René Maltête was a French photographer and poet. His pictures were based on the element of surprise and incongruity, often having a humorous and even philosophical side to them. At the start of his career, he often had to resort to manual labor as an addition to his to his profession in order to pay the bills. However, René's talent of seeing and being able to capture in time humorous moment of mundane, day-to-day life payed off in the end. Over the years, his works were published in a number of magazines in addition to numerous exhibitions that were held worldwide to popularize his work. (Photo by René Maltête)

“In a nutshell and to prevent my english readers from experiencing eye bleeding after having read too many syntax errors, I’m a french journalist – I work as an editor, not as photographer – who happens to be nuts about photography. Being the happy owner of too many Leica M for a man to shoot, I spend most of my free time shooting my friend and my town, Strasbourg, in b&w and sometimes in colors”. – Manuel Plantin

Photo: “Even detectives got the blues”. Strasbourg, 2011 (Photo by Manuel Plantin)

A marine aims an RPG-7, a portable rocket- propelled grenade launcher, during military exercises conducted by the Russian Pacific Fleet' s naval infantry unit at the Bamburovo firing range on February 2, 2017. The drills are a part of preparations for the Suvorov Attack and Sniper Line army competitions. (Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS)

Ukrainian servicemen patrol near the humanitarian aid center in Avdiivka, Ukraine, Saturday, February 4, 2017. Fighting in eastern Ukraine sharply escalated this week. Ukraine's military said several soldiers were killed over the past day in shelling in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has escalated over the past week. (Photo by Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo)

An Indonesian model wearing a colorful costume participates in a parade during the Batam Island International Culture Festival in Batam Island, Indonesia, 16 December 2017. Batam Island, an industrial area in Indonesia, is boosting the tourism sector to improve the economy of its community by eyeing the visitors' boom of next door country Singapore. (Photo by Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA/EFE)

A performer poses during celebrations after Rahul Gandhi, newly elected president of India's main opposition Congress party, took charge as the president during a ceremony outside the party's headquarters in New Delhi, India, December 16, 2017. (Photo by Altaf Hussain/Reuters)

Dancers of the Czech National Ballet warm up backstage during a performance of “The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol” at the National Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic, late 16 December 2017. Peter I. Tchaikovsky's “The Nutcracker”, one of his most famous compositions and seasonal ballets, premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 18 December 1872, celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. (Photo by Martin Divisek/EPA/EFE)