I have a new photographic hero. Well, new to me but his work is anything but recent.

Gyula Halász, or Brassaï as he was better known, was born in 1899 and is best known for his photographs of Paris, taken in the 1930s. The images are wonderful and capture something of the essence of Paris in those pre-war years. However, it’s this quote from Steve Simon’s wonderful “Passionate Photographer” book (more of that later) which really fired up my interest and has inspired my admiration for the Hungarian photographer.

“Brassaï would wander the streets of Paris at night with his Voigtlander 6×9 plate camera and 105mm f/4.5 lens on a wooden tripod, capturing the beauty, mood and mystery of the city on glass-based negative plates. It was the 1930s, when the process was more cumbersome and difficult. He often needed long exposures, which he measured with lit cigarettes, using a cheap, fast-burning Gauloise for short exposures, and a thicker, slower-burning Boyard for longer exposures.“

How wonderfully bohemian. In this digital age, with Auto-everything, Active-D lighting (what IS that?) and goodness-knows what other technical crutches for us to lean on, perhaps there’s a growing argument for getting back to the basics.

Consequently, participants at our sold-out Thaipusam Photography Workshop in Penang next month will each be issued with a plate camera, wooden tripod, 3 glass negatives, a pack of Gauloise, a pack of Boyard, a box of matches, a trilby (or a fedora if you prefer) and a large coat with an upturned collar.

Probably.

Enjoy this series of Brassaï’s “Paris by Night” images whilst you light up a Gauloise.