Moves

Three teenagers playing chess in Giardini Luzzati Genoa
Moves | Genoa | 2026

Three boys around a small café table in Genoa’s Giardini Luzzati. Ignorant of the world moving around them. Children playing, trees swaying in the cold wind blowing from the sea, chatting people sitting at surrounding tables (including us enjoying a drink). Their focus is somewhere else. Pondering their next moves.

What I liked about this moment is how calm it felt. No phones in their hands. No rush. Just a simple game that has been played for hundreds of years. It’s cool to see young people still playing chess like this, out in the open, face to face. In a time where everything is fast and digital, they chose something slow and thoughtful. Chess makes people pause. It brings them together. It creates small worlds like this one—just a board, a few pieces, and three minds sharing the same space. And for those teens, in this moment, nothing else seemed more important.

Taken with my Fuji X-T50 and the Fujinon Super EBC XC 1:2.8-4.8/16-50mm R LM WR. Image specs 1/500sec | f/4.8 | ISO 1000 | 50mm (75mm full frame equivalent).

If you feel inspired to capture the stories of the streets and are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center. 

Have a great Monday

Marcus

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7

Faces of the Street

Monochrome Street Photography in Via XX Septembre Genova
1/500sec | f/2.8 | ISO 1250 | 24mm

Yesterday, The Significant Other and I visited the fantastic exhibition of dutch painter Anton van Dyck in Genoa’s Palazzo Ducale. After, we went for some errands in Via XX Settembre. And while the wife went into a clothing store, I stood under the arcades of La Superba’s principal shopping mile, snapping away at the passing faces of the street. I used my Fuji X-T50 and the Fujinon Super EBC XC 1:2.8-4.8/16-50mm R LM WR. And what can I say, the tiny camera/lens combo basically went unnoticed by the passing people. To see more images from a 15 minute stretch of street photography, click “read more”…

Continue reading “Faces of the Street” →
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Too many legs

Girl with too many legs
Too many legs | Genoa | 2026

Street Photography is also about capturing juxtapositions. Like a girl having too many legs. I snapped this image with my iPhone 14 Pro one the steps of San Lorenzo Cathedral in Genoa. Click “read more” to see it from your slightly different angle.

Continue reading “Too many legs” →
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Stormy Highway

Stormy Highway
Stormy Highway | Bavaria | 2026

More monochrome photography in this post. Taken yesterday on a stormy highway while enroute to our Southern Home in Italy. No worries, I didn’t drive under the influence (of photography). Our e-car was driving autonomous on the highway in Southern Bavaria, supervised by Big Boy sitting behind the wheel. While I was snapping at the amazing cloudscape with ever-changing light with my iPhone 16 Pro Max from the passenger seat. To see more images of this photographic road trip continue after the jump….

Continue reading “Stormy Highway” →
6

Serenity in Shades of Gray

Pine Tree Silhouettes
Coastal Pines | Liguria | 2026

There’s something truly special about black and white photography. For me, it’s more than just removing color; it’s about stripping away distractions and getting right to the heart of what makes an image compelling. It’s about reducing the scene to its purest form: composition. Serenity in Shades of Gray.

Take this shot, for instance, captured in the Ligurian Apennines, northwest of Genoa. The moment I saw these majestic trees silhouetted against the misty mountains, I knew it had to be black and white. The layers of hills fading into the distance, the stark outlines of the pines – it all just sings in monochrome.

When I shoot in black and white, the entire process becomes a tranquil enjoyment. It forces me to see shapes, lines, and textures in a different way. The absence of color simplifies everything, allowing the eye to focus solely on the interplay of light and shadow, and the arrangement of elements within the frame. It’s photography reduced to a minimum, and in that simplicity, I find immense satisfaction.

This image, with its quiet strength and layered depth, perfectly embodies that feeling for me. It’s a reminder that sometimes, less truly is more, and that beauty can be found in the most understated of palettes.

What are your thoughts on black and white photography? Do you find it as calming and focused as I do? Let me know in the comments below!

Image taken with a Fuji X-T50 and the Fujinon Super EBC XC 1:2.8-4.8/16-50mm R LM WR. Image specs 1/3200 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 250 and 31mm focal lenght (full frame equivalent). Acros Film Simulation – jpg out of camera.

