar wasn’t playing to be heard. He was playing because he had to—sitting on his amp, cables like roots spilling out beneath him. What I saw through the viewfinder was not a performer, but a figure entirely absorbed, distanced from the crowd that had only half noticed he was even there. The Orphic analogy came naturally—not out of romanticism, but necessity. Like the myth, he’s turned away from the world, pleading into the void for something irretrievable. His face is hidden, not…
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Belgian Chocolate – Godiva
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The Jewels Sale
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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Belgian Chocolate – Neuhaus
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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Glancing Books In A Brussels’Night
A casual walk in a Brussels’early evening, wandering through the old streets near the city centre. The light from a comic-book shop window cut into the dark pavement like a beacon. Inside, Tintin, Snowy, and the bright spines of Hergé’s world stood stacked and waiting — nostalgia perfectly lit for passers-by. Then a man stopped with his bicycle, leaning slightly toward the glass. He didn’t enter; he only looked — half-curious, half-distracted. The glow of the display made him a silhouette, almost part of the window’s composition. His reflection blended with the books, erasing the boundary between observer and story. For a moment, the scene assembled itself.
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Fancy a Beer?
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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Sweet Dilemma
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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Buying Chocolate
