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  • Autumn,  Cars&Bikes,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Photography,  Tokyo

    An experiment with Dall-E, ChatGPT and a Nissan S8

    November 4, 2023 /

    This is an experiment based on a picture of a Nissan S8 taken at the Nissan Crossing in Ginza.First, I asked Dall-E to describe what he ‘sees’. Then I started asking questions to locate the place where the showroom should be, being careful not to give any hints.ChatGPT did not give a correct answer on the first try, but eventually it did. Me: Describe this photo ChatGPT: This photo features a futuristic-looking race car displayed indoors, presumably within a showroom or an exhibition space. The car is designed with an aggressive aerodynamic shape, with large, protruding front winglets and an expansive rear wing, characteristic of high-speed, high-performance vehicles, possibly a…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Seats

    September 11, 2017

    A few test shots with an MC Cosinon T200/4

    January 14, 2024

    Tiles

    October 31, 2014
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks

    Red Beam

    October 24, 2023 /

    The Viltrox XF 85 F1.8 II is a very capable lens. Here is a shot taken with a Fuji X-T4 in difficult lighting conditions.

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Sailor’s Knot

    November 22, 2013

    Open Window

    February 4, 2015

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

    August 7, 2024
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Milan,  Photography,  Street Photography

    How Privacy Hysteria Killed Street-Photography

    October 22, 2023 /

    At other times I would have dismissed this image as ‘out of focus’ and unusable. Just another missed shot caused by poor focusing technique on a fully manual film camera. Nowadays, however, I have begun to change my attitude towards these kinds of blurred images because of the privacy hysteria affecting the practice of street photography. There have been cases where people have been found guilty of harassment for covertly taking pictures in public spaces, but street photography has nothing to do with criminal behaviour. There is a huge difference between taking sneaky, random, meaningless pictures of people on the street and trying to freeze sketches of life to tell…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Cornermen

    June 4, 2013

    Forgotten

    October 15, 2013

    The Silent Ceremony

    November 2, 2017
  • Autumn,  B&W,  Daily photo,  Milan,  People

    Where to?

    October 21, 2023 /

    Unlike my previous shots, this is a ‘normal’ analogue image. The film – Ferrania P30 – was not expired and the camera was fully manual – a Voigtländer Bessa R2A with a Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35 1.4.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Almost Spotted

    February 27, 2014

    Italy, Street-Photography and the Law

    October 29, 2013

    Get Ready, Set, Go

    February 2, 2022
  • 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.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Welcome in the New (?) Year

    January 1, 2014

    Portrait of a politician – 1

    October 25, 2013

    None of my business…

    March 3, 2013
  • 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.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Under the Yellow Umbrella

    March 9, 2013

    The Score Keeper

    April 24, 2019

    @ Mediterranean Beach Games 2015 – Italian Beach Volley Team – Marco Caminati, Enzo Rossi

    October 29, 2015
  • 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…

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Special Dress for a Special Party

    July 6, 2016

    Meaningless

    November 9, 2013

    YANE – Yet Another Nepal Exhibit

    March 23, 2015
  • Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Fighting Disciplines,  Sport

    Questioning the Referee

    October 8, 2023 /

    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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    Andrea Monti

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    Collision Path

    July 5, 2019

    Stop

    December 6, 2018

    As much as you’re far from home…

    April 5, 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.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Under the Bridge

    November 6, 2013

    The Hamlet’s Dilemma

    May 20, 2014

    Out For Justice

    June 21, 2014
  • 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.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Landscape

    December 21, 2012

    Portrait of a Lawyer

    October 5, 2013

    Big Brother Enhanced

    May 1, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Observer Bias,  Photography

    AI or not AI?

    October 3, 2023 /

    The original title of this photograph was ‘When the wait to see the doctor is too long’, and it was intended to illustrate how the ‘framing’ of an image into a particular concept changes – or creates from scratch – its overall meaning.However, when a friend of mine saw it, he commented, ‘Is this made by AI?’ Making a pun with my initials, I replied ‘No, it is not AI, it is AM’.Joking aside, what made me think is that this image could not have been further from being AI-generated: it was shot on film, with a twenty-year-old point-and-shoot camera loaded with a fifteen-year-old Ilford HP5 400 roll, yet it…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Steve Hackett – Live@Teatro d’Annunzio

    July 8, 2017

    A Fence

    November 6, 2014

    The Watchdogs

    February 9, 2017
  • Autumn,  B&W,  Daily photo,  Moon

    When Venus meets the Moon

    October 2, 2023 /

    Taken handheld early in the morning with an X-T5 at full res, this picture pushes the XF 150-600 to its limits. The moon is decently exposed and captured with enough details. Venus, by contrast, is but a glitch in the sky.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Plenty of Chairs in Via Veneto

    December 2, 2013

    Das Feuerwehr

    April 17, 2018

    Mandatory Photo Position

    August 3, 2019
  • Actors,  Autumn,  Colour,  Daily photo

    Serva padrona @ Teatro Marrucino

    October 1, 2023 /

    LED banding is a major problem when using electronic shutters, and the Fuji X-T4 and X-T5 are no exception. In the specific conditions of this piece, I found that setting the shutter speed below 1/100s tamed the problem. However, there is one major drawback: the number of ruined shots increases. This is particularly true of the moments when the actors are waving their limbs or moving randomly. In this case, the slower parts of the body remain in focus, while the peripheral parts do not. Unfortunately, there is still no post-production technique that can eliminate this problem, which makes it difficult to achieve usable results. Of course, using a mechanical…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Tell me something I do not know…!

