Andrea Monti

Photographer

  • 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

No Widgets found in the Sidebar Alt!

  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Exhibitions,  Gear,  Photography,  Rome,  Spring

    On Detachment. Or ‘If You Love Something, Set It Free’ (cit. Sting)

    June 17, 2025 /

    A number of philosophies and religions preach the virtue of detachment from things as a path to enlightenment. When applied to gear, this advice won’t only save your soul —if you believe there’s one— but also your money and, last but not least, your photograph experience. This means avoiding the development of ‘feelings’ towards a camera or a lens that shift from appreciating their value as a tool to some sort of ‘personal engagement’. Initially published on 35mmc.com As odd as it sounds, such an attitude towards an inanimate object is more frequent than one may imagine. A paradigmatic case is the attachment of AIBO’s owners to their robotic pets:…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Red Cross

    October 26, 2017

    Late for Lunch

    March 26, 2014

    The Calm Newsreader

    July 4, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Photography

    Why a Longterm Relationship (with your camera) Makes You Feel Good

    March 26, 2025 /

    There is no ‘forever’ in life (life included), and apart from more mundane matters, this is especially true of photography. In fact, the ‘infidelity rate’ that affects many relationships with cameras and lenses is only tamed by the money it takes to break them (and sometimes even the lack of money does not stop them from happening).  But at least when it comes to photography, the tranquillity of a stable relationship has some advantages over the excitement of an ever-changing course. From daily and continuous use comes confidence, and from confidence comes a Zen-like state of mind that makes the body to react automatically when the primal part of the…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Generations – II

    August 5, 2014

    Settled in the wrong place

    January 11, 2017

    The Lost Garage

    July 8, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Fighters,  Gear,  Photography,  Tokyo,  Winter

    DSLR-like…?

    March 21, 2025 /

    I decided to write this post after having stumbled across the next ethusiast review of a smartphone published on a reputable magazine, claiming that the device can deliver ‘DSLR-like’ photos. In fact, as is often the case with ‘camera experts’ who work for a magazine or earn money by posting videos making funny faces on social networks, it was just a rewrite of the manufacturer’s product specifications and promotional material. There are few things, in photography, I dislike more than than these ‘DSLR-like’ claims made in the advertising of smartphones and compact cameras because ‘DSLR-like’ is the archetype of a meaningless statement made to lure people into using an arbitrary benchmark…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Footprints

    May 19, 2013

    Belgian Gloves

    October 15, 2015

    Street Magic@Nagoya Castle

    July 21, 2019
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Photography

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

    March 2, 2025 /

    To Own or To Do is the photographer’s version of Erich Fromm’s dilemma posed in his famous essay, ‘To Have or to Be’. I don’t have the authority to talk about a complex topic such as the relationship between individual frustration or lack of accomplishment and compensatory or self-delusional behaviour. I would rather like to focus on how putting gear ownership over gear use affects the ability to take meaningful shots. Initially published on 35mmc.com Like many fellow photographers, I have been affected by the Gear Acquisition Syndrome, which in my case has manifested itself not in a quest for a —whatever it means — ‘perfect image’ but rather a…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Boat Maintenance At Genova’s Porto Antico

    July 30, 2014

    The Drying Machine

    November 30, 2014

    Suspicious

    December 2, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear

    Mir-20 20mm 3.5 on a Pentax K1-II – A Field Test

    January 18, 2025 /

    Photographing with a 20mm lens is quite demanding on the eye, as the composition has to take into account many more objects than with a normal prime or telephoto lens. As a result, it is very easy to get meaningless ‘postcard-like’ images. Not having used such a lens before, I certainly fall into the latter category, so the following photos (possibly, but only one) only serve to show some of the optical features of the lens – Initially published on 35mmc.com Resolution Despite its age (the lens was marketed between 1973 and 1996), the optical resolution is not bad. In this image, apart from the chromatic aberration, you can clearly…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Ugo Pagliai – Romeo e Giulietta@Teatro Marrucino

