• Home
  • Daily photo
  • Colour
  • B&W
  • Landscape
  • Cities
  • People
  • Sport
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Conctact
Andrea Monti

Photos, not gear

  • Home
  • Daily photo
  • Colour
  • B&W
  • Landscape
  • Cities
  • People
  • Sport
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Conctact
Menu
  • Home
  • Daily photo
  • Colour
  • B&W
  • Landscape
  • Cities
  • People
  • Sport
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Conctact
  • Home
  • Daily photo
  • Colour
  • B&W
  • Landscape
  • Cities
  • People
  • Sport
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Conctact

No Widgets found in the Sidebar Alt!

  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Rome,  Streets&Squares

    5 (improbable) Frames with a roll of Ferrania Orto and a Nikon 35TI

    February 28, 2024 /

    The photographer is a peculiar type of social being, characterised by a ‘rules are meant to be broken’ attitude in the search for the perfect exposure. So, sooner or later, all the dogmas about composition, hyperfocal, zone system, rule of thirds, etc. will be put aside to try something ‘different’. This is what happened with these five images, taken at night in Piazza Venezia and Via Salaria in Rome with a Ferrania Orto on a Nikon 35TI; a rather strange choice given the inherent limitations of an orthocromatic film and a 2,8 35mm lens of a compact camera in this scenario. Against all odds the 35TI performed well (especially in…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Sleep Wins

    August 30, 2013

    (Not so) Intelligent Design

    October 26, 2018

    DSLR film scanning: episode three

    January 24, 2023
  • Autumn,  B&W,  Boulevards,  Daily photo,  Marketing,  Rome,  Seasons,  Urban Landscape

    Iphone 15 Billboard in Via XX Settembre

    February 14, 2024 /

    This is an attempt to exploit the limitations of an orthocromatic film. Shadows and highlights were deliberately pushed, as was the contrast. This isn’t about the billboard. Not really. Yes, there’s a giant child smiling over Rome, her face stretched across several metres of vinyl, captured “with an iPhone 15,” if we’re to believe the tagline. She’s luminous, playful, part of a campaign you’ve probably already seen before you’ve even looked at it. But the photograph is something else. This was shot on orthocromatic film—intentionally. Shadows are carved in deeper than they should be. Highlights flare and collapse detail. The tonal scale isn’t flattering, and it isn’t faithful. It’s limited.…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Mind The Gap!

    July 5, 2014

    A Mysterious Bag

    November 2, 2013

    The Unintended March

    January 13, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Rome,  Streets&Squares,  Winter

    A jam in via Alessandria

    December 8, 2023 /

    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.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    @Rome Maker Faire – 4. The Hands Controller

    October 16, 2014

    Guess who’s happier?

    May 27, 2013

    Shooting Fast Alfa Romeo on a Race Track

    October 22, 2024
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks

    Red Beam

    October 24, 2023 /

    Night photography has always been an exercise in restraint and patience. The camera sees differently than the human eye after dark — more unforgiving, more literal. This frame, taken with a Fuji X-T4 paired with the Viltrox XF 85/1.8, is my attempt to balance that literalness with the suggestion of stillness. The subject is minimal: a breakwater crowned by a small red beacon, its reflection trembling down the harbour water. Compositionally, it’s brutally simple — the light dead-centre, symmetry imposed on a chaotic environment. There’s an honesty to the stark framing; nothing distracts from the red flare and its molten trail on the surface. Technically, the exposure was a delicate…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Hard work

    February 13, 2013

    Questioning the Referee

    October 8, 2023

    The Angel Maker

    February 25, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks

    A Lighthouse

    October 11, 2023 /

    Another example of how the Viltrox XF 56/1.4 performs in very low light.To be honest, the Fuji X-T4’s X-Trans sensor played its part.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    No, You Don’t Need To Change Your Glasses

    June 14, 2014

    The Stupidity of Being Stubborn

    August 31, 2024

    What an Elegant Chocolatier!

    January 6, 2014
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks

    Modern Moai?

    October 10, 2023 /

    Still pushing the Viltrox AF 56/1,4 XF on a Fuji X-T4.The limit has not been reached just yet.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    A Beverage Dispenser

    November 21, 2014

    A Mysterious Bag

    November 2, 2013

    Stripes in B&W

    April 29, 2015
  • Autumn,  B&W,  Bridges,  Daily photo

    Floating

    October 7, 2023 /

    Another shot taken with the Viltrox 56/1,4 XF and a Fuji X-T4.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Sergey Krylov live@Teatro Marrucino

    February 21, 2022

    Traffic Jam in Rome

    December 14, 2015

    Get Ready, Set, Go

    February 2, 2022
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks

    Sailing Home

    October 4, 2023 /

    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.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Tables and Chairs, at Night

    May 7, 2013

    When Venus Meets the Moon

    October 2, 2023

    DSLR-like…?

