That’s it! I’m finally taking the time to write this darn blog. I’m already way behind, and I’m only writing this article in December… Yet in October, there was plenty to write about, as we went to spend a few days in Saint-Pierre, a town in the south of the island.
Ahhh, the South! We couldn’t wait to go because we don’t know much about this city and we’ve never stayed there overnight. Gwen wanted to go shopping because she had seen posts on Instagram about shops in Saint-Pierre. I was also intrigued by this city from a street photography perspective. It’s not that I’m bored in Saint-Denis, but a change of scenery with a new playground is always interesting!
Saint-Pierre is a town facing the sea. We found a place to rent just 50 metres from the beach. Yes, yes. Right in front of the town is a small lagoon. So you have the town itself, which looks like any other town with its shops, grocery stores, people rushing to do their shopping, people working, and then you have the seaside where you see people in their swimsuits. One town, two atmospheres.
There were quite a few people there because it was the school holidays. We had decided to get a head start on summer by taking the boys to the beach. Well, I guess they’ve grown up and entered adolescence. Basically, they hate the beach. There’s sand, it’s hot, there’s nothing to do… Anyway. We had to get them moving in the morning because otherwise they would have been happy to stay in bed in their air-conditioned rooms watching videos or playing on their phones…
I even had to insist on dragging them to the pier to watch the sunset. Even then, I think they spent a lot of time on their phones… In short, we don’t know what to do anymore. We must have messed up somewhere along the line. It’s true that they were exposed to screens at a fairly young age. We gave them tablets. But we limited their access. As they grew up, it became more difficult to control them. We still try to limit their screen time, but we’re increasingly overwhelmed. Even their school lets them use their phones on school grounds and sometimes even in class…
All this to say that the kids were bored stiff at the beach. When Gwen went shopping in the afternoons and I went out to take photos, they were happy to stay indoors playing on their phones. Too lazy to go out, they asked me to bring them sweets and drinks on my way back! Even in the evenings, they wouldn’t have minded taking an UberEat…
What about Saint-Pierre? Well, when it comes to shopping, Gwen was disappointed because, in the end, it’s no better than Saint-Denis. It’s a bit like social media syndrome. It looks super sexy in stories and posts, but in the end, it’s just so-so. The grass isn’t greener on the other side! For street photography, Saint-Pierre is different from Saint-Denis, but again, it’s no better. What I found really interesting, though, was the beach right in front of the town. It offers different opportunities.
So, in these October highlights, there are quite a few photos of Saint-Pierre and a few of Saint-Denis as well.
All the photos were taken with the Ricoh GR3 | Crop 35mm
Love the colours in that opener and as always great work Jeff. I really like the shot with Gwen? Eyes shut.
Smartphones are a social disease and it’s pandemic. Teenagers seem even more obsessed, my youngest two were allowed screens early on. They’re obsessed, no effort to do anything else. Smartphones are like vampires, they suck the life out of their victims and at the same time social vampires, they suck life out of a room too.
I always have a book with me. It’s funny to see that in a waiting room, almost everyone is scrolling on their phones. I usually am the only one reading. For some specialists you have to wait sometimes more than 2 hours. 2 hours to get brainwashed by social media or other stupid games…
My kids don’t want to read. I keep telling them that reading is awesome and very useful if they want to improve their grammar, their writing, to stimulate their imagination… But they won’t read.
It’s a pity. I hope that one day they will discover the pleasure to read a book.
We’re moving next week to Nosy Be, an island near mainland Madagascar. Kids are impatient and so am I. I will try to make some street overthere. The main city is called Hellville. Do you believe that? 🤣🤣
Wow! Has it even got an airport?
Hellville….now there’s your street photography book title straight away. Not that your boys will read it, neither my youngest son. They really are missing out on so much by not reading.