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Andrea Monti

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  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Parks,  Reportage,  Social Control,  Winter

    Just a Soccer Field… Part 1

    February 3, 2014 /

    Just a soccer field… the only place where freedom lasts, but just for the time of a match.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Floating Flower

    May 19, 2015

    Somewhere in Japan

    May 19, 2014

    The Actor’s Nightmare

    August 3, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Visual,  Winter

    In-Eye

    February 2, 2014 /

    Photography has a curious way of leading the mind into patterns — an instinctive search for meaning, even when none exists. We are hardwired to interpret shapes and juxtapositions, to anthropomorphise objects, to find faces in clouds and stories in shadows. This image is one such case: a seemingly simple shot of a ship seen through a weathered window, yet the geometry conspires to suggest something far more figurative. Here, the diamond-shaped porthole becomes an eyelid, its corroded frame the brow, and beyond it, the bow of the ship forms an unmistakable iris and pupil. It’s a quiet trick of composition — one I noticed only after the fact —…

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Spanish Sense of Flesh – 1

    June 26, 2014

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

    November 4, 2023

    Shooting Sanda (Chinese Kickboxing) Bouts

    June 26, 2025
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Photography,  Winter

    Good Idea

    January 31, 2014 /

    … bad execution. The shot would have been acceptable if the head of the fisherman had the sky as a background instead of the bow.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Editing a photo taken with a Carl Zeiss Jena 135/4 Sonnar and a Fuji X-T3

    February 8, 2023

    Empty Chairs in the Tuileries

    October 19, 2013

    The Silent Geometry of a Trabocco

    December 22, 2022
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Docks,  People,  Winter

    Against the Tide

    January 30, 2014 /

    There’s a stillness in this frame that caught me before I even thought about the technical side. A lone figure on a bicycle, paused at the edge of the pier, framed by the unbroken horizon and the muted textures of concrete and water. The light is soft, almost hesitant — no harsh shadows, no dazzling highlights — as if the scene itself wanted to remain understated. I worked to keep the composition balanced but not too neat. The lamp post on the right anchors the image without overpowering it, while the figure sits almost at the centre, enough to draw the eye but still letting the expanse of sea and…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Close up of an Ethnic Chessboard

    September 1, 2018

    Servicing a Sig Sauer P226

    December 16, 2017

    The Calm Newsreader

    July 4, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Winter

    W Verdi

    January 29, 2014 /

    Milan rewards you when you walk slowly. I turned a corner and found a living quotation mark to a poster: an elderly man paused beneath a billboard of a stern, bearded face—Giuseppe Verdi by way of contemporary graphic design. The likeness was uncanny enough to make the old slogan in my head—Viva Verdi—mutate into “W Verdi,” a wink at how public imagery and real life can rhyme. I built the frame around that rhyme. The poster anchors the top-right quadrant while the man occupies the lower-left, a diagonal conversation that keeps the eye ping-ponging across the picture. I left generous negative space to let the pairing breathe; too tight and…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Trick or Treat?

    June 14, 2013

    Under the Heat Of Rome…

    June 26, 2018

    Behind the Beer

    December 26, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Garbage,  Milan,  Winter

    Lost Cigarettes at Piazza Affari

    January 22, 2014 /

    The Milan Stock-Exchange is just closed, another stressful day is gone, so are the cigarettes. The Milan Stock Exchange has just closed. Another day of trading — of numbers, speculation, tension, and relief — is over. The square begins to exhale. The crowds thin, footsteps fade, and the traces of human presence remain in small, almost invisible ways. Here, in a shallow puddle on the cobblestones of Piazza Affari, the day’s residue is quietly recorded: cigarette butts, scraps, and the inverted grandeur of a neoclassical façade. I was drawn to the way the water held both the building’s form and the detritus of the day in a single frame. The reflection, sharp…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Should I Stay or Should I Go?