    March 29, 2022

    Dark Omen

    December 31, 2021

    Carl Zeiss T* 50 1,5 Sonnar and EOS EF-M 18-55

    August 4, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Winter

    7Artisans 35mm 0.95 – Testing this Fujifilm X Mount Lens in a Demanding Environment

    December 22, 2024 /

    So far I have been very happy with the 7Artisans 35mm 0.95 in X-mount, but I have only tested it in non-demanding conditions. Although the results were promising at first sight, only a real test could give a definitive verdict (at least for me). So I decided to put it on trial last December 13, shooting ‘La Cenerentola’, Gioacchino Rossini’s melodrama at the Teatro Marrucino in Chieti (IT), together with the ‘battle-tested’ Fujifilm XF 18-120. Initially published on 35mmc.com Did it work out? Let me spoil the conclusions: I really like this lens in absolute terms and not because of its value for money. The colour reproduction is excellent, the resolving…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Guarding Democracy

    June 14, 2023

    Fast Food Loneliness in Nagoya…

    July 17, 2019

    Last Puff Before the Ride

    December 26, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Thoughts

    A Few Shots with the 7Artisans 35mm f/0.95 in X-Mount

    October 24, 2024 /

    Let’s get straight to the point: here are a few shots taken with a Fuji X-T4 and a 7 Artisans 35mm f/.0.95 (obviously) in X-mount. All photos were taken at the widest (nominal) aperture of the lens, i.e. 0.95. I’m not sure if this is a real value, but it doesn’t matter because comparing the shutter speed with (relatively) slower lenses like the Zeiss Planar 32mm F1.8 shows that the 7 Artisans is proportionally faster, and that’s enough for me. – Initially published by 35mmc.com This is an 8x crop of the featured image. Even wide open the lens was able to make the Ryanair word easily readable and I…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    When We Thought We Would Have Changed The World

    August 21, 2014

    A Nikon’s Portrait Made With a Fuji

    January 14, 2016

    Priority Pass Lounge at Fiumicino Airport

    November 30, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Technique,  Thoughts

    A creative approach to zone focusing with superfast manual lenses and mirrorless cameras in street photography

    September 28, 2024 /

    Manual lenses on mirrorless cameras are often a match made in heaven: (once) cheap, high-quality lenses can finally be brought back from the grave and used on modern cameras. However, as with any marriage, there are some rough edges that are difficult to smooth out. In the case of manual lenses, the main problem is the lack of autofocus, which limits the street photographer’s options. Zone focusing is the usual way to overcome this limitation, but this solution has an inherent problem: to get a decent depth of field, you need to shoot at least at F8 or even F11. This means that, in street-photography, it is not possible to…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Smoker’s Golden Rule

    July 9, 2013

    Knocking on lion’s door

    April 22, 2013

    Refurbishing Downtown, Milan

    November 18, 2017
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Thoughts

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

    September 28, 2024 /

    I was recently given a Canon R6 Mk II and a set of lenses, including the RF 50/1.2, to test them in a specific environment, so to familiarise myself with the kit I spent a few hours wandering around with the most unlikely configuration for street photography: camera, battery grip and a bulky lens: not exactly what you would call ‘discreet’ or ‘unobtrusive’. However, as counterintuitive as it may seem, I had no problem carrying a ‘real’ camera with all the bells and whistles, as they often seem less threatening and creepy to the casual passer-by, the main target of street photography, because people think you’re just working. There would…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Flame is Still Burning…

    June 23, 2018

    A Single(‘s) Call

    September 24, 2016

    Let’s get the party started…

    January 20, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Technique

    Nikkor 16mm Fisheye – Three Ways to Make use of Such a Lens

    August 22, 2024 /

    For me, a fisheye is the most challenging lens to use. Unlike other ‘normal’ focal lengths, a fisheye has an inherent deformation of reality. As a result, it is often used to create images with an unreal rendering, reminiscent of M.C. Escher’s self-portrait looking into a transparent globe.However, as happened in music with the advent of digital processors and effects, it is very easy – at least it was for me – to fall into the trap of focusing on the form rather than the message. In other words, as soon as a ‘weird’ looking photo is achieved, that was enough. Just like playing electric guitar back in the days,…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Hard SPAM

    April 1, 2013

    The Modern Preacher

    November 14, 2016

    Weren’t a Smartphone and a Selfie Stick Enough?

