The last time I had an experience like this was at the end of 2019. Gwen and the children had moved to Réunion, and I had to stay on in mainland France for a while longer for work reasons. I’d managed to pop over to Rome and had also stayed at a friend’s house in Marseille. Since then, I’ve always travelled with my family – whether to South Africa, Mauritius, Thailand, Vietnam, Nosy Be or, more recently, Malaysia. On almost all of these trips, I’ve been able to do some street photography by taking some time out for myself whilst the others wanted to head back to the hotel to rest. But this time, I was in Cape Town on my own! I could go out whenever I wanted. Visit the same places over and over again, just as I fancied. In short, total freedom.

The first week, however, I was tied up with English lessons, which took up a good part of the day. I started at 8.30 am and finished at 3.30 pm. But even then, I managed to make the most of the mornings and also of a few hours before heading back to the hotel. When I found out I was going to be spending several days in Cape Town, I tried to track down some local street photographers. Several friends had already warned me about the city, which is very beautiful but rather unsafe. As I was planning to spend quite a bit of time wandering the streets, it worried me a little, and I thought a local contact would be useful for advice.
I remembered a photographer from my Facebook days who, I thought, was South African and lived in the Cape area. A certain Mac Farlane. I started searching for him on Google but couldn’t track him down… I did, however, try Googling ‘Street Photography Cape Town’, in the faint hope that I might come across him or other street photographers. But I have to say I didn’t find anything. I used my wife’s Instagram account to carry out similar searches. I was a bit luckier and came across two photographers: Desmond Painter and Quaniet Richard. With the first, we made a vague connection, but I never heard from him again. Too bad… As for Richard Quaniet, I didn’t want to get in touch with him because, having looked at his work, it didn’t match my idea of street photography at all… Whilst doing my research, I also came across some strange stuff. It was on YouTube. When I tell you I’ve been researching street photography in Cape Town, I’m not messing about! I’ve gone to great lengths. I saw videos from Cape Town showing people armed with SLR cameras standing in very busy spots, taking photos of people in the street and offering photo shoots right there on the street. It’s up to you whether you accept the shoot or not. The photographer then sends you the photos they’ve taken, in exchange for a few rands, of course. I don’t know the rates, but in the videos, the lads seemed to be saying it paid quite well! I saw a few of them during my stay in Cape Town. In the videos, the lads say they’re doing street photography…
Other videos or street photographers I’ve come across only take portraits of people in the street, and very often photos of homeless people or wannabe gangsters…I invite you to try doing a search for yourselves and you’ll see what I mean.
All this to say that I was venturing into uncharted territory and was a bit apprehensive because I know how complicated it can be to do street photography on Réunion Island, let alone in an African country that’s rather poor and quite unsafe…

That’s why I spent my first few outings in fairly mainstream places – namely, the tourist spots. It worked out perfectly: the Malaysian neighbourhood of Bo Kaap was just 100 metres from my English language school. I went there very early in the morning before lessons and even afterwards. I took some lovely photos there and even got to know some of the locals who spent their late afternoons playing dominoes. They were all members of the Bo Kaap Muslim community, as I learnt from people who were very involved in the local area. I had a bit of a chat with them about how the neighbourhood had developed and the changes they’d seen take place, as they’d been born and had always lived there. I found it very interesting. I was hanging about there because it was a very photogenic neighbourhood, but I was also interested in the neighbourhood itself. That’s how I got to know a pensioner called Sadik. He offered to drive me around to Kalk Bay, Hout Bay, Muizenberg, Simon’s Town, Camps Bay… Basically, to act as my guide for a whole day! I asked him how much he’d charge for all that. 1,200 rands in total. That’s about €60. I know the usual rate is over 3,000 rands…

All this to say that I played it safe at first because I was a bit apprehensive about being alone on the streets of Cape Town. During the day, in the city centre, I don’t think anything can happen to you because there are security guards on practically every street corner. I think the city is keen to ensure that most visitors feel safe. Above all, they don’t want to scare them off… . Because that would be a disaster! What really struck me was the number of homeless people and beggars on every street. You’re approached by beggars very frequently. Children, women, men, drug addicts… It’s never aggressive, but it’s quite unsettling when you’re not used to being confronted with that sort of thing. I was warned about this. Most of that money goes towards fuelling the drug trade. They ask you to buy them something from the local shop. What happens next is that they go to the shop to sell back what you’ve bought for them in exchange for cash. Of course, the shopkeeper takes a cut. And there you have it – cash for drugs…

