Andrea Monti

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  • B&W,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Gear,  PhotoCritics,  Photography,  Thoughts

    Some odd outcomes from a photo recovering attempt using an AI

    July 13, 2025 /

    I was curious to see how an AI would handle a bad photo, so I uploaded this black-and-white shot taken in the area around Kyoto Station with my Nikon 35TI. Initially published on 35mmc.com. The photo itself —the one published as featured image— it’s part of a long term project to show the presence of Alfa Romeo (a brand I’m a big fan of) in the Japanese streets. It isn’t anything special, but I needed a starting point (the worse, the better) so, after having uploaded this poor shot, I prompted the software like this: As a professional in photo restoration and post production restore this photograph of an Alfa…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Garbage As Usual – Pantheon’s Nearby

    October 4, 2019

    Just A Cat

    June 29, 2014

    Meaningless

    November 9, 2013
  • Artists,  Colour,  Daily photo,  PhotoCritics,  Photography,  Portraits,  Summer

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

    May 29, 2025 /

    I recently asked a friend, who works on the editorial side of the music industry, to share his thoughts on one of my photographs taken during a flamenco concert. His response was a deep and thorough analysis, which I will spare the readers in full. In brief, however, he praised the lighting as particularly effective for flamenco photography, noting how the chiaroscuro effect recalls the classical paintings of Caravaggio. Regarding the composition, he observed that the bailaora’s body fills the frame dynamically, without ever feeling cramped. In his conclusion, he remarked that the image captures the very soul of flamenco. As flattering as this commentary was, I must admit that none…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Genta Fukue live@Sakura Terrace – Kyoto

    June 22, 2017

    Hard Spam

    April 1, 2013

    Hard Stare

    April 26, 2016
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  PhotoCritics,  Photography,  Tokyo

    Creativity vs Originality

    March 11, 2024 /

    Is the photo above creative? Is it original? Well… yes and no. It is certainly original because I ‘in person’ took it, and it is creative because – regardless of the aesthetic result – I took the time to arrange all the elements (composition, light, etc.) in a coherent moment —and I have the film negative to prove it. On the other hand, it is neither original —as in ‘unique’— nor creative because the same photo can be found here and maybe elsewhere on the Internet. Obviously, the linked photo it is not ‘the’ same as mine, because it is clear that they were taken at different times and places (mine was…

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    Andrea Monti

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    An Athlete@Stadio Marmi, Rome

    October 11, 2018

    Street Crossing

    September 17, 2014

    Caparezza – Live@Palamaggetti Roseto degli Abruzzi

    February 12, 2018
  • Actors,  B&W,  Daily photo,  Gear,  PhotoCritics,  Portraits,  Technique,  Winter

    Easy To Shoot?

    December 12, 2020 /

    This picture might look “ordinary” but for the fact that I shot it with a rangefinder film camera (guess which?) during the scene change between to acts of a theatre play. Scene assistants were placing the furnitures, actors were trying to focus on their parts, there was no time (and place) to design a proper composition and set the camera. No autofocus, no real-time exposure and white-balance setting. Maybe I have been lucky capturing the match flame close to the cigar, maybe it was because of “muscle memory”, but I did it nonetheless. Problem is that I could not be sure if I succeeded until, one week later, I saw…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Somewhere in Japan

    May 19, 2014

    The Sorcerer’s Shop

    November 1, 2016

    Just A Bird

    July 1, 2014
  • Actors,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  PhotoCritics

    Meaning in Photography

    March 4, 2020 /

    In this picture, taken during the reportage I did for the Teatro Marrucino’s I Miserabili, an old and exhausted fighter rests while a young citoyen waves the French flag defying the fire of the royalists. The strength of the picture is in the dialectics created by the two protagonists, hinting at a “relay” between an old man that “gave all”, resting while a young man steps in.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Skating on Avenue Louise

    April 1, 2014

    Restaurant or Hellgate?

    June 21, 2013

    Red Tears

    June 7, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  PhotoCritics,  Reportage,  Winter

    Denegata Justitia

    March 2, 2020 /

    Sometimes a picture acquires a meaning that goes beyond the original intent of the photographer. In this case, taken from a reportage I did for Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables featured at Teatro Marrrucino, in Chieti, the photography becomes the archetype of the denegata Justitia. The defendant asks to speak, the justice stares elsewhere.