    October 6, 2016
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Daily Video,  Gear,  Winter

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

    August 7, 2024 /

    This is the first episode in a series documenting the use of Ferrania film in various contexts. Episode 1 features a Ferrania Orto shot with a Nikon 35 TI in Japan, between 25 October and 1 November 2023.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Three Tires

    May 18, 2022

    Easy To Shoot?

    December 12, 2020

    Close Up of an Alfa Romeo 4c

    August 9, 2018
  • Autumn,  B&W,  Daily photo,  Fighters,  Gear,  Spring,  Summer,  Thoughts,  Winter

    Pentax – In Praise of Usability of Cameras and Lenses

    March 3, 2024 /

    The Internet is full of columns and videos about why ‘I left brand X for brand Y’, magnifiying this or that ‘new feature’ that forced a photographer to ditch his previous setup in favour of a brand new one. Sometimes there is a genuine motivation behind such a choice, sometimes – often – it is just a clickbait set up by the need (or hope) to monetise a piece of content published on a social network. This long introduction violates the golden rule of journalistic writing – tell the reader what’s the matter in the first paragraph or so – but it was necessary because this article is exactly that:…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Kite Surfing, Again

    February 19, 2017

    Stantsted Lounge’s Chairs

    December 31, 2013

    Boat Dock Bumpers

    October 26, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Photography,  Technique

    A few test shots with an MC Cosinon T200/4

    January 14, 2024 /

    This lens has several shortcomings. It has a pronounced coma and the focus barrel requires a considerable amount of turning to get it right, thus making it challenging to fast focus when you need to. Camera sensor clearly influences colours’ rendition. Despite the ‘personality’ of this lens, the overall picture’s feel is clearly (to me, at least) that of the classic ‘cold’, slightly bluish Pentax (or, should I say, Sony) sensor. At f4 (all the images published here were taken at this aperture), the bokeh is pleasant. Nothing exceptional, but for a lens that sells for around 15 euros, the results are good enough. That said, a core question, asked…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Suspicious

    December 2, 2014

    A videographer…

    February 27, 2013

    The Restorer’s Nest

    June 27, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear

    The Kiev 60 and a fix for the frame spacing issue

    October 8, 2023 /

    There are several fixes for the Kiev 60‘s frame spacing problem, from taping the film spool to making it thicker to fine-tuning the film transport mechanism. However, while these solutions may work well, they are not guaranteed to work all the time.Master Adriano Lolli found the Columbus egg in one of his masterstrokes: he drilled a hole in the back of the camera in the exact position where the frame number appears and applied a red filter, just in case. In this way, after the first full exposure, the shutter could be cocked in tiny increments until the film number appeared in the hole. The only drawback of this solutions…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    A London’s Skyline

    September 13, 2016

    The Last Icecream?

    October 30, 2013

    Legal Apartheid

    March 25, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear

    Fujifilm XF 18-120 just snapped in two

    September 10, 2023 /

    Everything breaks down eventually, but there are different kinds of breakdowns and different kinds of reasons for them.On the one hand, you cannot expect a product to be indestructible and you must take proper care to maintain its efficiency. As I said, it will break eventually, but probably not in an unexpected way.On the other hand, when you buy a ‘professional’ or simply an expensive product, you expect the overall quality of the build to match the price.Enter the Fuji XF 18-120. It costs around 900 Euros. Not a steep price compared to Leica, Zeiss or even Canon lenses, and far more expensive than Chinese brands such as Viltrox (which…

