I apologize for the long absence, but significant events have occurred in my life since May. Street photography has been temporarily (unfortunately) set aside. The sudden change in my life due to the birth of my daughter Camilla in may has revolutionized everything. Due to the extreme heat weather in Rome over the past month ... The post Street photography – An opinion about Olympus mju-II and old film compact cameras appeared first on Santini Photography ..read more

After first experiences with film and analogue compact camera I can say that I love doing that! I’m still shooting with film (colors and bw) in my street photography, at first it was a sort of curiosity and experimentation. Now it has become something more. But as I said I shoot digitally too, still my first choice, I don’t know what will happen in the future… As previously mentioned, film photography has captivated me, despite its significantly higher costs, longer processing times, and practical inconveniences compared to digital photography. It’s all about the final image quality, which, in ..read more

Here we go, as promised, with the first official color film roll. In reality, this is actually my very first film roll in street photography. I used a Kodak Portra 400 ISO, which was quite expensive, especially for the compact analog camera I used, a simple Yashica Minitec. As expected, the colors, although somewhat faded, are fantastic; the hues are soft and subtly pastel, but in such way similar to reality. The fine grain is definitely awesome. What can I say? The final result is magnificent, even better than I anticipated. As I said before film photography has a “different magic” compared t ..read more

Here we come, finally I’ve received the scans of the first two rolls taken with my compact camera Yshica minitec. These are my first results of street photography using film. I shoot with Kodak Portra 400 color (wonderfull but really expensive) and Ilford hp5+ 400 bw. I love the tones and fine grain of Kodak. Ilford has a much coarser grain, but result are equally stunning. First impression are better than positive. Most of the images are in focus and this is great. But pictures out of focus or blurred are equally interesting. I posted below some selected photos in jpeg without any post-produc ..read more

Yes I know. In a recent post I wrote that I shoot digitally in street photography explaining my reasons and preferences over film. But in last month I tried also using film starting with a simple compact film camera, a beautiful Yashica minitec that I’ve bought online for 60 euros (some shops sell it also at 200!). I started using film by taking photos at the beach 3 weeks ago with a beautiful but unfortunately expensive Kodak Portra 400 ISO. I was literally swept away by the joy and excitement of shooting on film with an analogue camera, something I used to do as a child years and years ago ..read more

I’d like to share my work only on this website. Unfortunately I have to work more to implement views. My Instagram account is still the main tool to share my photos (unfortunately again). Let me show last series, I like it really much, same depressed mood as another recently published series. Essentially I think that this is simply my expression in street photography (and life), my vision about human beings condition. As I said before I think that emotion is the most powerful sensation in art and I want give emotion through pictures of really life that in such way represent myself. But let’s t ..read more

A few words about me and why I’ve created my personal website and blog. Well usually I never talk about me, I don’t like to do that. My name is Francesco and I’m a physician. Back in 2010 I fell in love with photography (before I hated it) which for me is a form of art, similar to painting and music. I don’t like thinking about photography as a documentary and journalistic medium but simply as artistic expression of ourselves. By the way from 2010 my love for photography grew alongside with passion for cinema, an increasing indissoluble combination (I am also a film critic in Italy). Shortly ..read more

Here we go again; It’s always the same routine, which camera do you use? Theoretically everyone does street photography with the camera they prefer, and there isn’t necessarily one better than the other. Personally, I wouldn’t tell anyone to exclusively shoot in digital or film, or to use a particular lens or camera brand. I think that the camera we use in the streets must reflect also our style, but I’ll explain that concept better in a little while. However, I know why I can’t give up digital at the moment and there are at least five main reasons for this. Firstly, I take a lot of photos i ..read more

I took this photo in 2021. Yes, I’m three years behind with editing, but let’s go with it. I remembered this particular photo because it’s a shot I’m quite proud of, and I remember also the moment. I was in the center of Rome, on Via del Corso, with other street photographers. We were playing with the light of a setting sun, capturing passersby in juxtaposition. There are also other shots, some better than others, but this one, in my opinion, is the best one. First of all, I appreciate the pose with the slightly bowed head and half-closed eyes. The elongated neck (perhaps it was indeed a pries ..read more

Street photography has been more than an artistic pursuit; it’s been a life teacher as I said also in previous blog posts. It’s whispered lessons about imperfection and the raw spontaneity of the moment. In the footsteps of great masters like Robert Frank and Daido Moriyama, I’ve learned that a blurry or slightly unfocused photo isn’t necessarily one to discard. Robert Frank’s “The Americans” and Daido Moriyama’s gritty Tokyo shots teach us to embrace the rawness. Their blurred edges and unpolished frames reveal the pulse of life—the heartbeat of the streets. Clarity is not what photography i ..read more