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

Dutch angle

Dutch angle. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

I called this photo “Dutch angle” as a reference to the famous camera tilt technique of “[setting the camera] at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame, or so that the horizon line of the shot is not parallel with the bottom of the camera frame”. This is typically the kind of composition I enjoy. I love to play with lines and stripes and tilting the camera in a way that the cross walk stripes are now going diagonal make this photo so dynamic! This combination of now diagonal lines, in two directions, makes a perfect graphical background for street photography.

I shot this dutch angle photo during a street photography workshop part of the Photo Romania Festival 2016 in Cluj-Napoca. It’s was the very first shot of the day, taken just before another picture that I’ve already blogged about. We were in a zone were road works has just been finished and those freshly painted stripes were just… tempting me, inviting me to do something graphical with them. How to refuse this invite? I’m happy this girl with her flowery coat just stepped in the frame, waiting for the green light to pop in. She was a perfect subject for this photo. The only challenge were the cars passing just in front of us, finding the exact timing was not easy but in the end, we did it!

The processing was fairly straightforward using Adobe Lightroom to turn the photo in black and white with Fujifilm‘s camera profiles. I just needed to raise the contrast between the asphalt and the white painted stripes, and voila!

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

EXIFs:

  • Camera:Fujifilm X100T
  • Aperture: ƒ/5.6
  • Focale: 23mm
  • Shutter speed: 1/500s
  • ISO: 320
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, all rights reserved
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Little girl

Little girl. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

I shot the photo of this little girl doing her homework during a workshop organised during the Photo Romania Festival 2016, which takes place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. This workshop was dedicated to Street Photography with a twist: shooting “from the hip” instead of the classical approach, looking in your viewfinder. “From the hip” actually means shooting in the blind in a different position, with your camera at waist/hip level, or sometimes way above or under the subject.

During the workshop we passed next to a school, with kids playing football, running and screaming… like kids do, right? 🙂 I then saw this little girl, packed in her rain coat, silently drawing on a chair instead of running here and there with her schoolmates. I knew it would be a powerful photo, only if I shoot her from her level, not from the top of my 1,90 meters. The perfect moment for practicing shooting from the hip! I’m very please by how this photo is framed, without even looking in the viewfinder: the little girl is right on the rule of third spot, the chair just fills the left part of the frame, the bench the right side, and I have the other children playing behind. Like any kind of art, photography is about talent, but sometimes you need a little bit of luck, too 😀

The processing was fairly straightforward using Adobe Lightroom to turn the photo in black and white with Fujifilm‘s awesome camera profiles. Then, some tiny touches of dodge & burn to raise the overall contrast and make the girl’s coat pop out of the rest of the frame.

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

EXIFs:

  • Camera:Fujifilm X100T
  • Aperture: ƒ/5.6
  • Focale: 23mm
  • Shutter speed: 1/500s
  • ISO: 1600
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, all rights reserved
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U Cluj protest

U Cluj protest. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

U Cluj protest. The Ultras on the first line. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Universitatea Cluj, or U Cluj as it’s commonly called, is the oldest football club of Cluj-Napoca, Romania as it was founded in 1919, almost a century ago. Even if it’s not the most successful team in the city (the other team, CFR Cluj, has won a few times the national championship and has also participated in several European championships), U Cluj is considered as THE city’s football team and is revered by lots of people.

U Cluj protest. Supporters of any ages. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

U Cluj protest. Supporters of any ages. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Despite its local popularity, and sometimes devotions, the club has entered in a very difficult period with a lot of financial issues that put a risk on its future. May it be retrograded to a lower league… may it be shut down for good. On March 13th, 2016, was organised a protest on Cluj-Napoca main streets as a support for the club. It was also a cry for help to the local authorities to save their club, the city’s club.

U Cluj protest. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

U Cluj protest. Pride! Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

It was a pretty interesting experience to be thrown (against my will actually, I was just passing by when the mass of people from the demonstration appeared in front of me 🙂 ), in the middle of this protest. People from any situation, any age, any background were here to support their club, there was no difference anymore, from the hardened Ultras to small kids, all were before all U Cluj fans. Even supporters from other team were there to support their “stadium brothers” during those tougher times.

U Cluj protest. Going further. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

U Cluj protest. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

A few weeks have passed, and it’s not clear yet what will happen to the club. New protests and demonstrations are supposed to happen in the next days, we’ll see how things are going to be for Cluj-Napoca’s favourite football club.

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Strangers in the Dark VII

Strangers in the dark VII. Cluj-Napoca station, Romania.

Strangers in the Dark VII. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2016. Get a print.

I love shooting in the dark. I love train station. I love street photography. I love contrast. I love lines. I love curves. I love shooting strangers. I love the night. I love black & white. And if I can put everything in one single frame, I’m the happiest photographer in the world 🙂 This photo has been shot at the Cluj-Napoca train station during last winter, on a tripod. It’s a long exposure (2 seconds), giving me this incredible atmosphere.

I must say I’m quite proud of this photo, which has been published on 1x.com (not an easy task!) and will be also published in several expositions this year!

Shot with a Canon 6D then process in black and white with Adobe Lightroom and Nik Collection Silver Efex.

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

EXIFs:

  • Camera: Canon 6D
  • Lens: Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
  • Aperture: ƒ/8.0
  • Focale: 70mm
  • Shutter speed: 2s
  • ISO: 100
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, all rights reserved
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Wheels of Orléans

Big wheel, small wheels. Orléans, Loiret, France.

Big wheel, small wheels. Orléans, France. License it.

Back in my hometown: Orléans, France. It’s a peaceful little city not that far from Paris. The kind you of city where nothing really happens, but it’s still a pleasant place to live in. It gets a bit more active during the winter where the Christmas market opens at Martroi Square, next to Jeanne d’Arc statue. Small shops, fair and big ferris wheel also make their apparition!

Shot with a Fujifilm X100T and processed with Adobe Lightroom using Fuji’s Monochrome profile.

EXIFs:

  • Camera: Fujifilm X100T
  • Aperture: ƒ/11.0
  • Focale: 23mm
  • Shutter speed: 1/500s
  • ISO: 640
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, all rights reserved
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