Seasons
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An Exercise in Composition (was: Rowing Boats)
Initially, I took this photo to document the poor state of a rowing teams’ dock. The idea was to praise the passion of this small group, who in the indifference of the general public, keep this discipline alive in a town, where soccer reigns supreme. However, when I saw the photo, it was the composition that attracted my attention: a classic example of the use of converging lines to drive the eye of the viewer. My only regret is that I failed to frame the small boat on the right, missing its bow. Had I been shooting digitally, I would have checked the result and retake the photo. Film, by…
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Iphone 15 Billboard in Via XX Settembre
This is an attempt to exploit the limitations of an orthocromatic film. Shadows and highlights were deliberately pushed, as was the contrast.
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The Expired Film Series – Episode 7 – Kodak Portra 160 – June 2015 shot in Oct. 2023
This is the seventh episode in a series documenting the use of expired film in various contexts. Episode 6 features a Kodak Portra 160 shot with a Canon Eos 1V and a Canon EF 50 1,8 at the Trofeo Judo Italia. The film was not overexposed, and processed with Affinity Photo 2 .
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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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二千円
The 2,000 yen note is something of a rarity even for the Japanese. As Japan is mainly a cash-based society (at least for everyday life), I made sure to carry enough money on my recent trip to the Kyushu region.The bank gave me a wad of brand new ¥2,000 notes, which were so unusual that they attracted the attention of many people I exchanged them with. The photo was taken with a КИЕВ 60 TTL and a волна 80/2.8, the film was a Ferrania P30.
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An Antique Shop in via Cadorna
The overall quality of the black and white rendition is acceptable. However, it is still necessary to find how achieve colour consistency in multiple DSLR-scan.
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A jam in via Alessandria
Taking pictures with a fully manual camera is a way to keep practising the basics. Honestly, I would not use a film camera for a professional assignment —at least, not as the main one— but it’s worth doing it in a less challenging condition.As per the technicalities, waiting for the next batch of Ferrania Orto to arrive, I resorted to a Kodak Tri-X 400 roll, which is my favourite film at these ISOs.
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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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Frank Gambale All Stars – Live@Teatro Marrucino
Rockol has just published a gallery with some of the photos I took at the Frank Gambale All Stars concert last 20 November.I’ve been a fan of Gambale’s for a long time and meeting him was a very nice experience: friend, easygoing, positive attitude despite the stress of the Italian tour: a great human being (and I can’t say the same about many of the ‘artists’ I’ve met in my career as a photographer and interpreter). On the technical side, the X-T4 and the lenses (Fujinon XF150-600 and an XF18-120) worked well. At ISO3200, the images have more than acceptable noise, which becomes almost invisible when the shadows are pushed.…
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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
This photo is an interesting representation of what it looks like to isolate oneself from one’s surroundings. In close proximity, inwardly each of the three people could not be further apart, each in a peculiar state of mind. The photo was taken with a Nikon 35TI and a Ferrania Orto in the Tokyo subway. Admittedly, the Orto is not the film of choice for street photography due to its harsh contrast and blue sensitivity. But then, rules are made to be broken, aren’t they?
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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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Red Beam
The Viltrox XF 85 F1.8 II is a very capable lens. Here is a shot taken with a Fuji X-T4 in difficult lighting conditions.
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Where to?
Unlike my previous shots, this is a ‘normal’ analogue image. The film – Ferrania P30 – was not expired and the camera was fully manual – a Voigtländer Bessa R2A with a Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35 1.4.
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Modern Moai?
Still pushing the Viltrox AF 56/1,4 XF on a Fuji X-T4.The limit has not been reached just yet.
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Questioning the Referee
Sports photography is all about the moment. Freezing the moments of success – a win, a comeback or a try – as well as failure – a miss, a fall or an injury – is what usually attracts photographers’ attention. But there are many other stories to be told during a competition, and the complex relationship between coaches and referees is one of the most interesting – and overlooked. In this picture, taken during a national judo tournament, I captured the moment when a referee decided to stop talking to a complaining coach. Technical note: I took this picture with a Pentax K-3 II and a Pentax DA* 80-200/2.8. Maybe…
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Floating
Another shot taken with the Viltrox 56/1,4 XF and a Fuji X-T4.
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Sailing Home
The quality of the Viltrox 56 1/4 XF never ceases to amaze me.This image was taken with an X-T4 at ISO1600, so the quality of the sensor plays a significant role in the overall result. However, as the lens is not supported in Affinity Photo 2, the image is wysiwyg in the sense that no profile-based corrections have been applied.
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When Venus meets the Moon
Taken handheld early in the morning with an X-T5 at full res, this picture pushes the XF 150-600 to its limits. The moon is decently exposed and captured with enough details. Venus, by contrast, is but a glitch in the sky.
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Serva padrona @ Teatro Marrucino
LED banding is a major problem when using electronic shutters, and the Fuji X-T4 and X-T5 are no exception. In the specific conditions of this piece, I found that setting the shutter speed below 1/100s tamed the problem. However, there is one major drawback: the number of ruined shots increases. This is particularly true of the moments when the actors are waving their limbs or moving randomly. In this case, the slower parts of the body remain in focus, while the peripheral parts do not. Unfortunately, there is still no post-production technique that can eliminate this problem, which makes it difficult to achieve usable results. Of course, using a mechanical…
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On Composition. Or: the eye sees what the mind is prepared to comprehend
This shot, taken during the Italian Road Running National Championships, is a fair application of the French philosopher Henri Bergson aphorism to composition: the eye sees what the mind is prepared to comprehend. In fact, although there is not a direct, cause-and-effect relationship between this image and renaissance painting, the learned observer may find some connection with works such as, for instance, Michelangelo’s Battaglia di Cascina. The connection between present and past may be loose, but this does not affect the principle. When I framed the shot I something ‘clicked’ in my mind and I instinctively decided to press the button. Photography (at least in all its variations, such as…
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The Expired Film Series – Episode 4 – Ferrania Solaris 100 – Dec. 2006 shot in August 2023
This is the fourth episode in a series documenting the use of expired film in various contexts. Episode 4 features a Ferrania Solaris 100 shot with a Voigtländer Vitoret DR and a Color Lanthar 50/2,8 in the vicinity of the sea of the city of Pescara (Abruzzi) .The film was overexposed by one stop as it is customary with expired film to allow more light to impress it.The results are just subpar, however the pictures have some sort of ‘individual’ trait.
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Red Moon at the end of August
Shot handheld (no tripod) with an X-T5 and a Fuji XF 150-600. Image stabilisation worked very well.
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HeadButt
Sometimes the difference between a pleasant result and just a plain wrong, missed photo may be challenging to tell.I took this picture years ago, during an MMA fight and, to be honest, I can not even remember framing and setting the camera accordingly for this shot. In other words, it happened almost by accident.The outcome is blurry and shaky, however, the overall result has a ‘painterly’ feel, almost like an ink sketch.
