Philippe Hervo

Street | Last Updated: January 9, 2023

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Hello, my name is Philippe Hervo and I am a French amateur photographer.

Photography invited herself to me on December 31, 2004, by just a small door. My answer was the need to give back space to my creativity in front of a very present professional universe.

The basic idea when I started was to buy a digital camera, take pictures and, with the help of Photoshop, add moustaches to the captured faces.

The spoiler was I did buy the camera but never added a moustache, nor did I learn how to use Photoshop.

I read, again and again, discovering the rich and diverse world of photography. I crossed paths with passionate and exciting photographers, all beautiful and enriching encounters.

Thank you to them!

From the day I dared to overcome my shyness, street photography imposed itself on me and became my passion.
For me, black and white has always been the obvious choice.

I started out with a Nikon D70 and a Nikkor AF-S DX 16-85 mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR zoom, and as my knowledge expanded, I bought a Nikon D300 and paired it with a Nikkor AF-S DX 17-55mm f/2.8G ED IF.

For me, the real evolution took place when I switched to a fixed focal length using a Nikkor AFS 50mm.
This was a surprising association considering that I did not practice portraiture. This focal length (75mm full frame equivalent) offered me a distance to the subject that really suited my photography.

One day a friend told me about Fujifilm, and in just one afternoon, I had abandoned the heavy D300 in favour of the light Fujifilm XT1 equipped with a Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS.

To familiarize myself with the camera, I went back to the fixed focal length using the Fujifilm XF 50mm f/2 R WR and the Fujifilm XF 35mm f/2 R WR.

Today, my everyday setup, as I am still evolving, is a Fujifilm X-T3 equipped with the Fujifilm XF 35mm f/2 R WR. I have kept my Fujifilm XF 50mm f/2 R WR but I don’t tend to use it very often.

Like many of you, I’m looking for the perfect bag. I always come back to my LOWEPRO passport sling III.
It is a model that the brand seems to have abandoned, but I appreciate its lightness, its volume and its discretion.

The Moleskine weekly planner is the receptacle of my ideas, thoughts and any advice received.

In the introduction, I mentioned that I don’t use Photoshop and the simple fact is that I am satisfied with Lightroom as its catalogue management and simplicity of use make it a docile partner on a daily basis.

I don’t retouch my photos but develop them. This will perhaps make the film shooters smile, but I use this vocabulary knowingly.

I don’t practice film photography for many bad reasons and some good ones; what I try and do is to practice my photography with what I call the “film-philosophy”. I avoid shooting too much and limit the editing on the computer to the basic functions, which are light, contrast and cropping.

To answer the question of why an APS-C sensor and not a full format, I answer that I prefer the lightness and the compactness of the material to the ‘thermos’ of the full format.

My prints are in small format and I use an EPSON R3000 printer. Yes, I am conservative, and I dream of a camera with a red dot of medium format but not all geek dreams are meant to come true, and that’s fine.

When we submit our photos to the eyes of others, it is not our ability to arouse emotion. It is the interest that will make the difference, more than the brand of equipment used.

Thanks to the Shotkit team for welcoming me.

@philigraphe

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