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When did you take up photography?
My family used to take and print photographs before I was born,
and there was a dedicated darkroom in the house which was always
ready for anyone to use. However I didn't start with
photography. I started drawing and painting a lot. Maybe because
I wanted to express myself in a different way. The first time I
really discovered photography was during the first month at fine
arts school. It was on the program and was a required skill to
qualify. I became so enthusiastic with it that I ended up doing
my first exhibition at the Gallerie Rivaud in Poitiers.
- Where did you acquire technical knowledge?
Although I can't be sure of this, I think that having been in
the company of photographers from an early age some of their
knowledge washed off on me. Also because of this I wasn't in awe
of the medium, so learning wasn't really that difficult. I
studied chemistry and physics before going to arts school, so
that made understanding optical theory and the principles of
darkroom processing easier. I started on artistic interpretation
and history with Alain Fleig, and pursued this, over the next
few years, alone or with my father and a friend of mine. I read
a lot about it and then had the great chance of spending a week
with Philippe Salaün who was printer for Robert Doisneau at the
time. His technical skills influenced me a lot at the time,
especially with regards to film and the development process.
- How do you decide to pursue a project?
The project I prefer it the one that grows slowly in my mind, I can
see the final pictures in my head and find places and technics to get
them out. For long exposures you need to know a little where and when
you will do it as it needs a lot of equipment, especially a big tripod
to compensate vibrations and wind. It also depend of luminosity, the weather, how is the
moon, the ocean, the sky and the overall scene.
- So your interest in a topic comes before you photograph it?
Yes, as I said, I'm a visual human being, creation always comes
from what I see. It could be a logical next step on an existing
project, an idea might come when I see a place or experience a
specific artistic situation, it might be a derivation of another
photographer's work, just attempting to find out how it was done
or to give my own interpretation of the subject when I find it
interesting. Once I have reproduced it by myself, I can go
further and explore new ideas and I have new tools at my
disposal.
- How do you choose your locations?
Most of the time because there is an element, a situation that
will bring a moody sensation to my creation, a time
signification, past activity, nostalgia, serenity or
tranquillity. For example I love water cooling, smoke and
clouds, wind in the trees, the rotation of the earth confronted
to human construction associated to graphical minimal scenes.
Wide open landscapes produce a feeling of space and freedom in
me.
- From which photographers have you taken inspiration?
There are many. The first when I was young was Jean-Loup Sieff
with his dark prints and wide views. Although there is often
people in his shots they seem always to be alone in the place
they are or in their lives. Ansel Adams has a beautiful sense of
landscape with subtle renderings that give you the sensation of
having been in the place. I have seen many collections and
prints that have obviously influenced me. I
can cite Emmanuel Correia, Michael Kenna, Rolf Horn, Bill Schwab, Gérard Laurenceau, Chip
Forelli, Pascal Renoux, David Fokos and Josef Hoflehner who I feel that
I am in phase with.
- Why do you do long exposures?
With long exposure I can see time manipulation that I can't see
with my normal eyes. It also produces interesting graphical
effects that in some way invert reality. You see clouds and
stars moving but water seems to be quiet or frozen. Static
elements seem to be magnified or blurred with the abnormally
visible things that move around them. In a world where everybody
is rushing about and instant accurate images are everywhere,
there seems to be a certain luxury in sitting down, slowing
down, being alone, eliminating disturbing sounds, not having a
time limit, applying a new way of listening and watching, and
trying to capture a long piece of a moment. I also find the
unpredictability that is inherent with long exposures and the
empirical method of exposure measurement is just like an
addition of reality, elements, me and the camera. Putting all of
this together is very exciting.
- What does photography means for you?
When I started studying art I thought I would be a 3D hyperealistic scene creator. With 3D you start from an totally empty universe, dark, without any light or point of view. You can do what you want but if you don't place a referring point to set reality in the scene, the spectator will be totally lost or will think that you were on drugs or delirious.
I was creating empty places, with water, ice, snow, fog and mist, reflections, refraction, subtle lights and soft shadows. I'm was always fascinated by places empty of people with weird atmospheres. It makes me believe I'm privileged and have my very own universe. Perhaps I think while I'm doing it that I'm the only human conversing closely with the world, using my camera as a translator between us. Exploring is fascinating.
I think in photography I found the medium I need, a combination between time to achieve result, travelling, technical skills and visual representation.
Anyway, I don't shoot black and white because I'm colour blind, which is what a lot of people think. With a static representation of the world, you loose 3-dimensions, perfume, time, sensation that can be felt on the skin, sounds feelings. With B&W you loose one more essential information : colour. So you are closer to suggestion than assertion, and there is abundant place for sensation and imagination, in a elegant nuance of grey shades.
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How many pictures do you make in a shoot?
Surprisingly, I don't do many. Most of time I do one shot,
without bracketing. I control quickly the rendering in the LCD
monitor and that's all. I try it again if I'm too far off mark
with the exposure and I think I won't be able to work with it
later. Maybe I do 5 to 15 shots a day, rarely more.
- Do you use any filter when you shoot?
Yes with daylight long exposures. I use IR or neutral filters, sometimes combined, and a polarising one.
- What is your greatest enjoyment during your work?
Each part is interesting and is a specific creation process.