Have a great Thursday

Marcus

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15

Waves meet Love

A mother kneeling at the waterline of the sea holding her toddler face to the approaching waves
Waves Meet Love | Celle Ligure | 2026

In this image waves meet love. Hmmm….can you call this a street photograph when it was taken at the beach? The question came up the in the comments of my previous post. While the question is valid, the answer is simple. Street photography isn’t defined by where it’s taken, but by what it captures. It’s about observing real, unscripted human moments in public spaces. A beach, just like a sidewalk, a subway, or a park, is a public stage where life unfolds naturally. Or as Shakespeare says “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women, merely players” which is the motto of this blog.

Taking with my iPhone 14 Pro. If you are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center. 

Have a great and creative Sunday

Marcus

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9

Horizons

Two people by the sea watching the horizons
Horizons | Celle Ligure | 2026

The other weekend, The Significant Other and I spent an afternoon in Celle Ligure, a picturesque little town a few kilometers west of our Southern Home in Genoa. In March, we are still a few weeks removed from start of the swimming season. Now, Celle’s beach is still a quiet stretch of shoreline, where the world seems to pause between sky and sea. I was intrigued by the two figures sit at the edge, somehow dwarfed by the vast horizon, sharing a moment that feels both intimate and infinite. Street Photography can be very calm and minimalistic.

Taking with my iPhone 14 Pro. Slight cropping in Lightroom Classic. If you are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center. 

Have a great Thursday

Marcus

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10

Hamburg Monochrome

Monochrome Elphi Hamburg
Wedding Day | Hamburg | 2026

I haven’t posted in a while, but life has been quite busy lately, especially in the job that pays the bills. But photography (and this blog) is never forgotten. Last weekend, The Significant Other any I headed to Hamburg for a dearly needed 5 day getaway. Obviously I took plenty of images during those 5 days on the snowy banks of the Elbe River. What I’m sharing today are a couple of monochrome photographs, a mix of street and other images (I have no clue what to call the three non-street photos). See the other images after the jump…

Continue reading “Hamburg Monochrome” →
19

The Lion never sleeps

Marble Lion on the stairs of San Lorenzo Genoa with a man sitting leaned against it
The Lion never Sleeps | Genoa | 2026

The Lion never sleeps. Neither does his marble companion on the other side of the grand stairs leading up to Genoa’s San Lorenzo Cathedral. The silent sentinel just lies there, watching the threshold and people come and go. Somehow it also feels welcoming, inviting passersby to lean against it or climb up and sit for a moment. My kids did exact that when they were little, turning the ancient guardian into a temporary playground companion. The pedestal beneath the beast is hardly empty. There seems to be always someone sitting there, resting, watching other people or, like in this case, checking whatever on the cell phone.

I took the image with my Nikon Zf and the Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR. Specs are 1/160 sec @ f/6 , ISO 400 and 60mm focal length. Monochrome jpg out of camera.

Have a great Friday

Marcus

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6

Genoa Christmas Lights

Genoa Christmas Lights - Via Luccoli
Via Luccoli | Genoa | 2026

Today is Befana, as the Feast of Epiphany is called in Italy. Traditionally observed on January 6, it commemorates the visit of the Wise Men in Bethlehem, celebrating the moment Jesus is revealed to the world. Across many cultures, the day is marked with festive customs, special foods, and local celebrations that reflect its message of revelation and unity. Here in Italy, the children get their presents from the Befana, a friendly old woman depicted as a witch. Befana also marks the end of the Christmas season. And for Genoa, this is the last day the Christmas lights are turned on in the evening. Traditionally, The Significant Other and I spend the first week of the new year in our Southern Home at the Ligurian Sea. And over the past days we have enjoyed strolling through the medieval city center and the harbor, enjoying the decorations. Join us for some impressions of the Genoa Christmas Lights….

Continue reading “Genoa Christmas Lights” →
18

Next Gen Photographer

Next Gen Photographer
Next Gen Photographer | Genoa | 2026

There is nothing to worry about – the young talents are already roaming the streets. I captured this image of a next gen photographer the other day on the streets of Genoa.

The photograph was taken with my Nikon Zf and the Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR. Specs are 1/400 sec @ f/6.3 , ISO 450 and 200mm focal length. Jpg out of camera.

Have a great Monday

Marcus

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3

Happy New Year from the Streets of Nuremberg

Happy New Year | Steindorf | 2026

I wish all my friends a blessed, happy, marvelous, successful, beautiful, inspirational, creative, wonderful and healthy 2026. May all your wishes and dreams come true!

Have a great year!

Marcus

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