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Seagull And The Sentinel

    October 27, 2014

    The Stare of a T800

    August 4, 2015

    Red Storm

    June 30, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  PhotoCritics,  Technique,  Winter

    Breaking the Fourth Wall

    February 17, 2020 /

    Shooting a play is challenging because you must be ready to seize ‘the moment’ and, at the very same time, think of unusual compositions to avoid the boring ‘frontal’ perspective. Shooting part of the reportage from the backstage of Hamlet, with Giorgio Pasotti and Mariangela D’Abbraccio directed by Francesco Tavassi I had the possibility to experiment the breaking of the fourth wall. This picture is one of the results.

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    Andrea Monti

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    A manual-focus atteimpt on a moving target

    July 26, 2013

    @ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Anthem (and a primer on sport photography, part 1)

    September 22, 2015

    A Different Passion…

    June 12, 2016
  • Artists,  Colour,  Daily photo,  PhotoCritics,  Technique

    Counter-intuitive Focus

    February 9, 2020 /

    This photo I took during a reportage for a theatre hosting a concert of Uto Ughi shows a counter-intuitive use of focusing. Rather than go for the obvious option, the attention is shifted on the two musicians in the background capturing their concentration, with the leading violin blurred and conceptually, thus, ‘left behind’. The global effect is reinforced by a neat separation between the dark and light parts of the frame.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Tired or Fascinated?

    October 21, 2013

    Which One?

    April 16, 2014

    A Fountain

    May 17, 2014
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  PhotoCritics,  Technique,  Winter

    When Colour Helps Composition

    February 7, 2020 /

    This photo I took during a reportage of Miseria e nobiltà – a classic of the Neapolitan comedy by Eduardo Scarpetta – in the mise en scene of Lello Arena e Luciano Melchionna gives a lot of insights on how composition works. The triangle designed by the two actors on the sides and the taller actress in the centre is reinforced by the colours of the costumes: black in the centre, white in the sides. Finally, the purple background behind the black figure enhances the eye-driving effect toward the centre.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Distraction

    April 6, 2016

    A moment of break…

    February 22, 2013

    Italian Stardust

    April 6, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  PhotoCritics,  Seasons,  Winter

    On “timing the moment”

    January 20, 2020 /

    This photo I took during an assignment for a reportage on the theatre drama called “Le Signorine” with Giuliana De Sio and Isa Danieli is an excellent example of the “Timing the moment” concept. “Timing the moment” is a skill any event-based photographer should develop (or hone, if he’s gifted enough to have been born with the gift.) Especially in sport – but too in concerts and theatre’s show if you did not attend the rehearsal – you don’t know in advance what is going to happen. A unique mixture of intuition, reflex and decision (what the Japanese would call 決め – kime) allows capturing an unforeseen – and excellent…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Have fun…

    July 12, 2013

    Cupido’s Fall

    June 2, 2014

    Justice measured as the distance between Words and Facts

    July 10, 2023
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Fashion Shops,  People,  PhotoCritics,  Rome

    Deadly Bored

    January 6, 2020 /

    Once again, the meaning of this picture is counter intuitive and “made up” by the composition. The scene is seen from the perspective of the mannequin: at the end of a hard day spent sitting on the street-front, it (or he?) looks deadly bored and tries to kill the time before the shop closes by casually looking at the next passerby. The directional effect (from the mannequin to the passerby) is achieved by the diagonal connecting the tip of the hat, the feet of the mannequin and the cast of the shadow. Taken as a whole, these elements drive the eye from the mannequin to the persons and not vice-versa.

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    Andrea Monti

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    John De Leo’s Grande Abarasse Orchestra – Live

    February 10, 2015

    Spectrum

    March 12, 2017

    The Spinners

    June 13, 2013
  • Autumn,  Boulevards,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  PhotoCritics,  Rome

    A Virtual Glance Dance

    December 28, 2019 /

    The essence of this photo is all in the glances of the protagonists. The man looks at the woman, the woman looks at the luxury car. The essence of this photo is all in the glances of the protagonists. The man looks at the woman, and the woman looks at the luxury car. It is this subtle game of glances that tells a story and turns the photography from a casual picture into something worth seeing. Once again, it is not relevant whether the people portrayed are actually involved in the “glance dance”, as what matters is the image to convey the meaning created by the overall result. This confirms…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Urgent Calls Only

    May 15, 2017

    Conversation

    November 27, 2013

    Welcome in the New (?) Year

    January 1, 2014
  • Artists,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  PhotoCritics,  Portraits,  Technique,  Winter