During the day, I told you it’s fairly safe, but you still need to keep a close eye on your personal belongings. At night, it’s a different story. It was made very clear to me that it’s a no-go zone. If you need to go to a restaurant or to a friend’s house, do so by car or Uber. Don’t even trust taxis! The only time I found myself out and about after sunset, I took an Uber back. During my second week in Cape Town, I tried to be a bit braver by venturing around Grand Central Station, which was teeming with people coming from the suburbs and even the townships, all heading towards the city centre. I could really sense that I was on the border separating two different worlds. I’d spotted a flight of steps leading up to a market above the station, and loads of people were heading that way, so I thought I’d give it a go. Armed only with my Ricoh GR, I figured I’d go fairly unnoticed. At the top of the steps, a woman selling fruit asked me where I was off to. I told her I was just going for a wander, and she asked me to turn back. She told me that the area was very dangerous and that I should go back to the other side of the city. She looked me up and down and said, ‘Look at the way you’re dressed, look at your bag…’ You must be wondering what I was wearing? I’ve attached a photo of me taken by a mysterious photographer.

See? A pair of jeans, a black hoodie, a khaki shoulder bag. Yep, but the bloke’s Asian! What helps in Asia didn’t help here. I came across very few Asian people in Cape Town. I took the lady’s advice and went back to the ‘safe zone’… Gwen had also asked me not to take any risks and to come back in one piece. I have to admit that I tried again to go there with that famous, mysterious photographer, but it was the same story: people very kindly made it clear to us that we shouldn’t go there because it was very dangerous. Even the taxi companies that take people from the townships to the city centre advised us against going where we wanted to go… I wanted to photograph a slightly more raw side of Cape Town, but I had to make do with the safer areas. I could have taken more risks and gone there anyway, but sometimes you have to know when not to cross the line. And you know what? There was already plenty to do in the ‘safe zones’!

So who is this mysterious photographer who took my photo?
Let me start by telling you how I met him. I’d heard that my stay in Cape Town coincided with the city’s second annual Photography Festival. There were numerous exhibitions taking place all over the city, and there were even small meet-and-greet sessions with photographers taking part in the festival. So I went to a talk between Richard Quaniet and Patrick de Mervellec, who were exhibiting this year.
Just before it started, I found myself at the Leica stand – which, of course, is sponsoring the festival – and it turned out that Patrick de Mervellec had done some work for the Leica Foundation. I was joking with a bloke at the stand, saying I didn’t own a Leica because I valued my two kidneys too much! He asked me what I shoot with, so I pulled out my Ricoh GR IV, and he showed me his Fujifilm XF10, which was all battered and had bits missing. I told him I really liked that camera and that I regretted selling the one I used to have. One thing led to another, and we ended up talking about the Ricoh GRD IV, and the bloke thought I knew quite a bit about that old camera. At one point, the bloke looks at me and asks if, by any chance, I might be a certain Jeff Chane-Mouye?? I’m quite surprised that he knows my name, and then he tells me his name is Paul McFarland! The famous photographer I’d been searching for in vain before coming to Cape Town!!!

It really is an unlikely encounter and I’m in shock, but absolutely delighted to meet him. We sit in on the discussion between Quaniet and Patrick, which lasts just over an hour. And on the way out, we pop in for a coffee in a church. Yes, you read that right. As they can no longer maintain the premises, churches are now hosting cafés or jazz concert venues… We stay for quite a while, chatting about street photography and this happy coincidence. I learn that I’d got it wrong and that Paul isn’t South African, but Irish. He lived in Paris for a while, where he met many photographers I know: Philippe Blayo, Elizabeth Char and even Viktor Borst. I knew all these photographers back when I was still on Facebook. But I haven’t heard from them since I cut myself off from all social media. He’s still in touch with some of them, who even remember me! How long did I spend on there, I wonder? A bit over a year in total on Facebook and Instagram. Mind you, I was such a bit of a hothead that I’m bound to have left my mark!

