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Andrea Monti

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

    April 24, 2023

    A few test shots with an MC Cosinon T200/4

    January 14, 2024

    Yellow

    December 15, 2014
  • Autumn,  Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo

    The Compelling Power of Photography

    September 22, 2022 /

    The sandstorm came fast — the kind that scours your skin raw, leaves grit between your teeth, and makes you regret every bit of exposed flesh. I had the Pentax K-3 II with the DA* 50–135mm f/2.8 mounted and ready, but even the gear felt fragile in that wind. Eighty kilometres per hour doesn’t sound like much until it becomes horizontal. In the middle of that chaos, he walked in. No jacket, no hood, no camera gear — just shorts, sunglasses, and a phone. He stopped, planted his feet in the shifting sand, and took a photo. Not staged, not dramatic. Just a gesture. In the middle of discomfort, maybe…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Crowd Control

    July 16, 2013

    Lady Gaga Art Rave

    October 5, 2014

    Sting of the Vespa

    March 7, 2025
  • Autumn,  B&W,  Daily photo,  Visual

    Three Lamps

    September 19, 2022 /

    I made this photograph on a breezy afternoon, when the light fell just right across the row of straw-shaded lamps. The alignment was irresistible — three distinct forms in sequence, receding gently into the frame. I wanted the rhythm to pull the viewer’s eye through the image, from the sharp texture of the foreground shade to the softly blurred suggestion of the background structure. The Pentax K-3 II paired with the DA* 50-135 rendered the detail crisply; every strand of straw stands out against the muted backdrop. The lens’s rendering at f/2.8 helped create a shallow depth of field without obliterating context. The light bulbs, faintly glowing even in daylight,…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Chasing Rainbows on the Open Road

    October 13, 2021

    The Casual Observer

    September 5, 2013

    Seeing What Isn’t There

    October 27, 2015
  • Autumn,  Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Photography

    Not AI-made…

    September 17, 2022 /

    The colour rendition of a photo taken with a Pentax (camera and lens) is unique. Taste is personal, and so is this opinion. One thing, however, is sure: the pictorial look of this photography is not made by an ‘AI’.

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    Andrea Monti

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    On Air

    July 22, 2014

    The El Prat’s Lounge

    June 5, 2014

    Who Is The Machine?

    August 5, 2019
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  Spring

    A Gull, Posing

    June 17, 2022 /

    A gull sits perched on a bollard by the water, its body angled just enough to suggest awareness of being seen. The rust-stained base, heavy and industrial, contrasts sharply with the lightness of the bird resting on top. It is a moment where function and chance converge, turning a docking post into a stage. Composition is centred and deliberate. The bollard fills the frame vertically, anchoring the image, while the gull becomes both subject and ornament. The blurred surface of the water behind isolates the scene, stripping away distraction so the viewer confronts the simple pairing of steel and feathers. Technically, exposure is well handled. The whites of the gull’s…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Fast Call

    December 28, 2013

    The Quiet Riot

    November 19, 2017

    Having Sax

    February 6, 2015
  • B&W,  Daily photo,  Past&Relics,  Spring,  Visual

    Three Tires

    May 18, 2022 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    5 (random) frames of Bruxelles with a MIR-1B, a Pentax ME Super and a Kodak TMax400

    March 19, 2025

    The Spanish Sense of Flesh – 1

    June 26, 2014

    The Violinist

    July 1, 2015
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Docks,  People,  Winter

    So Long, and Thank You for the Fish

    January 26, 2022 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    The 365th Shot: Between Sacred and Profane

    December 14, 2013

    Missed Airplane

    December 4, 2017

    A Few More Shots From An Urban Exploration Trip

    September 20, 2025
  • B&W,  Beach&Shores,  Daily photo,  Winter

    Beach Party

    January 22, 2022 /

    Shot just after dawn, this image came together in seconds but tells a layered story of rivalry and instinct. The beach, in its usual emptiness, became a stage for the coarsely choreographed interaction between gulls and crows. I didn’t plan for a composition — I reacted to it. And yet, the result balances tension, motion, and rhythm better than many calculated frames. Technically, I leaned into softness rather than clarity. The overcast light pushed the colours into a muted palette, verging on monochrome. I let the flatness be, resisting contrast boosts in post, allowing the wet sand to mirror just enough detail without pulling the eye from the birds. Their…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Empty Chairs in the Tuileries

    October 19, 2013

    Guarding Democracy

    June 14, 2023

    Parisian’s Bags

    April 6, 2014
  • Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Seasons,  Winter

    Gliding Away

    December 21, 2021 /

    I caught this shot as the gull moved past me, wings stretched in an elegant curve, pulling away from the frame almost as quickly as I brought the camera to my eye. Tracking birds in flight with the DA* 50-135 on the K-3 II is always a test of reflexes and technique, especially when the background is a shifting plane of textured water. The lens handled the contrast well, keeping the bird distinct enough from the muted greens and greys of the sea, though the fine detail in the wingtips fell just short of crisp — a reminder that a fractionally faster shutter speed might have been the better choice.…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Daniele Silvestri – Teatri 2022 – Live@Teatro Massimo, Pescara

