Cloé Vié

I have always been drawn to art in its many forms. As a child, I couldn’t imagine working in any field other than the arts. In school, my favorite subjects were visual arts and technology, where we created technical drawings, designs, and 3D simulations of objects using software. I wasn’t very talkative, and these classes allowed me to express myself in ways other than words, much like photography does. Photography captivated me early on, without me knowing exactly why. At the age of 15, I convinced my mother to buy me a camera. She thought that, like any temporary passion, this camera would end up collecting dust at the back of a closet after a few weeks of use. One day, when I came home from school, I found a large box on the dining table in the kitchen. I didn’t need to open it to guess what it contained. My mother had also contacted our former neighbor, Dédé, who took me to a photo club called Vincennes Images (VI). This first step into the world of photography marked the beginning of a passion that continues to grow. I have now been a member of VI for ten years and continue to practice photography. I am still just as fascinated by this medium. I have explored different photographic genres, but it is in street photography that I feel most at home. I love the street, this palace of chance, with all the treasures it offers and hides. Photography allows us to train our eyes to see things differently. The street presents itself to us, and it’s up to us to capture what we want or can see and perceive. The street and its passersby are a source of inspiration, not only for photographers but for everyone. I am particularly drawn to the natural and authentic moments that street photography allows us to capture. I love immortalizing the dark silhouettes of strangers I encounter, seizing those unique moments that will never happen the same way again. I enjoy capturing the harmony between the environment, architecture, and humanity. I don’t seek to highlight one over the other, even if I sometimes focus on architecture and its details. For a photographer, light is the main tool, even more so than the camera. It allows us to appropriate and capture moments; I find that incredible. I prefer to photograph when the light is low and vivid. I often chase this light to capture the graphics it draws on buildings, passersby, and other urban elements. I love the strong contrasts and graphic creations that this light reveals.