I suggested to Paul that we meet up again just before I left, just to pop into Cape Town for a bit to take some photos. It was with him that we got turned away yet again whilst trying to get to the market on the roof of the railway station. We ended up taking the train to the Woodstock neighbourhood. It used to be a bit of a rough area but is starting to gentrify, with quite a few little cafés and artists’ studios popping up. We had a bit of a walk along a wide avenue and, to be honest, it didn’t strike me as all that ‘hipster’. I found it rather ‘raw’ and lovely to photograph. There were quite a few people hanging about in the street, but as there were two of us and we were chatting as we walked, nobody approached us. I could walk there on my own, although I’d be very cautious because, as is often the case in Cape Town, you can sense a certain tension in the air. Perhaps I feel that way because I’m not black. I’m Asian, and it’s as plain as the nose on your face that I’m not one of them. And in Woodstock, unlike in the city centre, there are no security guards…Paul and I agreed that street photography is generally a solitary pursuit, but I really enjoyed hearing his thoughts whilst out on the streets and seeing what caught his eye. Paul places a great deal of importance on details on the street, which I don’t necessarily do. We talked at length about our views on street photography and found we agreed on many points, if not all of them. I learnt that Paul had won a Fujifilm X100V in a Fujifilm competition in South Africa, and I simply can’t resist sharing his photo with you – it’s absolutely stunning!

Paul is a really excellent street photographer and incredibly passionate about his work. We share a certain preference for a rather old-school style of street photography. He shoots almost exclusively in black and white, and in quite a few of his photos, I detect a touch of Trent Parke. I’d encourage you to check out his Flickr gallery to see what I’m talking about. His account’s a bit of a mess, and I have to say his work isn’t particularly well showcased – which is a shame, because there are some truly brilliant photos there if you take the time to have a proper rummage!

What can I say to round off my thoughts on Cape Town? Is it easy to do street photography there? I don’t know. It’s a far cry from Asian countries. I don’t think Africa, generally speaking, looks like an easy place to photograph. Whilst I feel at ease and uninhibited in Asia, I don’t feel quite as confident in Africa. Doing street photography on Réunion Island, in Nosy Be or in Cape Town seems more complicated to me. People’s reactions to the camera make things less straightforward. But Cape Town really is a beautiful city. You almost always have an amazing backdrop with Table Mountain, Lion’s Head or the sea. Going out to take photos by the sea at the beaches around Camps Bay, Sea Point, Kalk Bay and Hout Bay is a real treat. There, in winter, there wasn’t much going on, but in the height of summer, I can imagine it’s an incredible playground for a street photographer. I’ll leave you with a slideshow of photos taken during this street photography trip.

All the photos were taken with the Ricoh GR IV and the GR III.

Cet article This is my Capetown ! est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Read more at Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY

Cet article Malaysia Street Gallery est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Read more at Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY

I uploaded a slideshow to YouTube last night and John Harper had already texted me about it during the night! He’s my biggest fan and, like all fans I suppose, a bit biased when it comes to my work. I’d still like to thank him for his compliments, though! I’d forgotten I had subscribers on YouTube, and anyone who’s subscribed to my channel must have received a notification. I only use YouTube to host my videos, which are quite large files. I’ve stopped tagging or trying to promote my videos – it’s pointless. So I was a bit surprised to receive John’s message before I’d even written this blog post and shared it…

Having visited Thailand and Vietnam over the last two years, I can say that it’s incredibly easy to do street photography in Asia. And yet, before going to Malaysia, I was a bit apprehensive because I knew what I’d achieved on my previous trips and I had lots of questions about what I might be able to capture this year. I was reassured quite quickly, and those fears faded away. Starting our trip in Kuala Lumpur played a big part in this. We were staying a stone’s throw from several shopping centres teeming with locals and tourists. It was hard to tell them apart, actually, as many tourists come from other parts of Asia and so blend in with the local population!

Just to let you know, the Malaysian population is made up of several ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. I’m sure I took plenty of photos of tourists, but in such a short space of time (three days), it was difficult to do any more substantial street photography. What’s more, I was also exploring the city with my little family, so I had less freedom to do what I wanted, even though I did set aside some time early in the morning and late in the afternoon. It’s worth noting, though, that unlike in Thailand and Vietnam, there’s hardly anything going on in the city before 10 am! It’s dead as a doornail! I found that quite surprising, so I took very few photos in the morning whilst waiting for everyone to wake up…

We then headed off to Taman Negara (which means ‘National Park’ in Malay), located in the centre of the country. We spent three days in the muggy, stifling heat in the village of Kuala Tahan, just opposite the park, on the other side of the river. Although the place was very small, I managed to do a bit of street photography whilst hanging about in the late afternoon near groups of children who knew how to have fun with next to nothing – and, above all, without mobile phones! I also had a go at night photography during a wet evening and started to get the hang of it.

