Alexey Andrei is a Frenchman of Russian origin.

At first glance, this name seems ordinary.

Whether it is the name Alexei or the surname Andrei, for Russians, they are extremely common names.

Just like Zhang Wei and Zhao Qiang of the Celestial Dynasty.

But he is one of the official photographers at the Cannes Film Festival.

Not only is he well-known in the French photography community, he is also one of the judges for this year's Sony World Photography Awards.

The name Sony World Photography Awards will naturally be familiar to photography enthusiasts. Since its establishment in 2004, the Photography Awards has held an awards ceremony in Cannes every year. Although it has only been established for a short time, it can rely on the advantage of being backed by Sony's financial backers.

, and generous bonuses. In just ten years since its establishment, it has become one of the world's most well-known and authoritative photography awards.

This year, Alexey Andrei is the judge.

At the same time, even if he is not a judge, he will come to Cannes in advance before and after the photography festival every year.

He loved photographing the "scenery" he saw during the Cannes Film Festival.

Even if he is not officially entrusted by Cannes, he will come.

Although many colleagues in the photography industry dislike the "professionalism" of these actors.

For example, when walking on the street, some well-trained actors will instinctively show the best angle of their facial features to the other person after seeing a camera pointed at them.

This deliberately artificial look seems very fake to some photographers.

Not the most natural expression of true feelings.

He doesn't deserve to be in their cameras at all.

Alexey actually thinks so too.

But he still likes to come here because he is good at hiding and can be concealed enough.

He can always capture the truest emotions of his subjects at that moment without others noticing.

Moreover, the subjects he photographs are rarely big-name celebrities.

Rather than so-called celebrities, he prefers to see independent filmmakers with artistic spirit appear in his shots.

Their emotional management is not as sophisticated as those who wallow in fame and fortune. No one cares about the movie they worked so hard to make even if it is shortlisted in Cannes, or suddenly receives recognition from many people during the film festival... whether it is

Whether the former is bitter or the latter is ecstatic, that kind of emotional fluctuation is always extraordinarily real.

And, most importantly...these guys who are not yet famous are easy to talk to.

If a photographer takes a picture of someone else and can use it, he must obtain the other person's permission.

For ordinary people, it may just be a verbal permission: "I took a photo of you" (show it to the other person), "I am a photographer, I can save it and put it in Sony Photo Exhibition/XX Exhibition or something like that"

A place?"

As long as there is no need to make a profit, few people will refuse.

But public figures are a little more troublesome.

The bigger the star, the more trouble there is.

After all, their image rights are often equated with money.

Therefore, most of the time, Alexei's eyes are focused on ordinary people or fledgling actors and entertainers.

These people have skills in squatting.

For example, if you shoot those independent filmmakers who are not well-known, then go to the theater to watch them.

During the screening of their films, some people will be particularly nervous, especially when the film is about to end, and their emotions will fluctuate greatly.

Manic, restless, pacing, hesitating...

All kinds of emotions have a different kind of beauty in the eyes of photographers.

Including those little actors.

When they face the camera, they will have a mixed feeling of "professional and non-professional".

Clean and confused.

Alexey liked this sense of contradiction very much.

That was the remaining innocence they had before they were soaked in or eliminated by the big dye vat of Vanity Fair.

As for ordinary people, there are many good places to visit in Cannes.

For example, this famous seaside road.

Every year when the Cannes Film Festival is held, it's the carnival season for these stores.

When those so-called "artistic" people come across these luxury stores, the vast majority of them, especially women, will choose to go shopping there.

Many people even have the slightest fantasy of meeting some celebrities by chance and asking for their autographs.

Unfortunately, these celebrities rarely visit these stores, and their fantasies are doomed to be in vain.

But it’s very exciting here.

Not only because of the different brand decorations, but also because of the people who come to visit these stores.

Some people spend a lot of money when visiting luxury stores, and they exude an upper-class temperament in every gesture.

Some people, who have an average income, look at these shops with hesitation and longing in their eyes.

Others are even more interesting. After they go in and buy something, when they come out with those exaggerated and non-environmentally friendly shopping bags in their hands, they look at the people around them who are wearing ordinary clothes, and their eyes are full of various emotions.

Or show off.

Or proud.

Obviously, except for a shopping bag in their hands, they are no different from others in terms of dress, appearance and temperament.

But when they were carrying this shopping bag that represented luxury, at least at that moment, they seemed to have completed a class leap.

very funny.

In the eyes of a professional photographer, these are the most precious things.

Therefore, Alexei likes to go back and forth on this street.

Go capture some content that he finds interesting.

However, two consecutive days of rain disrupted his rhythm.

The sun finally appeared on the third day, and he couldn't wait to take some photos early in the morning.

But throughout the morning, he felt that the things he took were just ordinary things.

Maybe it's because the rain just stopped?

Too few people?

All in all, he was not very satisfied.

It wasn't until noon that he unexpectedly saw a couple.

Why are they a couple and not a couple?

If someone asked Alexey this, he would definitely laugh.

What a joke.

Can this also question the vision of a professional photographer?

He can tell almost at a glance what kind of people are lovers and what kind of people are husband and wife.

But this somewhat familiar Asian couple made his eyes light up.

The two of them are dressed casually but appropriately, and have great temperament.

The most important thing is that these two people have an aura that is incompatible with the surrounding luxury stores.

Others are carrying large and small bags, some are LV, some are GUCCI.

In Alexei's view, such "scenery" is not unusual around this beach road.

This business district is surrounded by resort hotels, so it is quite normal to come here to buy, buy, and stroll around.

But these two people are different.

These two people were holding two shopping bags in their arms...

Among them, the man’s shopping bag also contained a pointed baguette...

They were walking down the street as if they had just come out of the farmer's market.

If this were placed in the next block, Alexei might not be surprised.

But on the seaside road... it was enough for the two of them to become the focus of his eyes.

First, these two people are not tourists. There is no need for tourists to buy baguettes and other ingredients when shopping.

Although they looked familiar... Alexey guessed that the two of them were not celebrities, right? I had never heard of any celebrities dressing up like this.
To be continued...