Tag Archive for: street photography

Publication in the Street Photographer Notebook #20

Just a few words about the 2 photos that were published in issue #20 of Alex Coghe’s Street Photographer Notebook. I’m very glad to be part of this issue, 2 of my photos were selected as winning images of the Venus Street contest, putting the women as the center of the street photography. The following shots were selected:

Green Light. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2016.

Green Light. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2016.

Bright present, dark future. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2015.

Bright present, dark future. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2015. The whole story here.

I’m very glad to be among prestigious names in this online magazine. See you on page 38 of the Street Photographer Notebook!

More publications

I am very proud to say that the past months have been a blast for me! Check out the latest publications I am part of!

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Bucharest Underground

Bucharest Underground. Bucharest, Romania, 2016.

Bucharest Underground. Bucharest, Romania, 2016.

It’s been a while I haven’t spent a little bit of time in Bucharest. I’ve lived there for almost a year, but since I’ve left 9 years ago I’ve concentrated my visits to the concert halls, the French Embassy or the airport. Mot much of a visit! But this time, as I was invited as special guest by the On Spot street photography group, I managed to take a little more time to wander in Bucharest’s older quarter, and much more, in its metro.

As for Airports, I love shooting in the metro. For the same reasons I think: lines, contrast, movement… There is something else that airports don’t have: the proximity. No large spaces here, you are close to the people. You are next to them, no matter what. Which is not necessary a bad thing. Isn’t it Robert Capa who said: “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough” ? So you get the graphical environment of the airports at a smaller, closer scale. Not bad 🙂

This particular photo isn’t a close shot, it’s true. I was first attracted by the floor and its contrasty lines and shapes, which continue on the metro’s wagon. I got my fair amount of line with the vertical pillars and the other metro on the other side of the station. But what makes this photo is the look of the man. In my first shots, which were framed a bit better I must say, he wasn’t looking at me. But when he looked at my side with his bored face, I know it would be the keeper shot, even if I’ve just changed my position. Bored people are the best!

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: 1/250s
  • 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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Young fisherman

Young fisherman. Cancale, Bretagne/Brittany, France, 2016.

Young fisherman. Cancale, Bretagne/Brittany, France, 2016.

Cancale is a small town next to the sea in Brittany, France. Like every single town or city next to the sea, fishing is activity that is taken very seriously, at any ages. Cancale’s main activity, besides fishing, is oysters farming. And, as a good Frenchman, I didn’t forget to fill myself with a dozen, absolutely fresh oysters while I was there!

However, just before that, we’ve gone by the city’s pier to just observe the sea. This is a view I can enjoy only a few days a year, unfortunately. It was one of those cold summer mornings, with a sky ready to blow and submerge you with torrents of rain. We were lucky, as big, dark, and threatening those clouds were, they left us in peace. So, by the pier, this little boy was training to throw his line as far as possible in the sea. It took a few tries, but he did it. His father left him in charge of the fishing rods, joining a friend of his a bit further. We had a proud, young fisherman there!

In front of him, the little black dot far away, is the famous Mont Saint-Michel, sitting just at the limit of the Brittany and Normandy border… on the Normandy side. There is a friendly war between those two about where the Mont Saint-Michel really is… but for this boy, it’s just a small black spot on the other side of the bay!

Unfortunately for this young fisherman, it doesn’t seem that he was able to eat fish that day… surely next time!

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/11
  • Focale: 24mm
  • Shutter speed: 1/125s
  • ISO: 100
  • Copyright: Pierre Pichot 2016, 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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