    March 21, 2025
  • B&W,  Boston,  Buildings,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Downtown,  Parks,  Streets&Squares,  Summer,  Travels

    From Waltham to Boston

    August 4, 2023 /

    ‘From Waltham to Boston’, an offshoot of a bigger project on documenting Boston’s pulse, is now available on Amazon as a Kindle e-book.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The missing guest

    April 19, 2013

    The Coach

    December 9, 2018

    Get Ready for The Duty

    July 13, 2013
  • Daily photo,  Portfolio,  Street Photography,  Travels,  Urban Landscape

    Hidden in Plain Sight. A Japanese Journey

    August 3, 2023 /

    Although I have a lot of pictures from my various trips to Japan, organising them into a book is a challenge. The photos themselves are good enough to deserve publication. However, most of them are affected by a ‘déjà-vu’ effect. People on the subway, crowded crossroads, striking contrasts between modernity and the past, or between rural areas and highly urbanised ones, pop culture vs. business culture… no matter how hard I try, every single photo gives the feeling that someone has already done it. I am neither an anthropologist nor an expert on Japanese society, so I have no reasonable explanation for this feeling. Perhaps it is simply a matter…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Floating

    February 5, 2023

    Red Curtains

    August 28, 2014

    The 365th Shot: Between Sacred and Profane

    December 14, 2013
  • B&W,  Boston,  Cars&Bikes,  Daily photo,  Streets&Squares,  Summer

    UnortORTOdox (Ferrania)

    July 22, 2023 /

    This is an unorthodox use of an orthochromatic film (namely, Ferrania Orto.) It is not supposed to be the first choice for reportage or travel photography, but rules are made to be broken, aren’t they? As per the photo, it was taken in North End, Boston’s Little Italy.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Just a soccer field… Part 3

    February 5, 2014

    After the Party

    December 16, 2013

    The Waiting

    December 23, 2012
  • Boston,  Cars&Bikes,  Colour,  Streets&Squares,  Winter

    A Maserati GranTurismo

    July 15, 2023 /

    Another piece of Italy in Boston…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Fantozzi’s chairs

    May 4, 2013

    Il barbiere di Siviglia – Don Bartolo mad at Rosina

    November 28, 2020

    Personal Musing On Monochrome Digital Cameras

    September 11, 2025
  • Boston,  Cars&Bikes,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Summer

    A Ferrari 812 GTS in Boston

    July 14, 2023 /

    Amid the urban thrum of a bustling boulevard in Boston, a Ferrari 812 GTS rests with theatrical poise, like a tenor waiting for the curtain to rise. Its rosso corsa bodywork catches the sun like a blade, slicing through the cluttered backdrop of imitation, of diluted Italian flair printed onto shirts, menus, slogans. But here—here is the real thing. This image captures more than automotive power. It embodies the burden and brilliance of authenticity in a world obsessed with mimicry. The Ferrari’s uncompromising lines, forged in Maranello, don’t shout. They assert. In contrast to the busy street and distracted passers-by, the car is still, composed, sovereign. It doesn’t need motion…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Traffic Master

    December 19, 2016

    A chat on a lake shore

    May 6, 2013

    The Solitude of Power

    May 6, 2018
  • Boston,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Street Markets,  Summer

    A Cornhole Board – Independence Day Edition

    July 8, 2023 /

    I took this photograph in Boston on July 4th, and for me, it captures a small but telling fragment of the day’s celebrations. No fireworks, no parade—just a simple cornhole board dressed in the American flag, surrounded by scattered red and blue beanbags on a sunlit brick pavement. It’s an image that speaks to the quieter, more tactile traditions that sit alongside the grand spectacle. Compositionally, I let the board occupy the upper right of the frame, its diagonal placement adding a sense of movement and inviting the viewer’s eye from the legs toward the target hole. The wooden box in the foreground balances the frame and anchors the bottom…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Red Cross

    October 26, 2017

    Columns

    November 10, 2014

    Lonely cart

    March 4, 2013
  • Boston,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Exhibitions,  Summer

    Tesla Coils@Boston Science Museum

    July 4, 2023 /

    Capturing a Tesla coil mid-discharge is less about speed and more about timing. The arcs of electricity, chaotic and brief, demand an intuitive trigger finger and a dose of luck. I didn’t want the image to become a science illustration; I wanted it to hold some tension between spectacle and control, between the purity of mathematics and the danger of raw power. The coils themselves form a natural anchor in the bottom third of the frame, giving structure to what would otherwise be an abstract burst of energy. I shot through a safety mesh, letting it subtly ghost across the image, a reminder of the physical danger involved in what…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Hasselblad Way

    January 2, 2014

    Trick or Treat?