    November 29, 2013

    Countersniping

    February 7, 2014

    Not A Photography Anymore

    September 22, 2014
  • Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Winter

    Let’s get the party started…

    January 20, 2014 /

    Fishing boats have a way of announcing themselves well before they reach the harbour wall. The sound of the engine carries over the water, but it’s the birds that really give them away — a moving cloud of wings and calls, circling, swooping, waiting for the scraps that will inevitably be thrown overboard. This shot catches the “Nuova Zita” in that precise moment of return, driving straight toward me, bow cutting through the water, foam rising in a perfect V. I chose a dead-centre composition, a choice some might consider too rigid, but here it felt essential. The boat’s symmetry — red trim framing the white hull, the vertical mast…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Norwegian Suits

    October 15, 2014

    Gary O’ Toole

    July 15, 2017

    A coffee at Saint Eustachio’s

    February 4, 2016
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Winter

    The Guardian

    January 19, 2014 /

    Not scaring as a Pitbull would, but still deserving to be handled with care… He didn’t move. Not even when I approached with the camera. Not even when I paused to adjust the lens. He just stared—calm, unblinking, sure of his place. This photo was taken outside a closed wooden structure. Maybe a seasonal shack, maybe a beachside store. The railings were weathered, the wood silvered by sun and salt. Everything about the setting felt unfinished, in-between. Except for him. The black cat sat at the centre like he’d been assigned the role. Not hiding, not curious—just there. Positioned perfectly in the geometry of the fence, flanked by empty space…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Creativity vs Originality

    March 11, 2024

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

    December 8, 2015

    Stylish

    March 16, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  People,  Winter

    Late Night Arrival at Bertinoro’s Castle

    January 15, 2014 /

    There’s something about fog that eats light and sound in equal measure. At Bertinoro that night, the mist rolled in thick and silent, swallowing the medieval walls until they were no more than looming shapes. The only figure breaking the gloom was this woman, striding toward the castle gate with a purpose that suggested she hoped — perhaps against reason — that someone inside might still be awake. I shot this in black and white not as an afterthought, but because the scene demanded it. Colour would have been irrelevant here — the atmosphere was all about tonal gradation, shadow, and grain. Yes, grain. This isn’t the crisp, low-noise look…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Ceci n’est pas un cadre

    December 29, 2013

    Posing at Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

    October 1, 2018

    A Master Luthier in his lab…

    May 14, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  New York,  People,  Spring

    Leaving The Actor’s Studio

    January 14, 2014 /

    No, the title is not a misspell. To perform as a true artist, the Actors Studio must actually become an actor’s studio. Shot handheld on a cold night in New York, I framed this outside the famous 44th Street façade of The Actors Studio. What drew me wasn’t the name, but the irony held in the glow above the door. Big, institutional lettering—THE ACTORS STUDIO—brightly lit, looming. Yet below it, a single man stands, barely visible, caught in the diffused downlight from the marquee. It wasn’t staged. He just was there—half-shadowed, alone, waiting. Technically, this is a push to the edge. ISO was high, grain heavy. Shadows crush into black. Highlights…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Kristina Miller live@Teatro Marrucino

    February 21, 2022

    The Smoke Teacher

    July 1, 2013

    Raus

    May 12, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  New York,  Spring,  Streets&Squares

    The Lost Battle

    January 11, 2014 /

    Against the New York traffic, the controllers themselves, contended in vain.

