Andrea Monti

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  • Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Photography,  Spring,  Visual,  WideAngle

    Noon on the Beach

    May 1, 2014 /

    this image hinges on simplicity and distortion. The sun was directly overhead, leaving the shadow of the pole as a near-perfect sundial, slicing the centre of the frame from bottom to vanishing point. That shadow was the whole reason to shoot: absolute verticality rendered into graphic contrast on a near-featureless plane. The lens dictates the structure. At 16mm, lines bow. The horizon curves. Perspective exaggerates. I leaned into it—there’s no attempt to correct distortion in post. The intention was not to imitate a rectilinear frame, but to emphasise space as abstraction. The beach becomes a sphere, the sky a ceiling, and the tiny trace of buildings at the perimeter only…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Gotcha!

    August 16, 2013

    The Heart Of Giulietta

    October 30, 2014

    Pure Joy

    May 25, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Milan,  People

    Damned Autofocus

    April 20, 2014 /

    I like this photo very much. The two travelers, mutually unbeknownst, stroke a pose like if they were on duty fashion models. Unfortunately, the Fujifulm X-E1 autofocus didn’t work fast enough and, as I’ve already told, zone-focusing is a pain in the neck without a properly marked focus-ring. Long live to Hasselblad, Zeiss, Leica and Nikon…

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    Andrea Monti

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    2015 Italian Beach Volley Team – Marco Caminati, Enzo Rossi

    October 29, 2015

    Waiting To Board

    February 4, 2013

    The BatFire

    April 29, 2016
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  Observer Bias,  People,  Photography,  Spring

    Brain vs Camera

    April 19, 2014 /

    The picture on the left is what the camera saw. The picture on the right is what I had in mind while shooting. Thanks to Photoshop I’ve been able to bend the “objectivity” of the camera along the line of my creativity.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Italian Track&Field Championship 2018 – The reportage

    September 12, 2018

    The Photo I Didn’t Shoot

    June 8, 2013

    Panning the Police

    November 17, 2016
  • Barcelona,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Spring,  Street Markets

    A Fujifilm X-E1 Annoyance

    April 15, 2014 /

    The X-E1 is a good camera, though has some annoyances that make it less handy for Street Photography. Contrary to Leica, (some) Zeiss or (some) Nikon lenses, zone-focusing is not set on the lens barrel. You must do it either through the viewfinder or the LCD, and this makes problematic the switch from one technique to another. Same is true for aperture settings. Operating the camera one-handed, happened twice to me, led to a change of the image quality settings from RAW to Jpg. Unfortunately I wasn’t aware while shooting and I’ve wasted half a day in Barcelona getting inferior quality pictures.

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    Andrea Monti

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    After the Race

    July 27, 2015

    Late Night@Piazza San Babila

    March 9, 2022

    Portrait of a (former) bike champion

    May 3, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  Street Photography

    Street-Photographer’s eye side effect

    April 8, 2014 /

    Seeing the world through the Street-Photographer’s eye makes you more aware of your surroundings both at a conscious and unconscious, Zen-like, level. A side-effect of this state is that you can exploit-it for personal safety when traveling in risky places, like big stations where pickpockets are doing their tricks.

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Oslo Opera House

    October 24, 2014

    Strolling in Stockholm

    July 4, 2016

    Avid Readers

    August 17, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Spring

    Hanging Towels

    March 29, 2014 /

    This is what happens when coupling a summicron 50 (third gen) with a Fujifilm X-1.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Ni État Ni Patron

    June 8, 2014

    Seeing What Isn’t There

    October 27, 2015

    Coffee at Caffè Nero

    July 16, 2023
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Paris,  Spring,  Street Photography

    Tour Saint-Jacques, Standby

    March 27, 2014 /

    Paris, the city of light, reflects off the polished chrome helmets of the sapeurs-pompiers. The firemen stand poised, immobile but ready. Their posture does not betray fatigue, nor doubt—it’s the stance of trained patience, of focused anticipation. This image captures a moment between action and calm. The fire hoses lie coiled with potential energy, valves shut, mechanisms still untouched. Behind them, the urban rhythm carries on: buses glide, pedestrians move, the sirens wait. The presence of the firefighters, framed by the bustle of Haussmannian façades and traffic, signals that something mighthave happened—or almost did. The mirrored helmets become metaphors themselves. They do not just shield: they reflect the world around them. Their function is…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Sweet Dilemma

    November 4, 2015

    Romeo’s Hideout

    December 16, 2015

    Fantozzi’s chairs

    May 4, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Street Photography,  Winter

    Is This Photo Illegal?

    March 20, 2014 /

    Yes, if it were taken in Hungary. Against the European Convention of Human Rights, Hungary passed a law that by next March 15 will require any photographer shooting in public space to obtain a signed “model release form”. This provision will be bashed by either the EU Court of Justice or the European Court of Human Rights (for the very same reasons I explained here), but it will take time and – first of all – a photographer that sacrifices himself on the altar of freedom.  