    December 16, 2022

    Sala degli Onori @ Triennale di Milano

    May 19, 2017

    Priority Pass Lounge at Fiumicino Airport

    November 30, 2015
  • Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Seasons,  Winter

    Waiting for the Fish

    December 18, 2021 /

    There’s a particular kind of pleasure in using the Pentax K-3 II paired with the DA* 50-135mm f/2.8—a combination that rewards patience much like the fisherman in this frame. The lens’s rendering and microcontrast gave me exactly what I wanted here: a clean separation between subject and background without the look feeling forced. The weather was brooding, the horizon hazy, and the colours naturally muted, so the camera’s sensor, with its well-known dynamic range, had plenty of tonal nuance to work with. The man in the red hoodie became my obvious focal point—a striking colour contrast against the cooler palette of sea and sky. His posture, hands clasped behind his…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Cleaning the Tabernacle

    November 26, 2022

    Light as Meaning Shifter

    December 11, 2019

    HeadButt

    August 5, 2023
  • Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Seasons,  Winter

    Should I Seat?

    December 15, 2021 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Parachute

    September 14, 2013

    A Modern Orpheus

    November 24, 2015

    Different Financial Transactions

    November 3, 2016
  • Airport,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Lines,  Winter

    Landing

    December 4, 2021 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    A Droplet

    February 21, 2021

    The Sprint Before the Ride

    August 8, 2013

    Tables and Chairs, at Night

    May 7, 2013
  • Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo,  People

    Man in Trenchcoat

    November 20, 2021 /

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    Andrea Monti

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    Pop Art Meets Industrial Hamburg

    April 24, 2018

    Early Morning Shaving on The Beach

    August 6, 2013

    A Street Dancer In Sakae

    August 9, 2019
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  Past&Relics,  Winter

    After Heat, Structure

    November 12, 2021 /

    I made this photograph  handheld, late afternoon. The car was still warm. Fire had done what fire does: reduced all function to form, all value to surface. What remained was metal, glass, ash—and light. I chose a shallow angle, head-on through the front windscreen, to confront the wreckage as directly as possible. The lens was at roughly 60mm, allowing a slight compression of space. I focused on the mid-depth—the charred dashboard—so the frame reads in layers: foreground (rust and blistered bonnet), middle (molten plastic and exposed seat frames), background (burned upholstery, collapsed interior geometry). Each plane tells a different part of the story. The light was flat, which helped. No…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Raus

    May 12, 2013

    Rest under a tree

    May 31, 2013

    Inside The Clocktower

    August 22, 2015
  • Bottles&Cups,  Colour,  Daily photo

    Fancy a beer?

    November 3, 2021 /

    I caught this Peroni bottle resting on a worn wooden post at the marina, the kind of accidental still life you don’t stage — you simply recognise and frame. The Pentax K-5, paired with the DA* 50-135 f/2.8, made the job effortless. That lens has a way of pulling a subject into sharp relief while letting the world behind it dissolve into painterly abstraction. Here, the background of masts, ropes, and blurred hulls becomes more a wash of colour than a setting, yet it still whispers the story of where we are. I shot wide open, wanting the bokeh to take the harsh edges off the busy scene. The glass…

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    Andrea Monti

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    The Spanish Sense of Flesh – 2

    June 28, 2014

    Between Two Sets

    May 15, 2014

    The Referees

    June 6, 2013
  • Colour,  Daily photo,  People,  Seasons,  Street Photography,  Summer

    In the Rain, A Helping Hand

    July 10, 2019 /

    The rain hit fast and hard. Streets turned to rivers in minutes. I was sheltering under a bus stop roof, camera still strapped around my shoulder, when I saw the man go down. Not dramatically—just a slow, heavy fall as he misjudged the kerb under the surge of water. Then came the officer. No hesitation. No fuss. Just a clean, instinctive move to lift him. The Leica didn’t leave my eye. I shot quickly—no time to compose in a traditional sense, but sometimes the moment doesn’t wait for your geometry. The turquoise pole on the left anchors the frame almost by accident. The crossing lines in the background help balance…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Stadio Olimpico, seen from Tribuna Monte Mario

    October 1, 2022

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

    September 22, 2015

    Orange Scarf

    November 9, 2014
  • Beach&Shores,  Colour,  Daily photo,  Streets&Squares,  Urban Landscape

    When the Tide Recedes

    December 8, 2013 /

    This scene struck me as more than just a visual curiosity—it posed a question. What doesn’t belong here: the boat or the car? The early evening light had just enough character to lift detail off the flat grey of the pavement and tease texture from the bark of the bare trees. The DA 50-135* handled the compression beautifully, allowing me to frame the boat prominently while holding the background activity—a fire truck, scattered people, and that lone parked car—in a shallow but still informative focus plane. I appreciated the restrained dynamic range of the K-5’s APS-C sensor here. The muted palette lends the image an autumnal melancholy, without needing the…

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    Andrea Monti

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    Too Noisy

    May 24, 2013

    Waiting For The Patrons – 2

    June 19, 2015

    Having Sax

    February 6, 2015

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