• 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!

  • Buildings,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Rome,  Spring

    A Hellish Look

    March 26, 2024 /

    It is quite common these days to see images of various kinds using the facade of a building as a screen. In the case of government or state buildings, a flag appears out of nowhere after dusk.The overall effect is quite spectacular, especially in Italy where the palaces of power are beautiful works of art. However, when photographed with a narrow field of view, the result can be disturbing, as in this case, where the building looks more like some sort of hell embassy.It wouldn’t be strange, though: doesn’t the Pope live on the other side of the Tevere River?

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Barber’s Routine

    July 19, 2013

    Blackfriars Train Station Banner

    September 22, 2016

    @ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Female Rowing Team

    October 7, 2015
  • 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

    HeadButt

    August 5, 2023

    Accidental Precision

    February 12, 2016

    A Lockheed C-130 Hercules

    January 31, 2021
  • 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

    A party that shall never come

    May 9, 2013

    A Vessel Moored on the Pier

    September 27, 2022

    Overexposed?

    March 14, 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

    Falling Tree

    May 8, 2014

    The Abused Balcony

    February 17, 2014

    The Expired Film Series – Episode 3 – Ilford HP5 400 – Dec. 2010 shot in August 2023

    August 30, 2023
  • 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

    Portrait of The Alfa Romeo Guru

    September 25, 2014

    Wasted Shot Because iPhone 7 Poor Low-Light Handling

    January 22, 2019

    Saturday Night Fight Fever

    October 19, 2025
  • 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

    The Coffin

    December 12, 2015

    Lamp

    April 2, 2014

    A Lonely Table

    March 8, 2015
  • 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 Contemporary-Art Installation?

    March 31, 2013

    To Do or To Own? (or the Photographer’s Dilemma)

    March 2, 2025

    An urgent phone call?

    December 15, 2013
  • 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

    Three Shadows

    November 11, 2016

    Not A Rorschach Inkblot

    December 24, 2017

    Bored

    March 7, 2013
  • 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

    @ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Beach Wrestlers

    October 21, 2015

    Much Too Powerful a Knock…

    June 3, 2014

    The Commuter

    July 24, 2017
  • 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

    A Sad Harley-Davidson

    August 10, 2013

    Catching the Tube in Paris

    June 11, 2014

    Perfectly Framed

    November 26, 2015
  • 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

    Streetlight Duet

    June 30, 2014

    Zeiss ZK Planar T* 50mm F/1.4 – Test Shots and an Unpleasant Incident

    October 3, 2025

    A Lamp

    November 14, 2015
  • 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

    Macarons. Again

    October 23, 2015

    Who wants to live forever?

    June 15, 2013

    Avid Readers

    August 17, 2013
  • 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

    Hi-Tech Temptation

    June 27, 2015

    Bless or Curse?

    August 12, 2014

    The Hasselblad Way

    January 2, 2014
  • 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

    The Misplaced Buoy

    April 26, 2014

    A Green Patch

    August 26, 2014

    Under the Yellow Umbrella

    March 9, 2013
  • 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

    After Heat, Structure

    November 12, 2021

    Nightlife

    June 20, 2013

    Leaving

    September 27, 2018
  • 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

    Pentax – In Praise of Usability of Cameras and Lenses

    March 3, 2024

    5 frames with a Canon R6 Mk II and its RF 50/1,2 L USM

    September 28, 2024

    The Real Street Photographer: Bold and Fearless

    February 25, 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

    Inside the Nazario Sauro

    August 10, 2014

    Busy

    January 8, 2013

    Whithin The Cage

    October 22, 2014
  • 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

    Portrait of aTocaor

    October 8, 2013

    Late Night Conversation at Cardinal’s Wharf

    September 29, 2016

    Much Too Short a Ladder

    October 17, 2013
  • 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

    A Zen Garden?

    February 22, 2014

    60×40 Borderless Printing with a HP Z3200ps 24

    May 11, 2014

    Guess who’s happier?

    May 27, 2013
  • 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

    Life, the Universe and Everything

    July 28, 2013

    Red Lock At Genova’s Dock Arsenal

    August 8, 2014

    Man in Trenchcoat

    November 20, 2021
  • 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

    Seeking Directions

    March 18, 2013

    Boats

    September 18, 2021

    Three Shadows

    November 11, 2016
  • 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

    The Google Experiment

    February 1, 2014

    Late Evening Break In Piazza Dante

    October 21, 2017

    The Sailor

    June 24, 2013
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Helsinki

    A Vessel Moored on the Pier

    September 27, 2022 /

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Lost Hotel

    September 5, 2014

    Inside the Palaces of Power – Bruxelles

    November 8, 2015

    An inconvenient way to spend time.

    March 15, 2013
  • 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

    Stairway to nothing

    September 18, 2013

    Serva padrona @ Teatro Marrucino

    October 1, 2023

    Not A Rorschach Inkblot

    December 24, 2017
1234

Projects

  • Daily photo (1,431)
    • B&W (284)
    • Colour (1,132)
  • Daily Video (17)
  • Portfolio (2)
  • Projects (1,346)
    • 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 (635)
      • Actors (19)
      • Artists (88)
      • Fighters (30)
      • Portraits (43)
    • Seasons (956)
      • Autumn (151)
      • Spring (189)
      • Summer (269)
      • Winter (367)
    • 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 (308)
      • Boulevards (12)
      • Bridges (7)
      • Buildings (23)
      • Docks (75)
      • Doors&Windows (26)
      • Downtown (35)
      • Exhibitions (14)
      • Fountains (8)
      • Garbage (17)
      • Gates&Fences (12)
      • Parks (21)
      • Streets&Squares (73)
      • Works (2)
    • Visual (69)
    • WideAngle (13)
  • Reportage (20)
  • 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 (240)
    • Gear (75)
    • Photo Journalism (6)
    • PhotoCritics (21)
    • Photography (67)
    • Street Photography (86)
    • Technique (31)
© 2026 Andrea Monti - all rights reserved