Paris-based winnerPatrick Smith enjoys the freedom of being a photographer, and as he should. Our Hot Shot owns, last he counted, a whopping 22 cameras. He also recently redesigned his website—take a look here.

Birthplace? Where were you raised?
Born in Lille, (industrial town in the North of France). Educated in England.

Your age?
50

What do you do to pay the bills?
Write checks. Seriously, I am a photographer (architecture, interior decoration, travel, documentary)

What initiated your committed romance with photography?
It was my father's main hobby when I was a child. My daughter is now following the same path (watch the HHS! competition next year!)

What artists inspire you, whether they be photographers, musicians, politicians, painters, or the like?
Musicians inspire me, because they create emotion out of thin air. It is the same with poetry, I love haikus, and a number of contemporary French poets. I have a long career, so, when I was into BW street photography, it was free jazz performers. Music is important to me to set the mood before I start shooting. I am eclectic, (iPod helps a lot these days), I can choose a boost from rock and roll.

What formal training, if any, do you have?
I was trained as an engineer (mechanics) in England and then took a two-year photography course in France

What piece of equipment do you fetishize the most and/or what is your guiltiest tech pleasure?
It used to be the Leica, now I am in love with my Walker large format camera, which I used for this project.

What do you find to be the biggest cliche in photography these days?
In photography: letting intellect rule over emotion. In the world: letting emotion rule over the intellect. Or: spending more time reading about photographs than actually looking at them.

What are your loftiest goals?
Make "useful" photography: first, to obtain an emotional response from the viewer, hopefully followed by analysis and reflection from his/her part.

Do you have any other creative talents?
I enjoy making pizzas—those who eat them seem to enjoy themselves too!

What are the top three movies on your queue?
Alice in the Cities (Wim Wenders)
The idiots (Lars von Trier)
Get Carter (Mike Hodges)

What book connects with your life the most?
Let us now praise famous men (James Agee)

What are your favorite websites/blogs?
Conscientious
Alec Soth weblog

Who are your favorite musicians? Do you have an anthem?
John Coltrane. Yes "A few of my favourite things"

If you were on a deserted island and could only take one luxury, what would it be?
Pencil and paper (if considered a luxury), otherwise, probably an iPod (you supply the power outlet)

Favorite way to kill time?
I never have any time to kill. If I am waiting in a station, airport, etc, I re-arrange my notes : I jot things down all the time, so I synthesize, rewrite, and throw away.

Any pets?
Peaches, the cat, is on the window ledge looking at Montmartre.