I was traveling to Alsace and had a stopover in Paris. I was staying in a hotel opposite Gare de l’Est station, and it was early morning, clear and bright with a fairly low sun. I always have a small camera with me, and at the time, this was all that I had, but it’s quick and versatile for urban photography.
I was standing on the balcony watching Paris slowly wake up and come to life, and I liked the way that the pedestrian crossing was lit. I waited on my balcony for the right subject to cross the road. I made a couple of images, a boy on a scooter and someone collecting the morning’s bread, but this one felt it best summed up the feeling of Paris as it started a new day. The man crossing the road has an air of weariness and is moving at a leisurely pace that feels in sync with the early hour.
I’m not entirely comfortable about analyzing the image in too much detail. I have always felt that images should stand alone, on their own merit. I do think, however, that it’s a good example of “chance favours the prepared mind”. You know that the light is good, you know that there is a shot there, and you have the equipment at hand to make the photograph; the only thing to do then is be patient and wait for the moment.
Whilst I shoot in both colour and monochrome, I do feel that this sort of subject lends itself to monochrome (my default setting) as it allows you to concentrate on tonality, the play of light, and composition without any distractions.
Photography is all about capturing the moment, it has to be, that’s the nature of the genre, Images like this appear to be simple but there’s still a lot of process behind them, probably more so because when you have a simple image there is no where to hide.
What are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!
Simplicity, capturing a moment with no distractions, is able to immediately transport you to a time and place. The light, photography is all about light; the clue is in the name.
If you could make this photo again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or differently?
Shoot it on my Fujifilm GFX 100SII, I prefer the image format over a 35mm ratio.
Nigel Ridgen shared this photograph with the FRAMES Facebook Group.
Photographer
Nigel Ridgen, Culbo, Scotland
Equipment and settings
Fujifilm X-Pro2, XF18-55mm
55mm, Acros film simulation
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