As a photographer for Paperjam and Delano, I have the chance to work with people 'on the ground'. And they can be very diverse: it can be a politician, a financial market figure or a homeless person I meet on the corner of the Luxembourg central train station. It doesn't matter, in my eyes, everyone is human, and I try to capture that essence in my photographs.

As one of my mentors, Stanley Green, once told me, "the success of our work often depends on the kindness of strangers we meet on the street and who give us an interesting story". This is why I feel privileged to have the streets of Luxembourg, where strangers can become friends, as a place to work.

The selection presented here is a choice of photos that are not my "best" photos of 2022, but photos that gave me food for thought at the time I took them, that brought me happiness or a better knowledge of the subject matter.

Challenged by Nasir Zubairi

Apart from the importance of the subject and the person whose portrait I am shooting, there is another factor that plays an essential role: the time we photographers are given. In general, when we shoot portraits of personalities, time is of the essence. We often have to make quick work of a location that we can't explore in advance, set up the lights and create a pleasant experience for our model.

On this day I was to shoot the portrait of , CEO of Lhoft. I arrived at the location early to set up the lights and atmosphere in one of the rooms of the building, and saw the chess board on the table. While waiting for him, I played a few moves with myself, so that the configuration on the chessboard would be realistic. Only planning to take a minute of his time for the photo, I wanted to have everything ready when he arrived.

He arrived, greeted me and looked at the board. "Oh, let's do this properly!" he offered.

To my surprise and delight, we then began a game of chess that I had not expected. He won and then we took some portraits, with the final placement of the pieces indicating how he won the game in view. It was an incredibly relaxed shoot for both of us.

I hope one day to get a rematch.

An election day

This photo was taken on an election day in Luxembourg, at Luxexpo, during the . It may be a bit of a cliché, but I chose it because it shows the nature of democracy: the citizens should be the power behind the curtain.

An eloquent Pride March

One of the most memorable events I photographed in 2022 was . People of all sexual orientations marched through the city to express their identity, demand their rights and introduce themselves to the public. The people pictured here are part of a fetish subculture that engages in sometimes sexualised role-play. The group consists of a soldier--a figure of dominance and authority--accompanied by two of his 'dogs' obeying his orders. I walked around with them for a while to see how the audience would react: would they be critical or approving? Would they be concerned or supportive of their message? I didn't hear any judgement or inappropriate comments. But I did see sincerity, sometimes mixed with a little confusion, as in the look in the eyes of the "real" dog in the photo, who is watching the fake.

Tensions and uncertainties

I had to illustrate the tensions in the global financial community, as news broke that and that the bank might be headed for insolvency. I took the time to soak up the atmosphere at the entrance to the bank and to sense the mood of the employees. The tension and uncertainty can be felt in the gesture of the employee photographed.

Part of the Gare district evacuated

It's not every day that the police come knocking at your door and ask you to leave your home because of the evacuation of the area. This happened on 9 July, when a World War II bomb was discovered on one of the construction sites in the station area. As the area was cordoned off, I decided not to focus on the bomb itself, but on the chaos surrounding it and what could happen at any moment. Most of the occupants who had to be evacuated were disciplined and understood the situation. An hour later they were able to return home.

The fascinating sight of the moving steel bridge

is simply incredible! And that's what happened over the A3 in October. A true engineering marvel, it wasn't just the bridge that was fascinating to watch, but the whole operation, right up to its final point. The behemoth weighing more than 5,800 tonnes was moved so slowly that you could barely feel the movement. Dozens of engineers and coordinators were running around, chatting on walkie-talkies and watching the process, reminding me a little of powerful ants working together to achieve their common goal.

I left at about 3am with this photo of the illuminated bridge, a testament to the success of this great technical achievement.

Two lunar rovers on the move

Of course, I haven't walked on the Moon (yet). This image was taken the Uni' , where the conditions on the surface of the Earth's natural satellite are simulated. As a big fan of the mystery surrounding space exploration, I was incredibly happy to visit the lab and, in my mind, walk on the Moon for a second or two, surrounded by cutting-edge technology and great scientists working in Luxembourg.

An army of robots in Contern

I was struck by the number of industrial robots that are programmed and stored in the Fanuc distribution centre in Contern. A brief glimpse, no doubt, of the future of industrial robotics.

I also wondered what happened when the lights in the centre went out: did the robots start playing football? Did they celebrate? What were they dreaming about at night? Anyway, I just hope they can't connect to Skynet and take over humanity.

Jokes aside, this picture made me think about the fact that it is not the robots that will become "human" and pose a danger, as in the movies. The real danger lies elsewhere--in a scenario where humans become less and less human to each other.

Symbolic and cynical

One of the last photographs I took in 2022 can be interpreted cynically.

Despite all the good intentions of the people who set up this showcase, I perceived it in a slightly different way. As our minds are programmed to hyper-consume, spend and somehow satisfy social expectations of how happy we should be during the winter holiday season, I found this arrangement with this mannequin hanging from a rope very ironic, as it hangs over the line wishing us 'best wishes'.

Let's not just wish each other well during the holiday season, but let's do it more frequently and more sincerely. Rather than promoting items, let's promote good humour, be available to listen and offer a shoulder, a hug or just a smile to a stranger on the street. That's what I consider to be promoting and I would like to be part of it.

For a brighter year

There will be dark clouds this year, there will be rain and cold, but let's bring out the sunshine, so that each of the days ahead is worth remembering, even in tiny fractions of a second. Let's remember the moments that made our hearts beat faster, let's all hold on to that something magical so that at the end of the year we look back on 2023 with happiness.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.