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    Andrea Monti

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    Posing at Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

    October 1, 2018

    Justice measured as the distance between Words and Facts

    July 10, 2023

    Is Batman Coming To Town?

    December 2, 2017
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Landscape,  Photography,  Winter

    Italy, Landscape Photography and the Law – Part Two

    February 23, 2014 /

    In a previous post I addressed some of the legal issues involved in Landscape Photography where copyright was willfully not mentioned: since copyright is an outcome of human creativity who might ever think of imposing it over a landscape? Well, as much as it sounds crazy, somebody did it: on 2o11 the Town of San Quirico d’Orcia, in Tuscany, passed a local regulation that copyrights landscape images and artistic, cultural, environmental and architectural “stuff”, making mandatory pro shooter to ask for an authorization before starting their sessions. This local regulation is simply illegal, because “copyright” implies an act of creativity, while the landscape in itself doesn’t (unless you believe in…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Don’t They Drink Tea, Instead?

    December 27, 2016

    Earbuds

    December 22, 2015

    A useless photo

    July 23, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Photography,  Reportage,  Social Control,  Urban Landscape,  Winter

    Just a soccer field… Part 2

    February 4, 2014 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    As Time Goes By

    June 11, 2013

    Though Choice

    June 23, 2014

    Isolation in Public Spaces

    November 10, 2023
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Photography

    The Google Experiment

    February 1, 2014 /

    The usual note: I don’t write about gear. But this time I want to do an experiment inspired by the consequences of having the post about Street Photography and Italian Law bounced by Adam Marelli and Luminous-Landscape. Since these two websites channeled my post around the world, the access to (other parts too of) my blog – mostly unknown, previously – steady increased. I’m far from saying that I’ve reached an “audience”, nevertheless this blog is gaining its space among the zillions  of pictures that live on the Internet. And it is “quality” space, meaning that visitors (you’re always welcome, folks!) find something of interest by looking at my pictures…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Open Interior

    March 14, 2021

    Fixing the ship

    August 18, 2021

    Against the Tide

    January 30, 2014
  • 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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    A Waiter in via Sardegna

    September 26, 2015

    YANE – Yet Another Nepal Exhibit

    March 23, 2015

    Claws of Fire

    September 27, 2017
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Landscape,  Photography

    Italy, Landscape Photography and the Law

    January 23, 2014 /

    Welcome back to the “Law, Order and Photography in Italy” series. The second episode (the first being about Street-Photography) deals with Landscape Photography and, again, provides practical advise for the photographer who travels through Italy shooting its nature. Summary Landscape Photography, at first sight, looks like a piece of cake. No need to hip shoot, no fear of being confronted by an illiterate policeman or angry passerby, no model-release to carry… just you, your camera and your subject: the Nature. But things, as often in Italy, aren’t that simple since rules and regulations extend (literally) up to the top of the mountains. To put it short, there are a few…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Processing a DSLR Digitised Black and White Film with Affinity Photo

    January 24, 2023

    A Dragon Trainer?

    July 8, 2014

    Three Lamps

    September 19, 2022
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  People,  Rome,  Streets&Squares

    So Long, Eos-M

    January 17, 2014 /

    A couple of days ago, while wandering around a street-market, I spotted a small “exhibit” of old Nikon and Hasselblad lenses. I thought it would have been nice to get the two “classic” lenses for the System V, so I traded my Eos-M (and lenses) for a Carl Zeiss lenses: a Distagon 50 and a Sonnar 150. The seller was eager to strike the deal, but I’m not sure who actually got the best bargain…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Italian Track&Field Championship 2018 – The reportage

    September 12, 2018

    Just Another Times Square View

    July 9, 2014

    YANE – Yet Another Nepal Exhibit

    March 23, 2015
  • 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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    Breakfast at Rue Brisemiche

    March 25, 2014

    Technological Memento

    June 26, 2021

    Running On The (Oslo’s) Docks

    September 28, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Observer Bias,  People,  Photography

    Multiple Meaning

    December 10, 2013 /

    We do see, in a picture, what we want to see. While the vast majority would focus on the dynamics between the shooter with the hoodie and the man with spectacles, those familiar with the inner circle of photography in Pescara will immediately spot, behind the man, Mrs. Franca Cauti, the Big Boss at Ohmasa Foto Video…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Yet Another WDISF Post

    May 5, 2024

    Forza Italia

    July 12, 2021

    Yin and Yang

    November 26, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Landscape,  Winter

    A HDR Experiment

    December 9, 2013 /

    This is my first – and possibly, last – attempt of using HDR to post-process my pictures. Unless I’m able to get a more creative outcome, there is no reason to have pictures that look deadly similar to those of the other users of Nik Software Collection (as I am:))

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    Andrea Monti

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    Partner in Glam

    May 3, 2023

    The Quest for Belgian Chocolate…

    April 11, 2017

    The Spectators

    August 19, 2017
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Gear,  Visual

    VueScan and the missed Bits-per-pixel

    December 1, 2013 /

    Ed Hamrick’s VueScan is a great software that supports almost every scanner available, including out-of-production film scanner. Sometimes its interface behave in non documented way as in the case of the Bits-per-pixel option in the Input tab that disappears once the Infrared Clean option is enabled in the Filter tab. I wasn’t able to figure out the relationship between the two settings until Ed Hamrick himself kindly answered (lightfast, I would say) to my question. Kudos to him for that, but it would be nice to have this Infrared clean-Bits per pixel issue mentioned in the user guide :)

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    Andrea Monti

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    Life, the Universe and Everything

    July 28, 2013

    Who Needs A Wedding Photographer Anymore?

