His niche? The adrenaline! At the St-Tite Western Festival, where 600,000 people go each year and for which he has been official photographer for 5 years, Jean-François Birtz has no shortage of them!

In 2011, this heavy machinery mechanic in Sorel-Tracy purchased a reflex camera to capture moments of his daughter's life. Driven by this challenge, he studied photography on the Internet (2014) to experiment with his new passion.

The enthusiasm for his work, which is increasingly visible on social networks, pushes him to invest more in sporting events. Boxing, motocross, speed skating, equestrian sports: all sports captivate him.

For his first time at the St-Tite Western Festival as a rodeo neophyte, it's a masterstroke. Able to make his photos quickly accessible, he was a great success. His photos are above all imbued with strong sensations. Freezing the speed of a galloping horse, capturing the shock of a skid, immortalizing the energy of a kick: this is all the art of this extreme sports enthusiast made in Quebec.

Text: Anne Deram (Paris)