I participated with a series of images dedicated to the Italian life style. I chose to submit images showing the real life style, far from the crowded touristic spots where the landscape had been already modified to accommodate the expectations of the tourists.

I preferred to show real people in places where the soul of Italy is still present. Some places are little paradises, other urban environments affected by the decadence of the last years but all are still genuine.

Obviously the award is for images made with analog technologies. In this case all the images were realized on Ilford FP4 film with a Zeiss Ikonta from the 1930s.

Enjoy the pictures and check the Award page at www.analogsparksawards.com

.

You can now, easily from the comfort of your home, buy some of my prints.

.

.

Explore the collection and find the perfect piece to elevate your home or office.

.

Merry Christmas and a Wonderful 2025 full of justice, freedom of speech and pruning of the governments’ trees!

.

.

Christmas is the time to give what we have most precious. There was a time when gold, incense, and myrrh were rare, precious and essential in both their practical and spiritual nature. They were used to recognize the essence of Christ and the effort, choices and sacrifices we need to do each day to travel our life toward the Good.

In the modern times, where the world seems dominated by a diffuse evil stupidity, the most rare, precious and essential gifts we need to give are justice, freedom and a fight to limit the growing cancer of totalitarian governments.

The Wise Men showed us the way to make the world a much better place, where each of us is an equal son of the Lord, just by recognizing the daily choice between Good and Evil.

Every day we have to choose if we want to please Herod to have a semblance of power or if we want to honor Christ and have the long term goal of a better world for every human being, ourselves included.

Sometime is not easy to understand the direction we have to take but when on one side there is Herod, a king ready to kill or harm kids to not loose his power, censoring free speech, attempting to kill his opponents and growing exponentially the tentacles of his bureaucratic control, it is easy to see the path we have to take.

We chose the other side, the one representing justice, freedom and limited powers. May the Lord give to our modern Magi the force to pursue the Good in every choice they will have to make!

May the New Year bring us the freedom to produce, the peace needed to trade our products and a bright future of discoveries and great choices!

.

If you are curious to see how I created the image, just check the video here!

In partnership with La Dolce Vita Workshops, I created traveling workshops in Italy.

The workshops are designed for any level of expertise and will teach you to live everyday La Dolce Vita and bring it in your photographs.

.

Italy is not just a place, it’s a lifestyle that created the most beautiful art and design. It’s a lifestyle you can live everywhere after you had experienced it in the proper way.

You can check the details of the workshops on www.ladolcevitaworkshops.com

.

Book before Christmas 2023 and receive $500 discount.

Hurry up, only ten rooms available and usually fill up quickly!

noun

ˈzēn 

Synonyms of zine

: magazine

especially: a noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter

.

.

I decided to publish a Zine… a trendy name for a non periodical magazine. It’s a nice way to share my printed pictures without the high costs of traditional book.

You can buy it here on Blurb directly.

It’s just 11.11 Euros or ~$13 with a good print quality. A great way to enjoy my pictures printed.

The first issue is dedicated to the square format, a format I used a lot and really like.

If you want to know more, watch the video and get a copy.

.

.

Stay tuned for the next issue!

.

For now I just did a first walk with the camera, at night in the city of Cuneo and a little comparison test in studio.

.

.

Here, in the video you can hear what I think about the camera, if you like to see the pictures I took in the studio to have a first comparison of the K3 Monochrome and the K3 MkIII Color and download the raw files, just scroll to the end of the article and you will find the link.

.

The results are really impressive. The lack of noise also at higher ISO, the dynamic range and the general quality of the images are absolutely fantastic!

.

Here the 100% zoom.

If you want to download the original RAW files and play with them, use the following links. Please consider to use the Donate button so I can cover the increase of expenses for the server space and bandwidth.

K3 Monochrome:
KimonoTestRAW_Part1.zip
KimonoTestRAW_Part2.zip

K3 MkIII Color:
K3MkIIITestRAW_Part1.zip

K3MkIIITestRAW_Part2.zip

Please consider a small donation:

.

See you next time with more tests!

Just kidding, but after I made the video you can check here, where I talk about the new trend of AI creating photography, this idea came to my mind… what if? lol

Let me know what you think about the use of AI in the creation of art!

.

.

I made a test with two different negatives: a very soft flower subject lighted with painted light and a very sharp subject lighted with a very contrasted light. I wanted to see how this printing process deals with different subjects.

I proceeded with some step test to find the corrected exposure for my negatives. I did 2 seconds steps and as you can see in the video I was a little optimist with my first strip of 2,4,6,8 seconds exposure. At the end the correct exposure resulted of 11 minutes.

.

You can see the tests I made in the video below.

I was expecting shorter exposure times ’cause I seen some other boxes made with the same LED giving short exposure times with other alternative processes.

Still I like the slow times when I work with film and so I kinda like to have time to think while I wait for the paper to be exposed.

The Arduino timer is working greatly and it’s a pleasure to use this box!

.

.

I have to learn to pose the emulsion better on the paper. The thickness came out not uniform and there are spots where the emulsion did not spread at all on the paper. Still I have a lot to learn but as a fist try I’m quite satisfied of the results.

