Marika Poquet, Photoreporter

Why do you do this job?

Through my images, I want to capture emotion, humanity and soul.

Even when I shoot purely visual images (for example architectural or landscape images), I want people to feel some emotion when looking at them.

Photography for me is about showing some reflection on the human condition whether it is pain, sadness, loneliness, or love. Hence what I really enjoy is walking around the streets with my camera and shooting moments of everyday life and society.

Photoshoot is a way of communication?

Photography is a great way to explore and understand the world.

Images are a powerful way to enlighten people. They provide information on the places, the people, the way they live, and what surrounds them.

For me, images are strong when they to provide emotions to the audience.

How do you choose countries in which you work? 

I travel to a variety of countries that appeal to me for various reasons including their history, the people, the culture and also to fuel my curiosity.

I have been living in Asia for nearly 10 years but I have travelled to other continents and have been to various countries in the past few years: Mongolia, Ethiopia, Cuba, India, Nepal, Korea, Japan and others. However, I still have a very long list of countries I want to visit in the next few years. I am particularly attracted by Africa.

Are you close to people you take picture of?

Everything depends on the situation. Most of the time, I aim to shoot candid shots and try to be invisible. The reason for this is that I don’t want people to change their actions, pose or to be unnatural. However, I always smile at people if they see me. Sometimes the people I photograph approach me and engage with me. I can recollect many instances when I spent hours discussing life with strangers. In many instances and particularly in remote places, I have been invited into people’s houses and although there was an image barrier between us, we were able to find a way of communicating.

Is it important to be altruistic to do this job?

I am not sure you need to love people to be a photographer. Some photographers just want to show a visual image. It is different for me. The majority of my shots include people because it is important to me. I feel emotionally empathetic towards my subjects. As a photographer, the best feeling is to manage to capture the moment and emotions in the picture.

Are pictures an invitation to travel?

I believe so. Showing beautiful images of countries will obviously make you want to travel and discover the beauties of nature and less known countries.

What kind of photography do you do?

I have always loved street photography and I remember walking in Paris when I was a teen.  For me street photography is about shooting candid photography in public places.

I enjoy street photography because I enjoy wandering in the streets and taking candid un-posed pictures. It requires huge discipline and concentration on what you are trying to achieve.

I keep looking for something to photograph, whether it is beautiful, funny, unexpected, suprising or ambiguous, I can spend hours walking in streets waiting for something to happened, looking for what Henri Cartier Bresson called “the decisive moment”. When the perfect conditions arrive, you seize the moment and hit the shutter. Time isn’t an issue for me I love seeing the unrolling of the scene till the moment occurs. There is a lot of joy and excitement when one has the feeling to have managed to get the shot.

Your stronger travel souvenir?

My strongest memory is when I was shooting in the streets of Kolkata.  This trip was a huge cultural and emotional choc. I was overwhelmed by this City. I spent a few days walking around Kolkata not being able to take a single picture. During one of my errands, I came across an amazing mother living with seven children on the street, She had so much dignity and humanity. This encounter touched my heart. I spent 6 days with them sharing their daily life and capturing photos of every moment. It was a lesson on humanity. I tried through my photos to capture their strength, their joy although their life was precarious.