    The Power of Underexposing

    December 25, 2019 /

    This portrait was built in the shadows. Underexposing by design meant letting darkness dominate the frame, allowing only the essentials — the face, the glint of an earring, the folds of the dress — to emerge. The result is a scene stripped of distraction, where every visible element has earned its place. The composition is weighted to the left, pulling the viewer into the subject’s gaze and leaving negative space to amplify the drama. The rich crimson of the gown benefits from the controlled exposure: under normal lighting, its details might have flattened into uniform red; here, the fabric’s texture and the embroidery’s sparkle gain depth from the way light…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Belgian Hats

    October 19, 2015

    In Hoc Signo

    August 20, 2015

    Common Fate

    November 15, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  PhotoCritics,  Rome,  Winter

    When Tilted Photos Work

    December 18, 2019 /

    Tilted photos are very challenging to take. It is easy to break the composition, lose an essential part of the scene, or take a bad picture. Furthermore, making sense out of a diagonal orientation with a ratio that is not square (Hasselblad people, I can hear you loud and clear!) adds layers of difficulties. As counterintuitive as it might look, this photo taken in a “normal” orientation would have lost all its visual impact.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Not AI-made…

    September 17, 2022

    Avid Readers

    August 17, 2013

    Macarons. Again

    October 23, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  PhotoCritics,  Rome,  Winter

    Good Plan, Poor Execution

    December 15, 2019 /

    The idea behind the composition is entirely correct. The mannequins and the girl form a triangle, as does the direction of the stares, conveying both a sense of symmetry and counterposing the liveness of a human being to the puppets’ lack of. A poor execution, though, led to the mannequins’ head cut, turning a visually appealing photography into a meaningless shot.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Ramping Up

    September 16, 2014

    Wonder… Wall

    June 8, 2021

    An update on the poor Canon EOS-M autofocus

    March 30, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Downtown,  Observer Bias,  PhotoCritics,  Rome,  Winter

    Light as Meaning Shifter

    December 11, 2019 /

    The original idea behind this picture was to match the emptiness of the shop with the facelessness of the mannequin posing as a store clerk, to convey a general feeling of depersonalization. Unfortunately, the big lightblot represented by the poster close to the mannequin catches the observer’s attention and reduce the effectiveness of the composition. Instead of connecting the mannequin with the internal part of the store thus making sense of the whole picture, the eye just “sees” an ad poster.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Das Feuerwehr

    April 17, 2018

    Guru Meditation

    May 12, 2014

    A view of the Bologna’s Station

    April 28, 2019
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  OutOfFocus,  PhotoCritics,  Rome,  Visual,  Winter

    Photopanning in Rome

    December 3, 2019 /

    Photo panning is an art in itself and – when adequately practised – is able to deliver a stunning visual experience. In this picture (that has not been altered but for contrast and clarity) the overall experience reminds the Impressionism aesthetics.

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Lost Garage

    July 8, 2013

    A Smoker

    September 2, 2015

    Will The iPhone Kill Traditional Cameras? Not Very

    October 15, 2019
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Jewelry,  Observer Bias,  PhotoCritics,  Rome,  Winter

    Keep Out!

    November 30, 2019 /

    This photo conveys a message of “rejection”: first, a security guard who blocks access to the jewellery and then a signal of a prohibition of access reinforces the concept, thanks to a composition that guides the eye to a diagonal that goes from the bottom to the top, from left to right. Obviously, there is nothing “true” about all this because the overall result is the result of the organization of the spaces and the management of the perspective that allow connecting semantically elements that, in reality, have no relationship between them. It would have been enough to shoot from a different angle – or not juxtapose the security guard…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Suspicious

    September 8, 2013

    A coffee at Saint Eustachio’s

    February 4, 2016

    None of my business…

    March 3, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People,  PhotoCritics,  Winter

    Evolution in Red

    November 20, 2019 /

    The frame unfolds on a Milanese street, a busy scene of people moving in different directions, yet bound by an unplanned visual thread — the colour red. On the far left, a stroller stands out, its fabric vivid against the muted tones of the pavement and stone façades. On the far right, a man in a red jacket, phone pressed to his ear, anchors the other end of the composition. Between them lies the space in which meaning is manufactured by the viewer: a perceived transition from childhood to adulthood, implied but never intended by reality itself. The technical construction supports this interplay. The image uses depth rather than focus…

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    Andrea Monti

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    DSLR-like…?

    March 21, 2025

    Negrita’s Cover Band

    September 19, 2013

    Galaxy S21 Ultra 5g. The difference between Marketing and Reality in Image Quality

    January 24, 2021

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