Frédéric Murarotto remembers the day he took this shot because it was his birthday. He was headed to a meeting via the Paris Métro and just ahead of him stood this man, waiting for the next train. “I was drawn to the way his bright case contrasted with the old, dim environment. It adds an almost anachronistic side, as if we are just outside reality, or perhaps he is from another era.”
Murarotto took the man’s photograph on his iPhone 13 Pro without making his presence felt. “What photographer wouldn’t dream of a camera that could be so discreet,” he asks, “almost invisible, so as not to disturb the scene? Sometimes I like to imagine that, in the future, we will be able to take photos with our eyes, or with the blink of an eye. But I wonder: what would that mean for photographers, those who know how to capture a moment, a look?” he asks.
He has since come up with his own theories about his subject. “Even in his wrinkled suit, the way he held himself, I found him incredibly elegant. He looks resigned, melancholic. Almost discouraged. Is he tired from work? Has he just arrived after a long night’s journey? Was he kicked out by his wife with just enough time to pack his stuff in this suitcase? You can imagine so much.”
As for what could have been inside the suitcase, with a smile Murarotto says, “We’ll never know.”