I started out shooting in P mode – that is, fully automatic. I let the camera choose the aperture and ISO. I focused solely on the shutter speed. Basically, given the lack of light and my shutter speed, I was practically always at f/2.8: so I switched to A mode (aperture priority), set it to f/2.8 and adjusted my ISO according to the shutter speed. I tried to keep the shutter speed at a minimum of 1/20 s to avoid camera shake. I think my Ricoh GR III had some issues with the image stabiliser, as I couldn’t go any slower, whereas I can do so now with the GR IV… In Taman Negara, I’d already lost autofocus on my camera, so I was focusing manually by estimating the distances.

We then went to the Perhentian Islands, where I mainly enjoyed the sea with my family. Of course, I did a bit of street photography whilst I was there, but we were mostly in snorkelling and sunbathing mode. I did, however, take one of my favourite photos whilst we were there. It was a shot of our captain’s hand – he’d gone for a dip in the South China Sea whilst we were splashing about watching turtles, sharks, clownfish, titan triggerfish and moray eels… I’d climbed back onto the boat because, believe it or not, swimming and free-diving really takes it out of you. I’d grabbed my Ricoh to take a few photos of my wife and children, and that’s when I saw the captain coming back to the surface and getting ready to climb back on board. I quickly framed the shot and regretted not having autofocus any more, as I really needed it right then and there! Even though I was at f/8 and focused at 2.5 metres, I could tell I was too close and didn’t have time to change the focus distance on my camera. In the end, out of the three photos I took, only this one is acceptable in terms of sharpness.

It’s not perfect, but considering it was taken without autofocus, I think it’s more than decent. With hindsight, I realise I could have done things differently and simply stopped down the aperture even further to f/11 or f/13 to make it sharper. But when the scene presented itself, I didn’t have the mental capacity to think of anything else. Some might say this isn’t street photography because it’s as if I were photographing a member of my own family. In this case, it was the captain who was accompanying us. This photo is 100 per cent candid and not staged. And I consider it 200 per cent a street shot.

Our final destination in Malaysia was the island of Penang in northern Malaysia. We stayed in the beautiful city of George Town. We arrived there after a gruelling journey of nearly 8 hours by bus. Joachim, Gwen and I had traveller’s diarrhoea for two days. We were at our wits’ end with vomiting and diarrhoea… Thankfully, there were two toilets in the flat! Only Ronan escaped the bug. So we were confined to our flat for two days. And you know what? We had very few regrets, as it rained for both days… So we weren’t really able to explore the town much. As I recovered a bit quicker than Gwen and Joachim, I went out to take some photos, but I was still a bit weak. It was there that I managed to buy my Ricoh GR IV, which cost me €1,300. I’m left with a slight feeling of unfinished business in George Town. I think this city has great potential for photography, but we were at the end of our trip and everyone was tired. I reckon three weeks in Asia is a bit long. Until now, our trips had never lasted more than 15 days. A lesson to bear in mind for our future trips… Even though I had the Ricoh GR IV with me, I hardly used it at all in Malaysia; I stuck mainly with the GR III.

All in all, the loss of autofocus on the Ricoh GR III had very little impact on our trip to Malaysia. The main reason I bought the Ricoh GR IV was because I knew that, in the near future, I’d have been wondering whether to upgrade my kit. The GR III works very well in zone focusing mode. The only problem is that when you want to achieve a more precise focus whilst opening the aperture, it’s quite complicated and you have to rely on a bit of guesswork. I did try it, but you’re never quite sure of the result. That’s why I stuck to f/8 practically the whole time! We rounded off our trip with three days in Singapore. I’ll tell you all about that in another post.

Here’s the slideshow from Malaysia. All the photos were taken with the Ricoh GR III, and some with the GR IV. I used the 35 mm crop mode very often, but I also used the 28 mm when I needed to.

Cet article Malaysia Street Photography est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Read more at Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY

So yes, I’ve bought the Ricoh GR IV. Let’s rewind a bit. In my last blog post, I told you about my misadventures with my Ricoh, which had lost its autofocus. It was quite a nuisance, forcing me to use it differently, but ultimately, for street photography, it was manageable. Even though I had a few more limitations due to the loss of autofocus, I was getting used to it. After my trip to the Perenthian Islands, I noticed the annoying appearance of several specks of dust on the sensor. As I could no longer take my camera apart to clean it, I started to seriously consider upgrading my kit. Not that it was urgent, but the question was bound to come up in the fairly near future, and it’s still a bit of a hassle to get hold of a camera on Réunion island.

