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Saturday Night Fight Fever
On October 18, I was ringside to shoot the European Boxing Union‘s female super-lightweight European title fight. The crown vas vacant and the two contenders were both Italians. Silvia Bortot, a former two-time European champion, and Sonia Fracassi, the Italian champion. The match was pretty intense. All along the 10 rounds of the bout, Fracassi put her opponent under a great deal of pressure, and she responded with equal energy. Ultimately, Bortot emerged victorious. However, the close referee scores (96-95, 96-95 and 97-93) show that the two fighters were closely matched, and that Fracassi could have won if she had thrown a few more punches, or if the match had been…
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Shooting Sanda (Chinese Kickboxing) Bouts
These photographs were taken during the 2025 Italian Sanda Championships as part of the sports photography course that I teach at the University of Chieti-Pescara in Italy. Initially published by 35mmc.com How the game works Sanda is a Chinese martial art belonging to the kickboxing family. As in kickboxing, fighters trade punches and kicks, but unlike in Thai boxing, they are not allowed to use their elbows or knees. A limited number of throws are permitted, including leg sweeps, reaps and souplexes. Each bout consists of three rounds, and winning two of them is sufficient for victory. However, this is easier said than done: the action is fast-paced, the fighters…
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Shooting Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA)-like Events
Historical reenactments are everywhere, and the volunteers who keep alive the memory of our past deserve our highest praise. Along with pure re-enactments, where the fate of the participants is already predetermined by history, and HEMA, where athletes compete using European weaponry and armour, there is a middle-ground discipline that is gaining momentum in Italy: Sport Reenactment – Initially published by 35mmc.com In short, SR players take part in reenactment events wearing faithful replica of the coats and arms of ancient Italian, Greek, Celtic and German tribes. But they also meet in forests and mountains to fight following a ruleset but without knowing in advance who is going to win. The…
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Learning to Shoot Boxing Matches
Taking pictures in a boxing gym during regular training is a unique way to learn to understand when ‘the moment’ – a hit, a miss, a bob or a weave – is coming and develop an instinct for composition – Initially published on 35mmc.com This is important for two reasons. Firstly, as always with sports photography, you need to know the discipline you want to shoot and practice different options. But, in a classic Catch 22, if you don’t attend a fair number of bouts at ringisde, you won’t know the discipline and learn how to photograph it. Spending time in a gym, then, is the best second best option…
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Actors, Autumn, B&W, Bruxelles, Colour, Daily photo, Fighters, Fighting Disciplines, Photography, Spring, Summer, Winter
What Does ‘Professional’ Mean in Photography?
Pro’ is the photographer’s blessing and curse. It is the status we all – well, many of us – aspire to. It is the marketing gimmick created by the exploiters of the Gear Acquisition Syndrome to make people believe that tools make the craftsman. ‘Amateur’, on the other hand, is a word associated with casual photographers, ‘wannabe’ artists, and people who want to make you believe that tools make the craftsman. I have always been unconvinced that such a difference exists, at least in the general meaning associated with the words ‘pro’ and ‘amateur’, and in relation to the idea that the equipment used or the quality of the shots…
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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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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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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.
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Mid-Knee Clinch
This frame caught the clinch mid-knee, elbows locked, muscles in tension, balance tipping. I didn’t fire in burst—timing was deliberate. The image had to hold the convergence of force and geometry: shin to torso, fists to neck, backs arched into compression. Shot ringside at f/2.8 with a fast telephoto, ISO pushed to 3200 under dim sodium-halide lights softened by overhead mesh. Shutter at 1/640s, just enough to freeze impact without killing the tension in the stance. Noise control was adequate. Detail retained in skin texture and compression shorts without artificial smoothing. Lighting was patchy but consistent enough to avoid burnouts. Composition obeys containment. The cage creates the visual boundary, but…
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TKO
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Emanuele Cavallucci. The New Italian Pro Boxing Welterweight Champion
Boxing is cruel to photographers. Not because it’s fast — although it is — but because it’s chaotic. In the ring, there’s no neatly choreographed movement, no second takes. You’ve got sweat flying, ropes cutting through your composition, referees wandering into frame, and the perpetual risk of being exactly half a second too late. This shot came together with the Nikon D610 paired to the Nikkor 24–120mm f/4 — a workhorse lens that, while not the fastest in maximum aperture, offers just the right flexibility for ringside work. Here, I caught the moment Cristofori’s jab lands flush on his opponent’s cheek, the head snapping back, muscles taut with the torque…
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Portrait of a Professional Pugilist. Davide De Lellis
He had the kind of face that told its own story long before a shutter ever clicked — a mix of focus, fatigue, and that guarded reserve I’ve often seen in fighters before a bout. Photographing a professional pugilist isn’t about glorifying the violence of the sport, but about catching that fleeting moment where discipline, experience, and vulnerability intersect. I chose a tight composition, keeping the frame uncluttered so the viewer’s attention rested on the expression and posture. Every crease in the skin, every glint of sweat, mattered; these details carried more weight than any background could. Depth of field was shallow enough to isolate him from distraction, but not…
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Italian Boxing Amateur Championship 2018. The Reportage
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The Coach
