I’m Raoul Fortier, also known as pirate de rue, a photographer and filmmaker based in Montreal. My work is rooted in immersion. I don’t just document; I enter worlds. I listen, I wait, I disappear behind the lens.

I’m drawn to places and people often left out of the frame / stories pushed to the margins. I focus on gestures, silences, traces of time, and quiet forms of resistance. I don’t aim to explain or justify, just to be present. To witness.

From the deserts of South America (El más humano de todos los dioses) to the streets of Montreal (13 décembre, Point de rencontre), from the fading tattoo traditions in northern Thailand (Inked Journey) to the sound systems of Jamaica (Dem Sound), and the chaotic beauty of camel wrestling in Turkey (Deve)—each project is a dive into someone else’s rhythm.

I like to stay close to my subjects, physically, emotionally, without imposing myself. Wide lenses, natural light, raw sound. What you hear and feel matters as much as what you see. The camera, for me, is a pretext for connection, for slowing down, for looking differently.

I believe in short, sharp forms. Works that hit deep and linger. I don’t give answers. I offer encounters.