The main subject, right? Find here a selection of my favorite pieces of urban photography… but also the story behind it!

Strangers in the Dark I

Strangers in the Dark I. Cluj Napoca, Romania, 2015.

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!

Do you like this photo? Click here and get an original, signed print in limited edition!

EXIFs:

  • Camera:Fujifilm X100T
  • Aperture: ƒ/2.8
  • Focale: 23mm
  • Shutter speed: 1/60s
  • ISO: 1600
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, all rights reserved
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Back to back

Back to back. Galeries du Palais Royal, Paris, France, 2016.

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!

Do you like this photo? Contact me for obtaining an original, signed print!

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
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Rush

Rush. Munich Airport, Germany, 2016.

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
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Mother & Daughter

Mother & Daughter. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2016.

Mother & Daughter. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2016.

I was talking in a previous post about the importance of being always prepared for a street photographer, and I still stick to it. However, this time, I managed to take this shot because I was NOT prepared 🙂

I go by this nice, graphic place during almost all my photowalks in Cluj-Napoca (Romania). Unfortunately, it is situated in a small street that is almost all the time empty. And when I manage to find someone there, they always go on the other sidewalk, not under these particular arcades. This day, the shadows where very interesting, and I wanted to take a test shot, just for the sake of it. For some reason, my Fujifilm X100T didn’t want to do anything, impossible to focus, impossible to shoot. Until I found out I forgot to take the protective hood out of the lens. Lame, right?

But not that much as on the very same moment this mother and her daughter pass by me continue their way, not minding at all my presence! One or two seconds to frame in a nice, symmetrical way and the photo is on the SD card. Have I not fiddle with my camera because of the forgotten hood, I would have just taken my test shot and continued my way, missing a pretty nice shot! Yes, sometimes, street photographers need luck. I’ve had a good share here.

I really like this photo because it contains a lot of what I try to pack in my photography: symmetry, shadows, graphic elements, and anonymous people. Usually street photography is about showing the human in its context. I always tend to prefer presenting the context with its humans within 🙂

Do you like this photo? Contact me for obtaining an original, signed print!

EXIFs:

  • Camera:Fujifilm X100T
  • Aperture: ƒ/5.6
  • Focale: 23mm
  • Shutter speed: 1/500s
  • ISO: 800
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, all rights reserved
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The kiss

The kiss. Prague, Czech Republic, 2016.

The kiss. Prague, Czech Republic, 2016. Get a print!

The street photographer’s motto could be the same as the Scouts’: “Be prepared”! This is something that’s I’ve learned once again during my trip in Prague, while visiting the Josefov district (former Jewish ghetto of the city).  Coming out from another street, just at the corner, I’ve observed this couple saying goodbye in the kindest way possible: in a long and passionate kiss. It’s one of those moments when I’m very glad I always have my camera in my hand, ready to shoot.

Despite a long and passionate kiss, something intimate I think, even if happening in a quite crowded street, the instant I always prefer to shoot if this second just before the lips touch each other, when you can see the actual emotions of the kisser – or the kissed – just before the magic happens. It’s a far more touching moment to me, a moment of romance and peace for two persons in their own world for a few second, even if tens or hundreds of people pass by them.

It’s one of the photos I prefer of this trip. While others are much more graphical or display pure childish joy, this photo is just so peaceful, but also so full of emotions, it really stands above the rest. And it was also one of my very first shots, it was like a sign it will be a good trip on the photography point of view, I was so pumped up for the rest of the day!

Fine art prints

Do you like this photo? Click here and get an original, signed print in limited edition!

More about this photo

Here are The Kiss’s EXIFs:

  • Camera: Canon 6D
  • Lens: Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
  • Aperture: ƒ/2.8
  • Focale: 70mm
  • Shutter speed: 1/320s
  • ISO: 100
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, all rights reserved
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