This project started from a simple question : what does Paris feel like when it’s not busy, when no one’s really watching? I’d seen the city full of noise, cars everywhere, people rushing, but I was curious about what it looked like when all of that wasn’t there. So I began to take photos at exactly 5:20 AM, when it’s empty and again at 5:20 PM, when everything was dynamic. Taking the same photo twice at different times became a way for me to really look at what was changing.
Coming from Kochi, I’ve always noticed how the mood of a place shifts with time. When I came to Paris, I had that same way of looking at things. I’ve walked through empty markets at sunrise and seen the same spaces turn chaotic by afternoon. There are old colonial buildings in Kochi. I've never been drawn to the buildings themselves, but rather to how they become part of the background for everything else: the traffic, the heat, the rain. I wanted to notice what happens when not much is happening. How a street feels when it’s completely empty.
I used the same frame for all the shots. The light in the morning was colder, so I used a tripod and longer exposure. In the evening I changed my settings for a dynamic setting. I kept my compositions clean, with lines and balance for the contrast to stand out.
This project isn’t about telling some big story. It’s just about how I saw Paris in those quiet and chaotic moments. I’m not from this city, but observing it this way connected me with it.
Ashwith S Pai is a documentary photographer based in Kochi, India. Originally trained as an engineer, Ashwith discovered his true calling in photography and transitioned into the visual arts .
From 2023 to 2025 , he studied Photojournalism at Spéos Photography School, where he specialized in documentary and photo reportage. During this period, he developed a strong foundation in visual storytelling and refined his eye for detail . His work focuses on capturing raw human emotions, urban environments, and the subtleties of everyday life across different cultures . Ashwith is particularly drawn to moments that reveal the resilience, beauty, and complexity of people and places often overlooked .
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