Q: Is the project purely for yourself or do you have a commercial or cause-related end in mind?
A: I’ve been fortunate to have one of my early series projects, “Fantastic Tower” exhibited last December at Habitat Vintage’s showroom for two months. I’ve also had another exhibition called “Tout est possible” for three months. Currently, I’m considering creating a book to see if the project gets any commercial interest from a publisher, but for the moment, I’m submitting the series for contests and to magazines. Let’s see what happens.

Q: What photographic choices have you made; colour palette, composition, use of flash, etc.
A: KISS is my keyword. “Keep it simple stupid” is what I aim for in my images. Very few elements, focus on the characters, easy reading for my viewers. As I am a 100% B&W photographer, contrast is very significant for me whether color contrast, form contrast, or texture contrast. I prefer a vertical composition as this enhances the presentation of the people in front of Tower, even if the Tower itself is not the focal point in the essay. Finally, I position myself in a very narrow space so I can get some kind of equilibrium which binds the series together.
Q: What is your vision for the project and how will you judge if you’ve been successful?
A: Trying to bring fresh air into a place over saturated with photographs is a challenge. I like challenges! I am constantly impressed by the strange ballet of people photographing themselves in front of the Eiffel Tower. They play with its image as if it was a goal in life to get their picture in a posed or grotesque attitude in front of the Tower. I try to adopt a social and psychological approach to the subjects, catching the decisive moment when the people and the Tower are in harmony.

Q: Did any particular person or body of work influence or inspire you?
A: Show me a photographer who denies being influenced by others. We all bring our own point of view from the artworks of the masters. Even if I have a lot of homework to do in the next few years, I’ve learned the sharpness of B&W compositions and the 50 mm lens preference from Henri Cartier-Bresson. I learned the richness of viewpoints from Sergio Larrain. Plus the photographic attitude of several Magnum photographers. I learned to stand very close to my characters from Bruce Gilden. At the end of the day, I am putting it all together in my own modest special sauce.
Q: Not all projects are smooth sailing. Have you had any setbacks and what were your learnings?
A: Shooting in front of the Eiffel Tower is not difficult. Everybody does it every day! Shooting at a 2m distance from the people is less obvious. Parents for instance can be worried if they notice their children are in the frame, someone can be angry to be photographed … but that’s the life of street photographers! There’s nothing new about it. In fact, the major setback is when you stick to your spot and nothing happens, nothing interesting to shoot and you return home with an empty box.
Q: Are there any technical or workflow challenges you’d like to mention?
A: Bruce Gilden says he loves feeling the energy of people in the street and he does not hesitate to shoot with a flash despite being very, very near to his characters. I don’t have his talent nor his ability to shoot that way, so I had to find my own way to let the people enter in my frame. Even if hyperfocal setting is not that easy with a Leica, I try everything, even shooting at knee-level without looking through the viewfinder. On the one hand I get nice perspective, unusual POV, and a great feeling of energy. On the other hand, post-processing is mandatory and I do delete a lot of clichés. At the end of the day, I’ve decided to continue with it and some of my Leica Meet friends now call it “The Scheinfeld Method”, which makes me laugh a lot!

Q: What Leica equipment do you use and how is it particularly suited to the needs of this project?
A: My wife offered me a Leica Monochrom for my 50th birthday, with a 50 mm Summilux lens. It has been the gift of my life and that camera has been the key factor in my photographic progress. I am sure that different cameras might also suit this project. I even tried another camera with some good results. But for my part, I feel more comfortable staying with my faithful Leica companion because I have full control of both settings and triggers. Moreover, I love the monochrome results which I consider very close film.
Thank you for your time, Laurent!
– Leica Internet Team
Laurent spent 25 years as an entrepreneur and investor. He began serious photography on a daily basis in 2013, attending several Magnum Photos workshops and doing a lot of homework, reading books and trying various techniques. He is also very proud to have a long-term project about one of the last big circus families, the Gruss Circus. He is naturally addicted to Facebook and appreciates the dynamism and professionalism of The Leica Meet founders. You can see more of Laurent’s work on Flickr.
Olaf Willoughby is a photographer, writer and researcher. He is co-founder of The Leica Meet, a Facebook page and website growing at warp speed to almost 8,000 members. If you have an intriguing project or body of work that we might feature, completed or in progress, contact Olaf at: olaffwilloughby@gmail.com or www.olafwilloughby.com.