The LabOldTech2000 kit is very easy to use and complete.

See you next time with new projects!

At the origin of photography many technologies of printing required the exposure in UV light. At those time sun was the perfect source and the exposure was usually made outdoor. The quantity of UV light from the sun can vary a lot in different seasons or with different weather, plus, baby it’s cold outside now in winter! For this reason I decided to build a UV Box.

I was inspired by some similar projects videos on YouTube but I added a personal touch.

First of all I used an old wood box for wine bottles instead of a modern plastic box. The wood box was in my cellar, free, and wood looks better and more coherent than plastic with old techniques.

Second I decided to add a timer for a precise exposure instead of counting the seconds with an external timer and manually switch the lights on and off.

.

.

Check out the video to know more about the UV Box and see how it works.

.

I used very common components easy to buy online:

LED stripes: BTF-LIGHTING UV Black Light 5m 300 LED Strips, 5050SMD Ultraviolet 395nm-405nm

Arduino Nano

Arduino Display 1602A

Buttons: GUUZI 12mm

Switches: GUUZI 12mm, 16mm

LED: GUUZI 12V-24V 12mm LED

Power: MeanWell LRS-150-12 150W DC 12V IP20

5V Power: Greluma DC 12v 24v to 5v Step Down Converter 5A 25W

The 5V are derived from the 12V Power Supply with the Stepdown Converter.
The relays are on the 12V power supply going to the LED stripes and have the green LED in parallel.

.

Here is the scheme of the circuit:

.

Here the program I wrote for the timer:

#include <LiquidCrystal.h>
#include "Countimer.h"
#include <EEPROM.h>
Countimer tdown;
LiquidCrystal lcd(2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7);


#define bt_set    A0
#define bt_up     A1
#define bt_down   A2
#define bt_start  A3
#define bt_full   A4
#define LCD_CONTRAST_PIN 11
#define relON LOW
#define relOFF HIGH

int time_s = 0;
int time_m = 0;
int time_h = 0;
int set = 0;
int flag1=0, flag2=0;
int relay = 8;
int relay2 = 9;
int buzzer = A5;
int power = 0;
int contrast = 0;


void setup() {
Serial.begin (9600);
//set some defaults


pinMode(bt_set,   INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(bt_up,    INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(bt_down,  INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(bt_start, INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(bt_full,  INPUT_PULLUP);

pinMode(relay, OUTPUT);
pinMode(relay2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(buzzer, OUTPUT);

lcd.begin(16, 2);
analogWrite(LCD_CONTRAST_PIN, contrast); //set some contrast
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0,0);
lcd.print("   Welcome To   ");
lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print(" LB's Drunk UV Box ");
tdown.setInterval(print_time, 999);
eeprom_read();
delay(4000);
lcd.clear();
}

void print_time(){
time_s = time_s-1;
if(time_s<0){time_s=59; time_m = time_m-1;}
if(time_m<0){time_m=59; time_h = time_h-1;}
}

void tdownComplete(){
  lcd.setCursor(0,1);
  lcd.print("  Done  ");
  delay(3000);
  lcd.clear();}
 

void loop(){
tdown.run();

//read power
if(digitalRead (bt_full) == 0){power=1;}
if(digitalRead (bt_full) == 1){power=0;}

if(digitalRead (bt_set) == 0){
if(flag1==0 && flag2==0){flag1=1;
set = set+1;
if(set>4){set=0;}
delay(100); 
}
}else{flag1=0;}

if(digitalRead (bt_up) == 0){
if(set==0){tdown.start(); flag2=1;}
if(set==1){time_s++;}
if(set==2){time_m++;}
if(set==3){time_h++;}
if(set==4){ if(contrast < 254){contrast=contrast+1; analogWrite(LCD_CONTRAST_PIN, contrast);} if (contrast >= 254){contrast=254;};}
if(time_s>59){time_s=0;}
if(time_m>59){time_m=0;}
if(time_h>99){time_h=0;}
if(set>0){eeprom_write();} //EEPROM.write(addrCon, contrast); EEPROM.write(addrLum, luminosity);
delay(200); 
}

if(digitalRead (bt_down) == 0){
if(set==0){tdown.stop(); flag2=0;}
if(set==1){time_s--;}
if(set==2){time_m--;}
if(set==3){time_h--;}
if(set==4){ if(contrast > 0){contrast=contrast-1; analogWrite(LCD_CONTRAST_PIN, contrast);} if (contrast <= 0){contrast=0;};}
if(time_s<0){time_s=59;}
if(time_m<0){time_m=59;}
if(time_h<0){time_h=99;}
if(set>0){eeprom_write();} // EEPROM.write(addrCon, contrast); EEPROM.write(addrLum, luminosity);
delay(200); 
}

if(digitalRead (bt_start) == 0)
  {if(set==0){{ flag2=1; 
  eeprom_read(); 
  if(power == 0){
  digitalWrite(relay, relON);
  digitalWrite(relay2, relOFF);}
else {
   digitalWrite(relay, relON);
   digitalWrite(relay2, relON);}

