The main reason you own that camera is for you to take whatever picture you want

Hello, I am Jim, 37 years old, photographer in Lyon, France. I am passionate about photography as a whole, and I make a living from it.

I traveled a lot and changed cities until I was 33, I lived in Lyon, Paris, London, to come back to Lyon. These different rhythms and lifestyles, and this need for adaptation, have developed my eye and my sense of observation, which helps me a lot in photography.

I touch on different areas in the photo industry:

Lifestyle, for fashion or sneaker shops, or magazines, most of the time outdoors in the street or more or less public buildings. I’m a street photographer in that sense or in all areas, and I like studio photos less. I like to adapt to the environment, whether it’s lifestyle, portrait, street photo, of course, I’m more comfortable in that sense, rather than adapting the environment to my photos.

I like to look for the right light, the right ray of sunshine to play with shadows, even if sometimes that never happens. I respect studio photographers enormously, and the studio photographer results are incredible, with those light shows and props. I love these photos too, only I’m a lot less comfortable with this method, it doesn’t work. It is a question of affects.

The humanist photo with a project called @ruedalgerie, where they are only black and white portraits, which advocate diversity and mixing, and represent my city Lyon 69. Through this project, I also do street art with collages of my photographs in the street.

I like this exchange with the people I portray, initially unknown, then we discuss and share and when they leave, we get to know each other better, in real life, not on the networks, and I find that very important. For this project, the shooting usually lasts 5/10 minutes, but the exchange moment often lasts 30 or even 40 minutes, and that’s what I love about this project, the human and the sharing.

Street photography, the spontaneous aspect, in constant renewal, and these small details or fleeting moments that appear and then disappear so quickly fascinate me. There is my sense of much less control in street photography and just being surprised and capturing the crucial moment really has a special flavor for me.

Architectural photography too, but I classify in the street photography, just as it can also be lifestyle photography in my opinion.

I’m in love with photography, and humans, so I don’t really distinguish between the different areas, I shoot when I feel like it. I love this phrase: “The main reason you own that camera is for you to take whatever Picture you want” is totally my work and life.

It has to remain a passion, and I don’t set any limits for myself as long as I love what I do. Which is not necessarily the easiest way to earn a living, to choose only projects that I like, but I don’t know how to do beautiful things if that doesn’t suit me, and at 37 years old, I made a choice to focus on passion and my values. Everything I do pleases me first before I even think about whether others will like it. But if it pleases me on top of that, then I’m happy.

It is sometimes difficult to do a street portrait, then a scene of a child at the beach, because the audience may get lost in the overall coherence of my work, but I like both and I as much I’m just as keen to shoot and showcase both, so I do it without restrictions.

I am also a graphic designer, with a project called @playmogang and which reproduces actors from the news, music, sport or cinema in the form of Playmobil, with particular attention to the details of sneakers, another passion since a teenager.

I love the urban environment as much as nature, I love traveling and discovering new people and new cultures. Being very influenced by hip-hop culture since always, I am passionate about music, but like the rest, I am very eclectic and open to all universes, hip hop, soul, funk, blues, jazz, folk. I am a fan of Paulo Coelho and Fernando Pessoa in literature.

Photography occupies today almost all my life, I always have a camera with me.
As a child, I was struck by a French film, La Haine, by Mathieu Kassowitz, an all-black and white film, which is today my cult film, like many people and friends of my generation and my culture ( hip-hop).

This triggered a passion for photography, with my first camera, a film camera, the Fujica STX-1 with a 50mm F1.9 lens that belonged to my mother and who gave it to me when I was 11 years old, initially with a black and white film. To this day, it’s still my favorite “color mode”.

Since a child, it has always been said of me that I was very observant, and the fact of being a graphic designer and paying attention to the smallest details, when I create my characters, for example. In order to find how to make a very minimalist Playmobil character a recognizable real person, help me, I think, to continue to develop this sense of observation, just like my daily life as a photographer.

So I started with a Fujica STX-1, and I’m still with Fujifilm today. Although I must admit having gone through Sony Alpha 7 when I started out as a professional photographer, to return to Fuji, and today I am staying there. Currently, I have an X-T4, XF6-55 F2.8, XF 16mm F2.8, a Viltrox 56mm F1.4, and my baby the X100V which never leaves me.

You will understand that I don’t like constraints, haha, and that’s also one of the main reasons I love my X100V so much; no weight constraint, being able to be discreet in street photography, being able to have it with me at all times, moreover even in pro missions. I am a big fan of the fixed focal length, and the 23mm F2 lens present on the X100V is just great and suits me perfectly.

I like having to travel to take a photograph. The X100V is, in addition to being discreet, precise and responsive. It is a magnificent object, robust, and with its vintage appearance, I am overwhelmed.

Plus, the possibility that Fuji offers to customize film simulations is just amazing. I work most often with the Monochrome that I modified, for an almost analogue rendering, with very deep blacks, my preferred setting. Otherwise, I use Classic Chrome a lot, and the KodakChrome and Bright Summer (thank you Fuji X Weekly for those two latters).

I use the X-T4 for professional missions when I need a wider angle lens for example, for dance events, or when I am at the edge of the stage and need a zoom. But my real pleasure is when I shoot with the X100V, in any circumstances, with family, friends, in the street, for professional assignments, for lifestyle. I really can’t explain it. This is where I take the most pleasure.

The X100V is both ultra-modern and efficient, and at the same time, so close to the origin of the first Leica used by Cartier Bresson or Doisneau.

With its looks, but also in the grip, the offset viewfinder, everything is perfect. With this personalized black and white simulation, I have the impression of taking photos as in the days of the first film compacts, but without the constraints (once again) of film, and it is elsewhere which slows me down for film. I feel like I take too many pictures to be able to work in film, even though I respect, admire, and would love to learn the techniques and crafts of film development. Maybe later when I have more time.

In addition, I shoot, and I almost only use Jpeg. Fujis are the best for Jpeg haha, and I also find that the link with the original sense of photography is easier with Jpeg. We cheat less, retouch less, the photo remains fairly faithful to the original, and that’s also what I like. These small flaws will make the authentic or raw side of the photo.

And for the retouching, I use Lightroom; I don’t use so presets so often, as the settings in Fuji cameras are already so powerful. Maybe slightly for color images, but the black and white photos I hardly ever retouch them.

What I do the most with Lightroom or Photoshop is to create a margin to be able to post the complete photo without it being cropped by Instagram. And then I already spend enough time on Illustrator and Photoshop for the graphics lol.

Thanks a lot for your interest!
Regards,
Jim