    June 14, 2013

    Meaningless

    November 9, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Doors&Windows,  Gear,  Winter

    Powermeters

    February 18, 2023 /

    This photo was taken with an Ilford XP2 Super 400, a Voigtländer Bessa R2 and a Voigtländer 35mm f/1.4 II lens. The film was digitised using a Pentax K-1 and a Pentax FA 100/2.8 Marco mounted on a custom-built rig. The resulting raw was processed in Affinity Photo. In Develop Persona, first the image was turned in black and white, then the master curve was intverted and finally exposure, contrast and other parameters were tweaked.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Portrait of a Professional Pugilist. Davide De Lellis

    March 8, 2019

    Just A Cat

    June 29, 2014

    The Hacker and the Photographer

    August 22, 2016
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Daily Video,  Docks,  Photography,  Winter

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

    February 8, 2023 /

    A vintage Carl Zeiss Jena 135/4 Sonnar whose RF mount has been replaced with a Fuji X mount by Adriano Lolli (https://www.adrianololli.com).Coupled with a Fuji X-T3, it delivers pleasant results. Post production is highly subjective, so the final outcome might no be ‘acceptable’ to some taste. Still, the lens is very good.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Google Experiment

    February 1, 2014

    Minolta MC W Rokkor-HG 35/2.8 and Nikon Z5 – An Empirical Field-Test

    January 8, 2026

    The Answer is On the Wall

    August 28, 2020
  • Bruxelles,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Jewellery,  Winter

    Floating

    February 5, 2023 /

    This image was born out of a fascination with stillness in the midst of implied movement. The mannequin — suspended, curled, caught in an almost foetal position — seems to drift within a capsule that looks as though it could be orbiting somewhere far beyond Earth. The large, circular light behind it could be a porthole, a hatch, or simply a stage light; its blinding white obscures what might be beyond, giving the scene a surreal, detached quality. Technically, the biggest challenge was exposure. The extreme contrast between the brilliant backlight and the darker figure risked losing detail on both ends. I chose to protect the highlights, letting the shadows…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Moonshot with a handheld Fuji XF150-600 and a Fuji X-T3

    April 24, 2023

    Room 17 – VIXI

    March 27, 2015

    Cupido’s Fall

    June 2, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Gear,  Stockholm,  Summer

    Another attempt at DLSR film scanning

    January 21, 2023 /

    Still trying.I digitised the negative with a Pentax K-1 and the FA 100 2.8 Macro lens using the JJC clone of Nikon ES-2. Postproduction is done in Pixelmator Pro. I used a Nikon 35TI and a Kodak BW400CN to take the original photo. Strangely enough, the JJC does not allow a 1:1 ratio with the Micro Nikkor 60 2.8.The instructions advise to mount the 62mm to 52mm step-down ring, the #2 52mm barrel-shaped tube and finally the film holder. These instructions are clearly wrong, as it is not possible to get 1:1 magnification with this setup.So I removed the tube and mounted the film carrier directly on the 62mm to…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Bent

    July 13, 2014

    Hands of a Steward

    November 22, 2019

    Before The Match

    October 20, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Winter

    The Silent Geometry of a Trabocco

    December 22, 2022 /

    This image came out of a walk I almost didn’t take. The light was beginning to fall into that uncertain hour, not quite golden but leaning into it, with a softness that flatters without deceiving. I was drawn to the trabocco — that wooden skeleton of fishing history jutting into the Adriatic like a forgotten broadcast antenna. Technically, the image lives and breathes in its lines. Everything points outward — cables, poles, railings — a quiet explosion of geometry pushing against the calmness of the sea. The house, slightly off-centre, serves as a visual anchor, balancing the thrust of the lines while allowing the scene to feel alive, not over-symmetrical.…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Seagull And The Sentinel

    October 27, 2014

    The Expired Film Series – Episode 6 – Kodak Portra 400 – November 2016 shot in Sept. 2023

    June 5, 2024

    Conversations, Silences, and Street Life

    August 5, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Winter

    Fisherman’s Fatigues

    December 19, 2022 /

    I shot this one late in the day, when the light had softened just enough to graze the worn textures without flattening them. The fatigue in the title isn’t poetic—these clothes, half-limp, half-hardened with salt and use, are the remnants of someone’s labour, someone likely still out at sea. I didn’t stage anything. These were just there, draped across makeshift wooden trestles, drying under the weight of their own exhaustion. What makes this image work technically, for me, is the tension between stillness and implication. Nothing moves in the frame, yet everything speaks of motion just ceased—pulling ropes, lifting crates, hours on a rolling deck. The shallow depth of field,…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Stop

