There's something about black-and-white photography in the urban style of European cities that gives me a feeling of warm nostalgia, but also coldness and even a certain fear. Perhaps these feelings stem from Europe's beautiful and civilized past, alongside its cruelty at the various stages of history. Here the streets and the buildings are my witnesses.

When I walk through its narrow streets, in some European city, at night, hopefully in fog or rain, by the lights of lanterns decorated in Victorian style I meet single or paired people neatly dressed who walk as if they were floating over the stone-paved streets. I start playing with thoughts that maybe the person in front of me is a spy who has stayed here in this city since the Cold War or that the couple who approach me, from a distance, look like actors in some movie about forbidden or impossible loves...

Many European cities have lakes or rivers that divide the city into several parts. Above the rivers and lakes are the bridges and beside them the docks. There will always be something going on here. After getting off the bridge, there is the walking on the bank. Here the young couples gather into their love with complete disregard for the outside world.
Parents with children walk and wave goodbye to the boats sailing. And there are the loners who are particularly intriguing, some convey a desire to escape the metropolis, to isolate themselves, others are here just for a light rest or small meal. In my mind run images of Edward Hopper's paintings … the loneliness of togetherness in the big city.

Another nostalgic place in the big city is the railway station. The railway stations have witnessed exciting encounters, emotional farewells, the joy of children going out to spend their summer vacation, but also wars, coups, or tragical killings. Unfortunately, some of the European train stations were an integral part of the well-oiled killing machine of the Nazi regime in Europe during World War II. I can't ignore it. I see before my eyes the ghosts of those poor people, who were part of the many millions who were murdered when the train station was perhaps the last civilized place they saw before reaching their deaths.

The train stations are the most suitable places for train spotting.
As a child in my hometown in Romania, my grandfather used to take me to the train station for no specific reason. We would sit on an old but carefully decorated bench, waiting for the next train. There was always the next train. At the end of the 60's in Romania we could still see the beautiful big, black steam locomotives. Lots of smoke around them, noise, and extremely exciting intensity. I loved those moments next to my grandfather at the old train station.

The Excitement of Film Noir

The term FILM NOIR is often used in the context of black and white photos with an atmosphere of suspense, horror or even romance, reminiscent of the crime films of the 1940s and 1950s. Film Noir films were shot in black and white, with a strong contrast between light and darkness (chiaroscuro or low key). The characters in this kind of movie appeared in moments of tension as silhouettes with the light behind them, sometimes surrounded by smoke or rain. The excitement of black and white photography in the style of film noir is mainly due to the mystery that it transmits, the unpredictability of the scene and the tense atmosphere.

In a Film Noir film, the scenes are filmed in some dark neighbourhood, illuminated with an old lantern, in cold and wet weather, or hot. Always the feeling is of extreme weather. The atmosphere dictates all. The excitement of FILM NOIR still photography captivates me during the post-processing stage as well. This is where the details are revealed – precise light very fine tuned, a silhouette against a lit background with a precise profile, smoke or FOG that sends chills along the back, paying attention to the street and emphasising its architecture. The post-processing stage immediately brings me back to the "crime scene".

It could very well be that my excitement stems from the fact that as a child in the 70s in communist Romania, we saw a lot of American films from the 1940s and 1950s, ones that didn't offend "communist morality".

Today, when I shoot in an urban environment. I'm attracted to shot Film Noir style in the evening or at nighttime, partly because of the technical challenge of balancing precisely between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO in extreme exposure situations and partly because of the composition, which must also include some hidden clues such as loneliness, fear or romance. The clues are the important ones here - a couple's walk in coordinated proximity or an old man alone in an alley more than enough to understand the whole scene.

*The face of the character is not important. The mind can complete all the details even without having them clearly and sharply. We have already said that the clue is the important one here. *The distance of the character from the camera is important too. The proximity to the character can intensify the scene. A far character Allows the architectural environment to create the right atmosphere. Nothing is obvious. *The angle of the camera at the shooting point can be decisive. In some cases, the camera can even touch the floor, which intensifies the character, in other cases, you shoot from high up so that the figures get a background of the floor. *The background pinpoints the character. A bright background for a black silhouette will emphasize the character, and isolate it. The character does not have to be the main thing in the scene but must fit into the atmosphere. A cat, dog or bird can certainly contribute to the overall atmosphere.

Some knowledge in architectural photography will be priceless for a perfect Film Noir Scene.

I will try to use the photos that follow to refine the FILM NOIR topic as I see it.

The photographs were taken at three sites, Prague, Paris, and Tel Aviv, sites that are very different architecturally.