  tdown.restart(); 
  tdown.start();
}}
  else {set=0;
  }
}


lcd.setCursor(0,0);
if(set==0){
  if(power==1){lcd.print("PW full    Timer");}
  if(power==0){lcd.print("PW half    Timer");}
}
if(set==1){lcd.print("  Set Timer SS  ");}
if(set==2){lcd.print("  Set Timer MM  ");}
if(set==3){lcd.print("  Set Timer HH  ");}
if(set==4){lcd.print("  Contrast:  " + String(contrast)+"  ");}
lcd.setCursor(8,1);
if(time_h<=9){lcd.print("0");}
lcd.print(time_h);
lcd.print(":");
if(time_m<=9){lcd.print("0");}
lcd.print(time_m);
lcd.print(":");
if(time_s<=9){lcd.print("0");}
lcd.print(time_s);
lcd.print("   ");

if(time_s==0 && time_m==0 && time_h==0 && flag2==1){flag2=0;
tdown.stop(); 
digitalWrite(relay, relOFF);
digitalWrite(relay2, relOFF);
digitalWrite(buzzer, HIGH);
delay(300);
digitalWrite(buzzer, LOW);
delay(200);
digitalWrite(buzzer, HIGH);
delay(300);
digitalWrite(buzzer, LOW);
delay(200);
digitalWrite(buzzer, HIGH);
delay(300);
digitalWrite(buzzer, LOW);
tdownComplete();
eeprom_read();
}

if(flag2==1){
    if (power == 1){digitalWrite (relay, relON); digitalWrite(relay2, relON);}
    else {digitalWrite (relay, relON); digitalWrite(relay2, relOFF);}
    }
else{digitalWrite(relay, relOFF);
     digitalWrite(relay2, relOFF);}

delay(1);
}

void eeprom_write(){
EEPROM.write(1, time_s);  
EEPROM.write(2, time_m);  
EEPROM.write(3, time_h);  
}

void eeprom_read(){
time_s =  EEPROM.read(1);
time_m =  EEPROM.read(2);
time_h =  EEPROM.read(3);
}

.

As you see it is easy to build, it just requires some electronic/programming skills and a lot of patience. Buying a full 6 bottles box and drink them during the building can help the morale, I’m not sure about the results!

I wish you a great Christmas, filled with joy and the right personal choices!

.

This is a strange Christmas with too many people trying to cancel it, some for cultural reasons as the European Commission, others finding excuses in a virus that seem to spread only in specific situations.

It is always difficult to find a proper reaction to evil when it’s in charge of our lives, so I was wondering what to do and the question came natural: “What would John Galt do?”. The answer was very easy and so here’s my traditional Christmas image for the year 2021!

This year, more than ever, we are in a war, it’s not a traditional war at the moment but a cultural war. One side is the side expressing all the values that permit to appreciate and enjoy Christmas, the other side is the side that is not able to joy and wants to cancel it.

The premise of Christmas is the freedom to chose between good and evil, Santa made a list and only the nice ones receive his gifts. Christmas is the season when joy must be deserved, it is the season that celebrates the birth of Jesus, a man who taught us that we are all equal and free to chose, a man who at the end gave his life to eliminate the evil represented by the pretense of an original sin defined by evil people to impose their power on others using guilt as their main weapon.

No matter if you look at the Christian faith as believer or simply as an observer of human and political changes, in both ways the meaning of Christmas is clear. The reason why a lot of powerful people is trying to cancel Christmas is exactly to eliminate that meaning.

To be good must be a choice and as a choice we are good toward people deserving it. It’s a season to donate to other deserving people, the nice on Santa’s list. It’s the season to celebrate the fact that we as human are equal and none of us must be considered inferior or guilty for something other people did.

We are in an era when some people in powerful positions want us to believe the opposite of Christmas. They want us to believe we are guilty because we were born with a specific color of our skin, they want us to believe we are guilty if we do not chose to follow their stupidity of the moment also if we see it clearly and think it’s evil, they want us to believe is their right to rule us also when the rules are wrong, they want us to forget reason and substitute our believes in freedom with their believes in controlling us. They want to cancel the basis of freedom and cancel a popular tradition easy to understand by everybody as Christmas, it’s an easy way, much easier than debating the centuries of philosophy that created the western culture of freedom. They want us to forget our power to give to whom deserve, they want us to give them the power to steal all our money so they can decide who is worth of receiving.

In Christmas we can find all the words to express the best of the human kind: freedom, generosity, joy, equality, love, responsibility, choice, etc. etc. They want to substitute all with the new language they use to rule us: a limited freedom, fair share, guilty joy, equity, duty, settled science and so on.

It’s a war, and it’s a war we can win and are winning. To win it we have just to keep to ourselves our values and love for life and give nothing to them. They cannot enjoy Christmas, we can and we must not make the mistake to share it with undeserving people. To win we must not just chant “Let’s go Brandon”, we must deeply feel it and act accordingly.

On the technical side I had some fun using an 8×10″ view camera, a Black and White film, printing in the darkroom and hand painting the image. A video of that will come soon on YouTube… if my GoPro worked properly!

.