Strangers in the Dark I. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2015.
This photo may be one of the most important pieces in my photography career. It’s the very first shot of my “Strangers in the Dark” project, a still ongoing project that contains a bunch of photos that has been already awarded quite often. I just don’t know why I haven’t posted them before… Well, never mind, they’re coming!
I’ve taken this photo at the Cluj-Napoca train station (Romania), definitely one of the place where I find the most inspiration. There is this brand new underground passage going from the station to the square on the other side of the street. It’s a bit weird, honestly, with only a few lights here and there. This is far from being ideal when you’re passing by by night. Well, that’s bad for the normal people, not for those weird people with cameras who will love this contrasty scene, with very dark and thick shadows!
I say weird people not just for fun. Imagine the scene: it’s late, it’s dark in this underground passage, and a big guys stays there in a corner waiting for people to pass by the light. Sounds a bit like a creep, right? 🙂 Well, a bit, I must admit, but while keeping a nice smile on my face, I think the people were not too freaked out. Most of them had their nose in their smartphone anyhow. That’s also the day where I found out my Fujifilm X100T’s bigger weakness, its battery life, as it was dying very fast while I was trying to get the perfect shot. It was quite a power saving challenge this day!
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EXIFs:
- Camera:Fujifilm X100T
- Aperture: ƒ/2.8
- Focale: 23mm
- Shutter speed: 1/60s
- ISO: 1600
- Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, all rights reserved
Back to back. Galeries du Palais Royal, Paris, France, 2016.
The last weeks were vacation time, but it was also the occasion to go back to my motherland, France. As we went with my wife’s family for whom it was the first trip in France, a mandatory stop was Paris. How could we not go to the City of Light! I was the one which was I think the most excited: I’m lucky to know Paris pretty well, and it’s a great sport for urban photography 🙂
After a short stop by the Louvre museum and its pyramid of glass, we went just by the other side of the Rivoli street to the Palais Royal and its galleries and gardens. It’s a place I haven’t been before and with a great potential for photographers! There, while browsing the antique and weird shops under the arches of the galleries, I’ve spotted those people on their bench, back to back. And this man, on the other bench on the other side of the path, turning back to them also. Kind of a back to back… to back, actually! It was just after noon, the sun was high in the sky, shadows were thick, perfect conditions for another contrasty shot. And here we go for a nice triangle between the people, and a nice symmetry with the trees. I think frequent readers know I like it!
I wish I’ve had more time for taking photos during this trip. Being a “tour guide” doesn’t help to focus on what’s going on around you. I’m more of a lone wolf when shooting streets anyhow. I can’t wait for another trip to Paris!
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EXIFs:
- Camera: Canon 6D
- Lens: Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
- Aperture: ƒ/2.8
- Focale: 70mm
- Shutter speed: 1/125s
- ISO: 100
- Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, all rights reserved
Rush. Munich airport, Germany, 2016.
Another photo of my Airports portfolio, Rush, still from the Munich airport (Germany). This time again, it’s all about lines. Vertical, horizontal, from the airport itself, from the other buildings outside… The graphic intensity is very strong!
I still don’t get why is this man in a rush. It way past 11:00 PM, the only flight in the whole terminal was the one I was waiting for, which was anyhow almost 2 hours late. I suppose he didn’t know! But that’s not a problem, it gave me time to shoot around me, and this man’s anxiety gave me a perfect human element in my concert of lines.
It’s a bit weird to shoot in an empty airport. My traveling camera, the mighty Fujifilm X100t, is small and inconspicuous, perfect for shooting in the usual crowd of the airport, even from the hip. But here, imagine a 300m long hallway, with just one guy standing in the middle… Being big or small, the camera doesn’t even matter, it just feels weird. But anyhow, I was lucky enough that some people were so much in their mind that they didn’t observe me and continue their way. And I was just happy to shoot them, it made the wait way shorter that it actually was 🙂
Do you like this photo? Click here and get an original, signed print in limited edition!
EXIFs:
- Camera:Fujifilm X100T
- Aperture: ƒ/4.0
- Focale: 23mm
- Shutter speed: 1/250s
- ISO: 6400
- Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, all rights reserved