Diary | Michele Annunziata

date » 30-07-2026 11:00

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tags » foto lampo agency potenza, studio foto lampo, rocco abriola foto lampo, street photography, camera g 690 bl fujica, onceas based in milan importer and official warranty fujica for Italy, z' gerard' crisci potenza, thumberwald,

The License (and that's two).

The memories of a photographic studio and also photojournalism agency (Foto-Lampo) lived from the inside hold this extraordinary value: they bring back the raw material, the weight, and the grain of an era with the precision of someone who actually handled the negatives.
And it comes full circle when looking at that vintage advertisement with the round seal at the bottom right: ONCEAS, the Milanese importer with its official warranty for Italy, and the Fujica G690 BL presented as "The camera worth two"....continue...

The ad built its whole pitch on that: eliminating the ultimate flaw of large format by combining the speed of use and thumb-lever advance typical of a 35 mm with the devastating power of the 6x9 frame. On that page, the lenses that gave it shape are:
The Fujinon-S 100 mm f/3.5 (the standard issue lens).
The Fujinon SW S 65 mm f/8 wide-angle (with its 77° field of view, the real culprit behind those display window panoramas).
The Fujinon TS 180 mm f/5.6 medium telephoto (with a 32° field of view) and the historic boxes of Fujicolor N100 roll film.
BL camera, get back to the point,The almost clandestine presence of that beast (the famous "Texas Leica") hidden under the Studio-Agency counter, behind the two-door hatch alongside the battery of Rolleis belonging to the owner Rocco Abriola, captures a visual work culture of bygone days perfectly. The boss's Rollei 2.8 was the daily workhorse, but when there was a real need to widen the field or push the quality, the Fujica was brought out.
Because sure, you could always mount on Rolleiflex the Mutar optical attachments onto the twin-lens reflex—the semi-wide or the medium-telephoto that covered both lenses,: functional, nothing special, but usable. Hovewer the Fujica BL was another story entirely: it was a true giant "Leica" with native interchangeable lenses. And above all, with a 6x9 negative from which you could pull, without ifs or buts, the 50x60 prints for the window display (Foto-Lampo-Agency) on Via Pretoria the Main Street. Those paper giants became real street-side newspapers for the passersby walking downtown, stopping people in their tracks whether for breaking news or a detail of a vernacular theater actor like Z' Gerard' Crisci.
The choice to load the Fujica with the unmatched Agfapan 100 black and white, was the must, as well as the Agfachrome transparencies with that melancholic, Delicate nuances, and beautiful veil of Nordich colors, which could be processed at home at 20°C long before the standardized E-6 cauldron homogenized everything.
Fujica BL used, for example, to hard-hitting news to the brochure or typing courses run by the Canossian Sisters the Fujica was present, always went back to its place under the counter, ready for the next assignment.

Ps. Advertising inside Tutti Fotografi, Editorial Progresso Fotografico, September 1970

date » 25-11-2025 17:51

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tags » rolleiflex f 2.8, agfapan 100 black and white, braun flash, wedding day, southern italy in the 1960s, ceremony photographers, a black and white film, durst 659 black and white enlarger.,

LIke a continuously black & white film: from photographs after put in side leather album, at bride's white dress and counterpart groom's black, to all around, simple dresses belonging to little girls.

U ritrattor' è arrivat'...
A wedding day of farmers, yes, but wealthy ones, on the outskirts of the capital city a town in southern Italy at the end of the 1960s. The sky is in a good mood with its warm rays and an atmosphere of euphoria and apprehension spreads at the same time, while around the bride's house, the center of the day, people come and go. And the “capera” (hairdresser, hair stylist ante litteram) is late in arriving, but here she is, breathless, entering the bride's house. The women, above all, breathe a sigh of relief, also at the sight of the person who will take care of the entire wedding lunch (the chef, or a man of many talents): yes, there are no reception halls yet, and everything is done within the family, in the farmhouse, under white tents where a few more chairs and tables can be set up, en plein air.
And we, city dwellers (a sort of never-ending antagonism between urbs and pagus) in suits and ties, are welcomed with the festive cry “E' arrivato u ritrattor' ” (the portraitist has arrived), the guttural dialect for the so-called ceremonial portraitist, photographer in the broad sense. There are three of us: the boss of the photo lab, whom the bride and groom had approached a few days earlier, ‘directed’ by the matchmaker friend, obviously, of the aforementioned boss, who in due course will receive his ‘share’ as thanks for bringing another customer to ‘fleece’.
ContinueThe boss, with his ample waistline and Clark Gable-style moustache, slick and sly, now chats with one and then another of the bystanders, the bride's parents, to whom he solemnly (!) presents the bridal bouquet specially made by the florist that morning, whose shop is right next to the photo studio. It is a custom of our studio.
The camera bag belonging to the boss, who will be responsible for taking the most important shots, contains the legendary Rollei f 2.8, accompanied by two other f.3.5 versions, which serve as backups. There are also two flashes with round reflectors, made by Braun in black with white buttons on the battery (carried on the shoulder) for switching on, mains recharging, and halving the light output. All this is filled with 120 Agfapan 100 film rolls in their elegant semi-gloss silver box. These rolls of film will then be developed by yours truly with great responsibility and finally passed on to the Durst 659, the turret enlarger for 135 Leica format lenses and 80 mm for the Rollei format seipersei: we are not yet talking about the Hasselblad format, which is the preserve of certain studios in Milan.
Everything goes smoothly and predictably as I hand the Rolleis to the boss, already reloaded with the standard twelve shots. Leaving the parish church, the tension for us ceremonialists dissipates as a volley of confetti rains down like a shower of good wishes on the bride and groom, who shield themselves with their hands from the arrival of the auspicious rice but above all from the mixed confetti, veritable stray bullets...
It is time for the toast under the white marquee erected on shiny poles, there in the well-kept corner of the farm; tables of unique whiteness with tablecloths, plates, and glasses. And wine to make Bacchus jealous. Hours pass amid applause, good wishes to the newlyweds, and meat to devour. Finally, the newlyweds go around a basket and throw confetti wrapped in scalloped handkerchiefs as good luck charms for the guests. And to quiet the many children in short pants, the two newlyweds throw confetti into the air, which falls to the ground and is eagerly gathered up by little hands

Ps. The album usually featured cm 18 x 24 black and white photos, with smaller copies given as gifts to those attending the event. It was only later, in the early 1970s, that the first 13 x 18 color images opened the album: the exchange of rings and the exit from the church.

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