    April 23, 2023

    Romeo’s Hideout

    December 16, 2015

    Chitchat under the rain

    March 10, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Photography,  Sport,  Summer,  Track&Field

    On Composition. Or: the eye sees what the mind is prepared to comprehend

    September 11, 2023 /

    This shot, taken during the Italian Road Running National Championships, is a fair application of the French philosopher Henri Bergson aphorism to composition: the eye sees what the mind is prepared to comprehend. In fact, although there is not a direct, cause-and-effect relationship between this image and renaissance painting, the learned observer may find some connection with works such as, for instance, Michelangelo’s Battaglia di Cascina. The connection between present and past may be loose, but this does not affect the principle. When I framed the shot I something ‘clicked’ in my mind and I instinctively decided to press the button. Photography (at least in all its variations, such as…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Not AI-made…

    September 17, 2022

    An Old School Workstation

    September 12, 2014

    Street Magic@Nagoya Castle

    July 21, 2019
  • 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…

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    Andrea Monti

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    What Lasts of a Saturday Night Party

    January 24, 2014

    Hard Choice In Quai de la Corse

    March 21, 2014

    Portrait of a Master luthier

    October 26, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Daily Video,  Photography,  Summer

    The Expired Film Series – Episode 4 – Ferrania Solaris 100 – Dec. 2006 shot in August 2023

    September 3, 2023 /

    This is the fourth episode in a series documenting the use of expired film in various contexts. Episode 4 features a Ferrania Solaris 100 shot with a Voigtländer Vitoret DR and a Color Lanthar 50/2,8 in the vicinity of the sea of the city of Pescara (Abruzzi) .The film was overexposed by one stop as it is customary with expired film to allow more light to impress it.The results are just subpar, however the pictures have some sort of ‘individual’ trait.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Burnt

    November 12, 2021

    5 Frames with various cameras – Ferrari On The Road(s)

    February 22, 2025

    Processing DSLR-digitized film with and without Pentax K-1 Monochrome Custom Image profile

    April 30, 2023
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Moon,  Summer

    Red Moon at the end of August

    September 1, 2023 /

    Shot handheld (no tripod) with an X-T5 and a Fuji XF 150-600. Image stabilisation worked very well.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Which Part of “No Smoking” Got You Lost?

    June 21, 2015

    A (Soon) Lost Banner

    November 1, 2018

    Late-afternoon’s snack

    April 15, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Daily Video,  Photography,  Projects

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

    August 30, 2023 /

    This is the third episode in a series documenting the use of expired film in various contexts (mainly in Rome, Italy). Episode 3 features an Ilford HP5 400 shot with a Pentax ME Super and a smc Pentax A 28/2,8 in various parts of the city of Pescara (Abruzzi) . The film was overexposed by one stop as it is customary with expired film to allow more light to impress it. The results are subpar and also in this case the blacks lack details and pictures show severe grain.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Panoramio’s 200th photo

    February 4, 2013

    Player&Listener

    June 30, 2014

    A contemporary-art installation

    March 31, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Fighters,  Fighting Disciplines,  People,  Summer

    HeadButt

    August 5, 2023 /

    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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    Andrea Monti

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    Iron Gate

    May 2, 2013

    Portrait of a Professional Boxing Fighter. Davide De Lellis

    March 8, 2019

    Final Arrangements Before the Hearing

    April 19, 2015
  • 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.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Clandestine Seagull

    November 24, 2013

    @Rome Maker Faire – 3. Stare Of The Mechanical Man

    October 13, 2014

    Weight Training @ Rome’s Stadio Olimpico

    October 9, 2018
  • 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…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Questioning the Referee

    October 8, 2023

    Mid-Morning Break at Place Jourdan

    March 24, 2014

    Splinter

    March 13, 2021
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Daily Video,  Photography,  Rome

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

    July 25, 2023 /

    This is the second episode in a series documenting the use of expired film in various contexts (mainly in Rome, Italy). Episode 2 features an Ilford XP2Super 400 shot with a Voigtlander Bessa R2 and a Voigtlander Nokton 35/1,4 in Rome (IT), between Colle del Quirinale and Piazza di Montecitorio. Also in this case, but this time by mistake, film’s ISO and the exposure compensation were not adapted to allow more light to impress the film. Once again, the blacks lack detail and show severe grain.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Get Ready for The Duty

    July 13, 2013

    The El Prat’s Lounge

    June 5, 2014

    LP – Live@Anfiteatro La Civitella – The photogallery

    July 11, 2022
  • 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.

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    Andrea Monti

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    Portraits in Skating

    November 30, 2024

    An Old Motorcade

    August 10, 2015

    Panoramio’s 200th photo

    February 4, 2013
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Daily Video,  Photography,  Rome

    The Expired Film Series – Episode 1 – Kodak BW400CN – Dec. 2014 shot in June 2023

    July 21, 2023 /

    This is the first episode in a series documenting the use of expired film in various contexts (mainly in Rome, Italy). Episode 1 features a Kodak BW400CN shot with a Nikon 35TI in Rome (IT), between Piazzale Flaminio and Piazza di Spagna where the world premiere of the latest Tom Cruise motion picture —Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning— was going to be held. As the Nikon 35TI does not allow one to ‘pull’ film’s ISO and the exposure compensation did not work, it was impossible to overexpose the pictures. As a results, the blacks lack detail and show severe grain. Legal Notice Reuse is free for pro bono personal and educational…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Lost Bottles

    January 27, 2014

    The Path To Freedom

    September 29, 2014

    None of my business…

    March 3, 2013
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