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    A Street Dancer@Sakae

    August 9, 2019

    The Porter

    July 3, 2015

    What lasts of a springtime hailstorm

    June 22, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear

    Helios 40-2 85/1,5 and Fuji X-T5: a sample

    June 21, 2023 /

    This is an early attempt at using an M42 mount Helios 40-2 85/1,5 coupled with a Fuji X-T5. The lens is not tack-sharp and the APS-C equivalent field of view is around 127mm, therefore the bokeh effect becomes less evident. The results, however, are pleasaning.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Skating on the Riviera

    November 9, 2018

    Waiting for the Shinkansen – 1

    June 25, 2017

    RedLight

    November 6, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear

    FUJIFILM X-T5 RAF have problems with Affinity Photo 2.1

    June 11, 2023 /

    As this video shows, when opened in Affinity Photo 2.1, an RAF generated by a Fujifilm X-T5 shows a vertical stripe and a slightly higher resolution. The problem does not occur if the file is pre-processed with Iridient Transformer and converted to DNG, or if the file is processed with Pixelmator Pro 3, Lightroom Classic or the latest version of Capture One.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Turiddu repeals Santuzza

    November 19, 2022

    A Different Passion…

    June 12, 2016

    Boat Under The Bridge

    September 18, 2016
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear

    A pouch for the Fuji XF 150-600

    May 16, 2023 /

    The JJC Deluxe Lens Pouch model 811 fits perfectly with the Fuji XF 150-600 with the handle mounted and the lens hood reversd. It also leaves some room for filters, SD cards or small accessories.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Is This Smoke?

    August 15, 2013

    Red Tears

    June 7, 2013

    Skating on the streets of Milan

    October 4, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear

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

    April 24, 2023 /

    This picture is taken, handheld, with the following parameters: Focal Lenght 600mm, Aperture F/8, ISO 6400, Exposure 1/300s. Even if shot with a Fuji X-T3 (that has no In-Body Stabilisation) the resulting image is very good.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    The Violinist

    July 1, 2015

    Moon, hand-held

    April 30, 2021

    Belgian Hats

    October 19, 2015
  • 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

    The Path To Freedom

    September 29, 2014

    W Verdi

    January 29, 2014

    Late Night@Piazza San Babila

    March 9, 2022
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Photography,  Winter

    A sample of the Carl Zeiss Jena 135/F4 Sonnar and a Fuji X-T3

    February 5, 2023 /

    This photo was taken with an old Carl Zeiss Jena 135/4 Sonnar whose Contax RF mount was replaced by a Fuji X mount by Master Adriano Lolli.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Lost Cellos

    August 30, 2014

    Lonely cart

    March 4, 2013

    Fujifilm XF 18-120 just snapped in two

    September 10, 2023
  • 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

    Switch

    December 18, 2014

    On Tips’n Tricks to ‘take you photos to the next level’

    May 29, 2025

    Perfect Strangers

    April 5, 2014
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Gear,  People,  Seasons,  Summer,  Technique

    An attempt at DSLR-made film digitization

    January 14, 2023 /

    This is the first usable result of the attempt to DSLR-scan films. I tried several approaches, including the standard tripod holding the camera perpendicularly to a flat, LED-lighted surface. However, I finally went for a different solution: a horizontal rig with two moving plates, a micrometric head holding the film and three-axis and a panoramic head holding the camera.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Waiting for the goal

    April 28, 2013

    A Mesh

    February 16, 2021

    Full Moon

    May 9, 2017
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Winter

    Pixelmator Pro Debanding and Electronic Shutter

    December 24, 2022 /

    Pixelmator Pro Deband feature does not work on banding caused by the well known electronic shutter lag. The Deband feature has not been advertised as working also with ES-induced banding, so the fact that it can not handle it is not a bug. However, this limit seriously reduces the appeal of the new feature. I have flagged the issue to Pixelmator Pro Support: currently, they are out of work, but eventually, they should get back to me with some news. Good news, hopefully.