In the corner of the ring, where no cameras reach and the noise momentarily fades, something deeper than training unfolds. This image doesn’t speak of punches thrown or points scored. It captures that fleeting minute between rounds—the space where a fighter breathes, bleeds, and breaks, while a coach rebuilds with nothing more than words, water, and presence. The boxer’s face tells of the cost: a swollen lip, a grimace barely masking pain, but also something else—determination still flickering beneath the bruises. The coach leans in, not shouting, not berating. This is not strategy; it is communion. The fight, at this point, is as much against doubt as it is against…
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Stop
In the squared circle, adrenaline and instinct often outrun reason. A fighter, eyes blazing, may push past his body’s warning signs, driven by pride, by the will to win, or simply by the refusal to yield. It is in these moments that the referee’s role shifts from arbiter of the rules to guardian of life itself. This image captures that exact intersection—one man still in the heat of battle, the other standing between him and the risk of irreversible harm. The referee’s gloved hands rest firmly yet not aggressively, an unspoken command to stop. His gaze is steady, his body language unshaken, projecting both authority and concern. In boxing, bravery…
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@ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Beach Wrestlers
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@ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Wrestling, Italy vs France (And a primer on sport photography – Part 5)
Part 1 – Intro, Before the event, getting your media pass Part 2 – Before the event, having your media pass working for you Part 3 – During the event, get ready for the show Part 4 – During the event, how to choose which event attend to 3 – Shooting the game As I said before, the chances of getting a good exposure greatly improve if you are (or have become) comfortable with the game. But knowing how the ball rolls worth nothing if you’re not in the right position to take the shot. a – Reclaiming your space from other photographers Event (and thus sport) photography is a…
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Uchi-Mata
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Whithin The Cage
There are moments when photography benefits from what it chooses not to show. This frame — a boxing glove in the foreground, satin shorts in deep royal blue and gold just behind — tells me almost nothing about the bout itself, but everything about its atmosphere. The mesh of the cage runs diagonally through the scene, an ever-present reminder of the boundaries in place, both literal and metaphorical. The choice to focus tightly on detail works here. By avoiding faces and action, the photograph shifts into an almost abstract study: the textures of worn leather, the gloss of fabric catching the light, the dull metallic blur of the chain-link. The…
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Before The Match
There’s a quiet tension in the moments leading up to a fight. Adrenaline builds, but so does focus. Before the Matchcaptures that suspended instant—not in the face of the fighter, but in the ritual of preparation. The gloves are being adjusted, the tape snug against the wrist, the tattoos on the arm speaking their own language of identity, history, and intent. From a photographic standpoint, the tight framing is a deliberate and effective choice. By excluding the face entirely, the image avoids cliché and instead hones in on the tactile and symbolic. The red leather gloves dominate the frame, their texture and creases suggesting both wear and readiness. The contrasting…
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Portrait of a Judo Master
The heritage of Kano Jigoro is still alive. The sensei is caught slightly off-centre, mid-step, his gaze lowered rather than directed at the camera. The gi is worn, functional, unadorned. It carries the marks of use rather than ceremony. His posture is relaxed but grounded, suggesting familiarity with the space and with his own body within it. Nothing here is posed, and that is precisely where the portrait gains its weight. There is no throw, no grip exchange, no demonstrative movement. He expresses authority not through force but through a quiet, meaningful, presence. In the background, softly out of focus, hangs the photograph of Kano Jigoro. It is not framed…
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Portrait of a Wrestler
There’s a particular weight to portraits of athletes, especially those whose craft is as primal and disciplined as wrestling. When I took this photograph, I wanted to strip away the spectacle of the sport—no mats, no crowds, no action—and focus instead on the man behind the contest. The framing is deliberately close, the upper torso and head taking dominance in the composition. The subject’s direct gaze into the lens is neither aggressive nor performative; it’s a quiet, steady presence. The choice of black and white enhances this honesty, removing any distraction of colour and forcing the viewer to engage with form, texture, and light. In the background, out of focus,…
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The Referees
Shot in a break between rounds. Two officials—one in the ring, one just outside—pass the scorecard without a word. The exchange is procedural, yet visually precise. One hand extends up, the other down. The gesture anchors the frame. I placed myself at shoulder height, slightly off centre, to keep the ropes intersecting cleanly across the image. The ring’s horizontal lines break the vertical repetition of the gym’s back wall and audience. Geometry does the work—no crop needed. Lighting was mixed. Industrial overheads with a cold cast, ambient spill from the crowd, spot highlights off the shirts. Monochrome strips it back. No distractions. Just action and structure. ISO 1600 to hold…
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Cornermen
There’s a rhythm to these images — a quiet, almost ritualistic interlude in a sport otherwise defined by its violence. The corners of a boxing ring are not just places of rest; they are theatres of strategy, whispered advice, and sometimes silent reproach. In each frame, the fighter is turned inward — literally and figuratively — toward those who bear no gloves but shoulder equal weight in the outcome. From a photographic standpoint, these are intimate studies taken from the same vantage point, the ropes acting as both boundary and compositional anchor. The repetition of the ring’s geometry — horizontal ropes, vertical corner post — frames each scene with a…