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    Andrea Monti

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    What lasts after a party…

    April 25, 2013

    Vinyl Never Dies

    September 2, 2013

    TicTacToe

    September 1, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Winter

    Fisherman’s Friend

    January 10, 2014 /

    When the course is set back to the dock, especially at night, there is no better companion than the reassuring glow of the harbour’s twin beacons. These masts, painted in unmistakable red and green, have long served as silent guides, their geometry as familiar to mariners as the constellations above. This photograph, titled Fisherman’s Friend, plays not only on a brand name but on the enduring role of such structures in the choreography of safe returns. From a compositional standpoint, the image centres on the red mast, giving it commanding presence against a pastel-hued evening sky. The placement is deliberate—slightly forward and to the left of the green twin in…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Somewhere in Japan

    May 19, 2014

    Secret Beyond the Door

    October 24, 2013

    Waiting for the Shinkansen – 1

    June 25, 2017
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Winter

    Life And Work On A Fishing Boat

    January 9, 2014 /

    I took this just before dusk in a working harbour, where boats aren’t romanticised—they’re tools, piled with other tools, patched, rusted, functional. Riviera isn’t posing. It’s docked, burdened with skiffs, plastic crates, folded nets, and the quiet fatigue of a long shift at sea. The composition pushes tight against the frame, stacking hulls on hulls, blocking any clear horizon. The visual noise—cables, ropes, red crane arm—disrupts the scene enough to pull you into its clutter. The sky, soft and forgiving in the background, does little to alleviate the heaviness of the vessel. That contrast matters. Technically, the image holds despite the mixed lighting. The fading day cast a bluish tint…

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Gull, Posing

    June 17, 2022

    Shooting the Shooter…

    February 12, 2013

    TKO

    May 8, 2019
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Patisserie,  Winter

    What an Elegant Chocolatier!

    January 6, 2014 /

    Brussels wears its chocolate heritage like a badge of honour, and this image captures that sense of refinement and indulgence with a quietly cinematic touch. The composition is cleverly split between the interior glow of the shop and the poised figure outside. The chocolatier, dressed in an understated but impeccably tailored suit, stands just beyond the threshold, his profile framed by the shop’s edge. The counterpoint to his form is the rich, inviting display of chocolates, boxes, and ribboned confections bathed in warm light inside. This juxtaposition — cool tones on the left, warm tones on the right — creates both visual and thematic tension: the disciplined elegance of the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Soul Of Politics

    July 17, 2014

    The Ferrania Film Series – Episode 1 – Ferrania Orto shot on October/November 2023

    August 7, 2024

    St. Peter in Background

    December 5, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Landscape,  Winter

    Through the Fog

    January 5, 2014 /

    The scene presented itself with no warning — one of those rare occasions where nature performs and the only real challenge is not missing the moment. I was walking through the hills when the mist thickened just enough to conceal and reveal in equal measure. What compelled me to stop wasn’t the tree, nor the fog, but the tension introduced by the artificial red plastic line cutting across the landscape — mundane, even ugly, yet unavoidably dominant in the composition. Framing this shot required restraint. Too wide, and the mood would dissipate. Too tight, and the context would vanish. The key lay in placing the tree just off-centre, allowing the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Caparezza – Live@Palamaggetti Roseto degli Abruzzi

    February 12, 2018

    What Are You Looking At?

    June 19, 2014

    Tattoos in Barcelona

    August 18, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Visual,  Winter

    Blob

    January 4, 2014 /

    I definitely have a thing for fountains…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

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    Multiple Meaning

    December 10, 2013

    Hard Worker

    February 9, 2014

    Busy (again)

    February 2, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Landscape,  Winter

    Welcome in the Twilight Zone

    January 3, 2014 /

    I wasn’t sure whether I was just coming down or entering into the Twilight Zone…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

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    Turiddu repeals Santuzza

    November 19, 2022

    Learning to Shoot Boxing Matches

    July 18, 2024

    On Photography and Self-Delusion

    September 4, 2022
  • B&W,  Beach&Shores,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Photography,  Winter

    The Hasselblad Way

    January 2, 2014 /

      As the readers of this blog know, I seldom talk about gear because since the very first post on this blog I made a point of stay focused on (shooting) pictures instead of musing about pointless technicalities such as Camera A vs Camera B ISO performance, Lens X vs Lens Y sharpness, APS-C vs Full Frame and so on, but today I do an exception because of an old Hasselbld 500 C/M that I have been given to try (and that probably will buy.) There is only one way to shoot with a Hasselblad: following its rule. The film has to be loaded in a certain way, the magazine…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Fisherman’s Friend

    January 10, 2014

    On the Edge of the World

    April 22, 2014

    @Rome Maker Faire – 6. A Statue(?)