    Read More
    Andrea Monti

    You May Also Like

    Late Night Arrival at Bertinoro’s Castle

    January 15, 2014

    The Expired Film Series – Episode 2 – Ilford XP2Super 400 – Nov. 2017 shot in May 2023

    July 25, 2023

    A Master Luthier in his lab…

    May 14, 2013
123

Projects

  • Daily photo (1,387)
    • B&W (269)
    • Colour (1,099)
  • Daily Video (15)
  • Portfolio (2)
  • Projects (1,297)
    • Airport (14)
    • Bottles&Cups (12)
    • Cars&Bikes (41)
    • Chairs&Seats (19)
    • Cities (451)
      • Barcelona (16)
      • Boston (11)
      • Bruxelles (65)
      • Hamburg (3)
      • Helsinki (2)
      • Kyoto (2)
      • London (27)
      • Milan (49)
      • Nagasaki (2)
      • Nagoya (8)
      • New York (9)
      • Nikko (1)
      • Osaka (3)
      • Oslo (17)
      • Padua (1)
      • Paris (31)
      • Rome (145)
      • Stockholm (11)
      • Tokyo (28)
      • Tsukuba (2)
      • Venice (22)
      • Yokohama (1)
    • Court (22)
    • Landscape (97)
      • Beach&Shores (77)
    • Lines (20)
    • Marketing (3)
    • Moon (7)
    • Observer Bias (15)
    • Odds (21)
    • OutOfFocus (13)
    • Parks (6)
    • Past&Relics (55)
    • People (623)
      • Actors (14)
      • Artists (84)
      • Fighters (29)
      • Portraits (41)
    • Seasons (905)
      • Autumn (143)
      • Spring (175)
      • Summer (254)
      • Winter (347)
    • Shops (164)
      • Barber&HairStylist (2)
      • Bookstores (10)
      • Brand Stores (1)
      • Fashion Shops (15)
      • Garages&Labs (11)
      • Groceries (3)
      • Jewelry (3)
      • Patisserie (11)
      • Restaurants&Bar (92)
      • Street Markets (14)
      • Tobacconists (2)
    • Social Control (52)
    • Travels (17)
    • Urban Landscape (291)
      • Boulevards (12)
      • Bridges (6)
      • Buildings (24)
      • Docks (75)
      • Doors&Windows (26)
      • Downtown (29)
      • Exhibitions (10)
      • Fountains (6)
      • Garbage (18)
      • Gates&Fences (12)
      • Parks (20)
      • Streets&Squares (64)
      • Works (2)
    • Visual (69)
    • WideAngle (14)
  • Reportage (16)
  • Sport (71)
    • Beach Handball (1)
    • Beach Volley (5)
    • Billiard (1)
    • Body Builiding (1)
    • Cycling (1)
    • Fighting Disciplines (24)
    • Handball (2)
    • Kite Surf (4)
    • Road Running (1)
    • Roller Derby (1)
    • Rowing (2)
    • Shooting (11)
    • Skating (4)
    • Soccer (6)
    • Swimming (Fin) (1)
    • Track&Field (5)
  • Thoughts (223)
    • Gear (67)
    • Photo Journalism (6)
    • PhotoCritics (18)
    • Photography (59)
    • Street Photography (84)
    • Technique (29)
Dear anonymous visitor, you may enjoy this web site’s contents with all the ease of not being tracked.

I do not know your identity and will do nothing to figure out who you are.

This explains why I do not ask for your consent: it is not possible to abide by the law if one’s counterpart is unknown.

I do not have social network’s ‘share buttons’, comments are disabled, as are user registration features.

I only use those cookies and pieces of code that make Google Analytics work and that will eventually be dismissed as soon as I am sure that Matomo (also installed) works as advertised.

If you check this website with some online tool you may find two cookies ‘_utmz’ and ‘_utma’. The former tracks your sessions, the latter your location. You may find more information in the Legalia and Cookie Policy page

Compulsory Information

  • Legalia
© 2025 Andrea Monti - all rights reserved