    December 6, 2018

    Labour Spilling Into Transit Time

    December 30, 2025

    The Score Keeper

    April 25, 2019
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Helsinki

    A Vessel Moored on the Pier

    September 27, 2022 /

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Cupido’s Fall

    June 2, 2014

    A Lamp

    November 14, 2015

    Portrait of Keyboard Player

    May 18, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Doors&Windows,  Gear,  Photography,  Thoughts

    The Mystique of Film

    August 24, 2022 /

    I have resisted for a long time before giving out my two cents about the neverending debate ‘film vs digital’. I gave up after the next self-delusion I read in a well-known ‘semi-pro’ (purposely not linked) online photography magazine. It featured the umpteenth column explaining how shooting film ‘gets the experience back’, going full-manual ‘forces you thinking’, having limited exposures ‘pushes you to become more selective’, and all the usual motives connected with the choice of travelling on a horse-powered chariot instead of using a regular car. There is no need to shoot film to experience all that. Set the camera on full manual, disable OIS and IBIS, use a…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Personal Musing On Monochrome Digital Cameras

    September 11, 2025

    My camera’s early test shots

    December 20, 2012

    Fujifilm XF 100-400: a quick test

    January 12, 2018
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Spring

    A Gull, Posing

    June 17, 2022 /

    A gull sits perched on a bollard by the water, its body angled just enough to suggest awareness of being seen. The rust-stained base, heavy and industrial, contrasts sharply with the lightness of the bird resting on top. It is a moment where function and chance converge, turning a docking post into a stage. Composition is centred and deliberate. The bollard fills the frame vertically, anchoring the image, while the gull becomes both subject and ornament. The blurred surface of the water behind isolates the scene, stripping away distraction so the viewer confronts the simple pairing of steel and feathers. Technically, exposure is well handled. The whites of the gull’s…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Rockabilly

    September 15, 2013

    Footprint

    April 24, 2014

    Ashtray

    February 12, 2017
1234

Projects

  • Daily photo (1,427)
    • B&W (284)
    • Colour (1,128)
  • Daily Video (17)
  • Portfolio (2)
  • Projects (1,342)
    • Airport (15)
    • Bottles&Cups (12)
    • Cars&Bikes (45)
    • Chairs&Seats (19)
    • Cities (468)
      • Barcelona (16)
      • Boston (11)
      • Bruxelles (66)
      • Hamburg (3)
      • Helsinki (2)
      • Kyoto (4)
      • London (27)
      • Milan (50)
      • Nagasaki (2)
      • Nagoro (1)
      • Nagoya (8)
      • New York (9)
      • Nikko (1)
      • Osaka (3)
      • Oslo (17)
      • Padua (1)
      • Paris (31)
      • Rome (153)
      • Stockholm (11)
      • Tokyo (32)
      • Tsukuba (2)
      • Venice (22)
      • Yokohama (1)
    • Court (23)
    • Landscape (99)
      • Beach&Shores (78)
    • Lines (19)
    • Marketing (6)
    • Moon (7)
    • Observer Bias (14)
    • Odds (22)
    • OutOfFocus (13)
    • Parks (6)
    • Past&Relics (60)
    • People (634)
      • Actors (19)
      • Artists (87)
      • Fighters (30)
      • Portraits (43)
    • Seasons (952)
      • Autumn (151)
      • Spring (187)
      • Summer (268)
      • Winter (366)
    • Shops (171)
      • Barber&HairStylist (1)
      • Bookstores (10)
      • Brand Stores (1)
      • Fashion Shops (17)
      • Garages&Labs (12)
      • Groceries (3)
      • Jewellery (3)
      • Patisserie (11)
      • Restaurants&Bar (94)
      • Street Markets (16)
      • Tobacconists (2)
    • Social Control (53)
    • Travels (19)
    • Urban Landscape (307)
      • Boulevards (12)
      • Bridges (7)
      • Buildings (23)
      • Docks (75)
      • Doors&Windows (26)
      • Downtown (35)
      • Exhibitions (13)
      • Fountains (8)
      • Garbage (17)
      • Gates&Fences (12)
      • Parks (21)
      • Streets&Squares (73)
      • Works (2)
    • Visual (67)
    • WideAngle (13)
  • Reportage (19)
  • Sport (75)
    • Beach Handball (1)
    • Beach Volley (5)
    • Billiard (1)
    • Body Builiding (1)
    • Cycling (1)
    • Fighting Disciplines (25)
    • Handball (3)
    • Kite Surf (4)
    • Road Running (1)
    • Roller Derby (1)
    • Rowing (3)
    • Shooting (11)
    • Skating (5)
    • Soccer (6)
    • Swimming (Fin) (1)
    • Track&Field (5)
  • Thoughts (238)
    • Gear (75)
    • Photo Journalism (6)
    • PhotoCritics (21)
    • Photography (65)
    • Street Photography (86)
    • Technique (31)
© 2026 Andrea Monti - all rights reserved