    October 21, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  London,  Visual,  Winter

    London Panning

    December 30, 2013 /

    Pure Luck. Sometimes happens.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

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    Snorkeling

    August 24, 2014

    An inconvenient way to spend time.

    March 15, 2013

    Portrait of a Politician – 2

    June 15, 2014
  • Bottles&Cups,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Restaurants&Bar,  Winter

    Behind the Beer

    December 26, 2013 /

    Behind the beer’s sockets, a barman discretely fulfills the order placed by his clients.

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Zen Garden?

    February 22, 2014

    The Spectators

    August 19, 2017

    Tired or Fascinated?

    October 21, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  London,  Street Markets,  Winter

    Christmas Time at Covent Garden

    December 25, 2013 /

    I caught this moment at Covent Garden during the run-up to Christmas—a place already soaked in atmosphere, now further steeped in the low murmur of seasonal anticipation. The light was dimming, not quite golden hour, but soft enough to let the scene breathe. Shot with the Leica M9, the CCD sensor rendered the colours with that particular tonal grit that makes digital files feel almost filmic. You can sense the density of the blacks without them ever falling into shadow-mud. What first caught my eye was the woman in the red coat. Not just the brightness of the garment—which naturally draws the eye—but the posture, the precise angle of the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Passage Lost

    August 9, 2014

    Portrait of a Judo Master

    November 14, 2013

    Just a Bench (or a Sacrificial Altar?)

    January 11, 2017
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Winter

    A Curious Bystander

    December 24, 2013 /

    Rue de la Regence, at night. A fast pace calls the attention of a bystander.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

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    L’estate sta finendo…

    September 13, 2013

    Stantsted Lounge’s Chairs

    December 31, 2013

    Hammer and Sickle

    April 27, 2015
  • B&W,  Bruxelles,  Buildings,  Cities,  Daily photo,  Urban Landscape,  Winter

    Late Afternoon Workers

    December 23, 2013 /

    At Place de la Monnaie, in Bruxelles, late-afternoon workers look their life go by, while the rest of the world, enjoy the fun. This photo felt less like a building and more like a roll of exposed film. Fifteen windows, side by side. Fifteen little theatres. The framing is perfect—not by accident, but by architecture. A row of lives unfolding under fluorescent light. You can almost hear the hum. Some rooms are empty. Some are dim. In a few, people remain—cleaning up, wrapping gifts, turning off screens. There are Christmas trees, forgotten chairs, coats slung over partitions. And above all, stillness. Each window holds its own shot. Unrelated, disconnected. A…

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Dangerous Alley

    May 25, 2013

    An Old Lady in Great Shape

    September 23, 2014

    Everything is ready for the service

    July 2, 2013
  • Bookstores,  Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Winter

    A Bookstore in the Gallery

    December 22, 2013 /

    Taken in Bruxelles with a Leica M9, this photograph is as much about the atmosphere of a winter evening as it is about the subject itself. The bookseller, wrapped in a red scarf, is absorbed in the simple act of handling a book — a gesture that feels timeless, insulated from the passing crowd outside. The “Joyeuses Fêtes” decoration strung above her offers a seasonal frame, hinting at the warmth inside against the cold beyond the window. The composition is direct and frontal, using the shelves of books as both background and structure. The vertical and horizontal lines create order, their rhythm occasionally broken by a tilted spine or a…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Waiting For A Customer To Come

    July 27, 2014

    @ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Female Rowing Team

    October 25, 2015

    Last Puff Before the Ride

    December 26, 2015
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