From the idea to making it all possible to have the raw material
to exploit the way I feel my interpretation. Travelling is
always a pleasure, you are out alone or with a friend, having a
good dinner in a place you select because you love it. Shooting
moment is also important, especially when you have fed your mind
with the result. Although there is almost always a post
processing to do, the instant when you know you have it is
amazing, having the inner and the outer fitting together is a
great source of enjoyment.
- Can you describe your darkroom equipment?
I used film for 12 years. I tried to evolve my own processing to
match my needs and finally I developed everything from film to
print. I have written a complete work flow (in french) you can
find on my site. Now I only use digital so graphic software is
needed to finalise the raw material. It's almost the same
process than for a negative print, I have to burn and dodge
areas to obtain the render I want.
The sensor material, like a
negative, can be worked several different ways with a creative
skill. To make it unique and personal I need to make many
aesthetic decisions, which can be done in from few minutes to up
to 2 hours. Sometimes I go back over some work, some days after
and correct something to finalise it. Spending too much time
working on one shot could be dangerous and it is better to have
some hindsight to be more objective.
I sometimes miss film and
paper, but I must admit that digital processing and printing
produce really beautiful results, sometimes better than film
does, at least in my opinion. The only regret is for long
exposures, digital noise is a pain and you need to pay much more
attention for long time shutter speeds. Anyway CMOS technology
is improving, I hope the future will bring us ideal solutions.
One other point is that chemical prints need a lot of good
quality water during the final wash, and I was always ashamed to
use so much of this precious vital liquid.
- Do you enjoy darkroom work?
Yes I love it, it's the moment when the final render will appear
and where your mind meets the reality. It brings me the
excitation to finalise a project, so when it is done I feel
alleviated, free, with my mind at ease until the next idea
prevent me from sleeping.
But during the work I need to be
alone to be concentrated and totally in the picture.
- Can you speak of you equipment?
Yes I would be able to, but I think this is not essential. You
have it listed on my site because I have many requests about it,
but there are many cameras, lenses, pods, films, chemical and
what so ever that are used to create so you should be able to
find your own creative tools.
- What size prints do you make?
Always 9 x 9 inches for the square format, in a 11.7 x 15.6
print. I use different types of paper or techniques, from common
to museum high quality prints with pigment inks that will be
stable for more than one century.
- Why do you crop and tone your photographs?
Why not? So many people imagine that all photographers shot straight to the print.
From the film processing to the darkroom print there are
many possible adjustments and manipulations. These go from
pushing film, cropping, the effect of paper grade, bath
temperatures and filtering to masking, time exposure and toning.
You know this when you have done it by yourself but many
photographers send their film and print to a laboratory.
Personally, I always loved warm tones, I feel more softness
in the suggestion and bring it to another time dimension, a
moody feeling that puts me in a sensible receptive condition.
I'm not obsessed by the reality, but more by suggesting
emotional feelings rather than beauty. Often I listen this is
"pure beauty", but the definition of beauty is strictly limited.
I prefer feelings much more, and possible stories behind the
power of suggestion, with a full sentence putting all together
in a comprehensible appreciation. That's the challenge. I love
square format because of it's perfect elegant geometry state and
its tension which can be divided in many more little ones, a
least for me. Considering all of this, that's why I don't like
telling what I think technically because it seems more sensible
than the representation of the image. What is your camera, what
is your film, what is your aperture, time exposure, etc etc...
If one camera can achieve the work for anything I would be such
a pain. I prefer telling to try to understand what you are
doing, then you will able to make what you want. If the image
brings me something emotionally, that's perfect and it is how I
interact with it. I don't wonder what camera, lens, digital or
film, the image stands by itself.
Anyway this is my philosophy and you should only follow yours!
- How do you convey edition information on each print?
I put a stamp on the back then add the shot and month date, the same for print date, the edition number and my signature.
I also sign, date and number under the image print.
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How has the vision of your work changed from when you started to today?
When I was young I just shoot what I saw, rarely with any
specific underlying idea, just because I loved the light and the
graphic. Now I try more to put my sensations, my life feelings,
something that connects me to the universe, natural elements and
how human needs to fight against them. I observe and think more,
I like nostalgia, solitude, see the time passing, the
imperceptible movement we can't see because we are always on the
run. I like also places with histories, many time for example I
look at the ruins and thinking of these forgotten guys who has
working hard on this piece of rock, or sculpture. He lets his
signature creation, but we don't know anything about him, his
life, his doubt.
- How do you see yourself in the digital age?
Perfectly well, but I think I will be able take things further
when sensors will be better in long exposures capabilities. If
have my own technique and I always try to improve on it.
Currently, I'm quite satisfied by the result but new ideas are a
real motivation for me and extend my creative horizon. Raw
material is like a "positive negative" for me. Anyway it is a
tool for expression, I also use old lenses mounted on recent
digital bodies and it produces absolutely impressive results.
The translation to 2D, even when drawing, painting, film or
digital is altered by default, it's an optical suggestion of 3D
with minor to major visual alterations showing my point of view.
- What are your plans for the future?
I don't have any particular pressure on me to create, I'll see
how things turn out. I always enjoy the process of an idea
moving from my mind to the final print. This can entail many
months of reflection, travelling, by day or night to wild
places. As long as I'm getting satisfaction and feel that I am
getting something out of it I will pursue with the motivation.
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