Tag Archive for: strangers in the dark

Strangers in the Dark XXVII – Austerlitz Train Station

Strangers in the Dark XXVII - Austerlitz train station. Paris, France, 2018.

Stangers in the Dark XVII – Austerlitz Train Station. Get a print!

The Austerlitz train station is Paris, France, is undergoing some very serious works in order to get modernized, and also extended with four new platforms that has been finished a few months ago. This newer section of the station features a much more modern design than the 1840 architecture of the main building. It really offers some great lines and lights for the photographer 🙂

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More about Ghost in the Stairs

For me, it’s important to share as much info as possible about the photos I take. Therefore, here are the EXIFs for this photo:

  • Camera: Fujifim X100T
  • Aperture: ƒ/4.0
  • Focale: 23mm
  • Shutter speed: 1/60s
  • ISO: 400
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2018, all rights reserved
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Strangers in the Dark XXIV

Strangers in the Dark XXIV. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2017.

Strangers in the Dark XXIV. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2017. Part of the “Strangers in the Dark” project. Get a print!

This photo is definitely one of my favourites of 2017. The symmetry of that place is just incredible. The dark hole in the middle of the frame, the not yet lighted street, seems to suck all the light, and the main character of this photo, into its emptiness. Black hole vs bright lines, the fight of the contrasts is still raging out there! The graphic component of this photo is just incredible, typically what I’m expecting to find from a new building.

I must say it’s a photo I didn’t plan at all. I was just out testing my just received Sigma 50mm ƒ/1.4 Art lens when I came by this new “The Office” building. Being a brand new architecture I was expecting to find something interesting, one can say I got served, right? Keep in touch, part of the site is still in the works for a few weeks, I plan to go back there and get a few awesome shots!

By the way, the Sigma 50mm ƒ/1.4 Art is a great piece of glass, a review may come soon!

Strangers in the Dark project

Find out more about the Strangers in the Dark project here, and discover my favourite ongoing project!

Get a print!

Do you like this photo? Why not getting an original, signed fine art print in limited edition?

More about this photo

For me, it’s important to share as much info as possible about the photos I take. Therefore, here are the EXIFs for this photo:

  • Camera: Canon 6D
  • Lens: Sigma 50mm ƒ/1.4 Art
  • Aperture: ƒ/2.8
  • Focale: 50mm
  • Shutter speed: 1/60s
  • ISO: 400
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2017, all rights reserved
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Strangers in the Dark IX

Strangers in the Dark IX. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2016.

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

Winter has come, the night are starting earlier… and the snow started falling. A perfect setup for moody photos! We’re back in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in the old city center which used to be part of a citadelle, a long time ago. Old city center means small, narrow streets with old houses. Narrow streets mean great lighting when the night comes. And that is exactly what happened here!

I caught these two women in a passionate discussion in the cold. The snow started to fall pretty hard, they didn’t care about it, absorbed in their stories. They left me all the time in the world to frame this shot the way I wanted it. Thanks girls! I really like those high contrast scenes. It’s pretty much the way it was in real life. The whole street, not being very long, is illuminated by only one light at its middle. The end of the street then disappears in the dark. Who knows what may happen over there?

I was told this photo has a Brassaï “je ne sais quoi”… The comparison is quite amazing to me! Maybe because he was born in Romania, in the same Transylvania this photo was taken 😉 I hope he would have liked this photo.

Strangers in the Dark IX is part of my “Strangers in the Dark” project. It’s a set of quite graphic and contrasty photos of strangers in poorly illuminated streets, at night, giving a dark and sometimes gloomy mood. Come and give a look to the whole project by clicking this link.

Do you like this photo? Why not getting an original, signed fine art print in limited edition?

EXIFs:

  • Camera:Fujifilm X100T
  • Aperture: ƒ/2.8
  • Focale: 23mm
  • Shutter speed: 1/60s
  • ISO: 6400
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, all rights reserved
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Strangers in the Dark III

Strangers in the dark III. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Strangers in the Dark III. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2015.

Third item from my “Strangers in the Dark” ongoing project, this photo is very intriguing but also very dear to me. I’ve passed by the little street I’ve shot it maybe a hundred time before that night of December, and I have never noticed anything. It’s an old street with cobblestones, in the older center of Cluj-Napoca, very narrow, which gives on the Union Square. I’ve almost been there only by day, it was obviously a mistake, you have to go there by night.

It was a cold, winter night. I’ve just finished a bad day at work, I remember it was “not a good day for science”, as they say… I needed to get my head clear, why not grabbing my now always-by-my-side Fujifilm X100T and get some fresh air… and maybe a few shots. When I was on the sidewalk on the Union Square I saw this steam cloud, and knew there was something to do with it. After a first few shots from far away, the light from a shop on the right got lit up and this huge, staring face made its appearance!

It was time for me to dive a little deeper in this dark street and take advantage of this new scene. Always observe what’s happening, how you scene is changing, that’s what I call owning the scene. Then I just need a little more patience to get the steam cloud visible enough and have people passing by, to get the right shot. A lot of patience actually, as the wind started to blow, it was pretty cold out there… But it’s worth it, the effect is pretty spectacular, isn’t it?

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: 6400
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2015, all rights reserved
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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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