    May 29, 2014

    Las Ramblas’ Lifestyle

    April 18, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Street Photography

    Meaningless

    November 9, 2013 /

    Sometimes it’s easier to tell what a photograph is not than to explain what it is. This frame, taken outside a small tabaccheria, is a case in point. It’s not sharp — the slight blur suggests either a slow shutter speed with handheld movement or an unintentional misfocus. It’s not correctly exposed either — the bright areas, particularly the pavement and parts of the foliage, are overexposed, washing out detail and flattening the scene. Compositionally, it struggles to find an anchor. The woman in the doorway and the man at the vending machine might form the core of a story, but the foreground foliage, tilted horizon, and lack of depth…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Just a Soccer Field… Part 1

    February 3, 2014

    Surreal Judo

    December 11, 2016

    Busy

    January 8, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Photo Journalism,  Street Photography,  Thoughts

    Italy, Street-Photography and the Law

    October 29, 2013 /

    Update – 2 On July 2014 the Polizia Municipale of Rome seized a street-photographer ‘s camera, but the Court bashed the seizure. Update – 1 Here is an A4 leaflet useful to stand your ground if your street-photography work is questioned by somebody else. Introduction* As there are few texts in English dealing with (street) photography and Italian laws, I’ve decided to put my lawyer‘s hat and sketch some toughts on the two main topics involving the Street-Photography: shooting candid and publishing them online. To cut a long story short, Italian law follows a similar approach to other Western jurisdictions and – in particular – of Articles 8 and 10…

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    Andrea Monti

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    UnortORTOdox (Ferrania)

    July 22, 2023

    After the Party

    December 16, 2013

    Life And Work On A Fishing Boat

    January 9, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Photography,  Thoughts

    The Nightmare

    August 23, 2013 /

    Last night, at what should have been an intimate tango exhibition, I was reminded how delicate the relationship between photographer, performer, and audience really is. It’s a balance of presence and discretion — a dance of our own, if you will — and when one party missteps, the whole atmosphere can falter. The image I took here is less about the aesthetics of tango than about an interruption to its magic. In the foreground stands a photographer, camera raised, entirely absorbed in his task. The moon glows softly above him, the darkness swallowing most of the scene, but it’s clear enough to see the intent concentration on his face. Off…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Out for a ride…

    January 2, 2013

    Trento, After Dark

    June 23, 2013

    A moment of break…

    February 22, 2013
  • Artists,  Daily photo,  Observer Bias,  Photography,  Thoughts

    When The Passion Is Gone (thank to a sneaky photographer)

    August 21, 2013 /

    The close-up delivers a feeling of hot passion, as often tangueros do. But a wider view, including that sneaky photographer, kills the mood.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Reminiscenses From The Past

    September 7, 2013

    The 365th Shot: Between Sacred and Profane

    December 14, 2013

    A Quiet Evening

    June 26, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Doors&Windows,  Gear

    EOS-M. Tips and Results For Street-Photography

    August 9, 2013 /

    In the quest for an acceptable use of my Canon EOS-M I think I’ve finally found a way to exploit my M-mount lenses after the poor experience with the LCD focus. The last two exposures posted, this and this, have been shot with a Carl Zeiss T* Biogon 35/2,8 through zone-focusing, while the picture of this post has been manually focused using the EOS-M’s 5x magnification feature. In both cases the results are more than acceptable, giving a new life to this severely limited camera. All I can say is that is true what seasoned photographers use to say about the cameras: as soon as you get acquainted with your…

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Mesh

    February 16, 2021

    Three Lamps

    September 19, 2022

    A Night at the Opera – Plays and Opera Photography

    December 21, 2024
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear

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

    August 4, 2013 /

    Gear time again. Notwithstanding its quirks I can’t get rid of this EOS-M camera and still try to find a reason not to dispose of it. This time I wanted to see how does the camera performs with Zeiss ZM lenses (namely, the Carl Zeiss T* 50 1,5 Sonnar) thanks to the – again brilliant – EOS-M to Leica M lens adapter by Master Adriano Lolli. As everybody can see the results are of a poor quality compared to the (not stellar) performance of the Canon EF-M 18-55. The Zeiss is not faulty (I use it on a Leica M6 and it works like a charm) so I came to…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Sailing Home

    October 4, 2023

    Silent Reader

    July 17, 2016

    God of the Sea or Restaurant Banner?

    July 15, 2014
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