Even though I’ve wrecked quite a few Ricoh GRD IVs (drops, splashes, etc.) and a few Ricoh GRs as well, I only have three cameras left that are more or less in working order. A GRD IV that plays up as soon as you open the aperture and seems to have focusing issues. A Fujifilm X-E2, over 10 years old, which I mainly use with manual lenses; and the Ricoh GR III, which is seriously starting to show signs of wear and tear. I’ve said it before: the Ricoh doesn’t have the robustness of a Leica or any other camera with a more solid build. It’s still a pocket camera, with all the advantages and disadvantages that entails. Among the disadvantages, I’d single out its durability. Not that the camera is fragile, but I don’t consider it to be ‘durable’.

So here I am, on the lookout for a Ricoh GR IV to buy. My plan was to buy it in Singapore just before coming home from holiday. After doing some research online, it turns out the GR IV is out of stock in Singapore. The only model available is the monochrome version… So, change of plans – I’m making the most of our stopover in George Town, Malaysia, to buy it. In Malaysia too, stocks are quite low, so I’ve contacted a shop to ask them to put one aside for me. €1,300: that’s the price I’ll have to pay for the Ricoh GR IV… It’s expensive. Especially when you consider that the GR III was selling for less than €1,000… I didn’t get a great deal by buying it in Malaysia. It’s more or less the same price in France. On Réunion island, you’d be looking at a good €1,500! The downside is that I only have the Malaysian warranty… Which is basically the same as having no warranty at all!

I started using the GR IV in George Town and also spent three days in Singapore with it. I’m going to share my first impressions of this camera after just one week of use.

For those of you with a Ricoh GR III, don’t expect a revolution. You’ll quickly find your feet. A few buttons have gone, others have changed shape, but you won’t get lost! As for the rest, it’s a Ricoh GR. Simple and effective. I think they’ve included a Snap mode on the mode dial, but I’m not yet sure what it’s for. I just switched to Av mode (Aperture priority) and that was it. I quickly made my usual settings: Snap at 2.5 m, f/8, 1/500 s, Auto ISO (1/500 s | ISO max 1600). Nothing revolutionary. There’s just one thing I do regularly now, which is to manually adjust the ISO to deliberately reduce the shutter speed when I know I’ll be in situations that don’t require high shutter speeds. All this to prevent the ISO from rising too quickly and thus keep noise to a minimum.

The image quality is really very good. I think my GR III must have had a slight sharpness issue as well, because at f/8, the images are much sharper at infinity with the GR IV. I’d already suspected there was a slight problem with the GR III, but as I had nothing to compare it with, I thought I was just imagining things… Now the images are much sharper! At ISO 1600, the images are of very good quality. I haven’t pushed it any higher yet. I’ll do that later.

Right from the first time I used it, I found the camera overheated a lot! It’s the same problem as with the GR III. But on subsequent occasions, the issue was less severe. I can confirm that the GR IV still overheats. It’s not unbearable, but it remains a problem. In this respect, Ricoh hasn’t improved on its latest model… I’d also complained a lot about the battery life. The GR IV has a brand-new battery: the 1,800 mAh DB120 (compared to the 1300mAh of the Ricoh GR III). So? After my first outing, I was surprised by how short the battery life was and started grumbling… But on subsequent occasions, I was pleasantly surprised. Ricoh claims 250 photos on a single charge. Personally, I managed up to 350! I’m a bit of a shutterbug and I chimp a lot. So, all in all, it’s really not bad – in fact, it’s very good. For the record, I switch off the touchscreen and anything else that might drain the battery. Basically, a battery used to last for two hours of intensive use. I had three batteries with me and never used more than two in a whole day! That’s a pleasant surprise for me, and kudos to Ricoh.

It’s nice to be back with the AF. And in that respect, I think it’s more responsive than the GR III, which I didn’t find particularly good. The 5-axis stabilisation (instead of 3) is incredibly effective. Again, my GR III must have had a few issues in that regard, as I’ve taken handheld night-time photos with the GR IV at very, very slow shutter speeds.

So, those are the most important points for me. All in all, after a week’s use, I reckon it’s a good update to the Ricoh GR. Is it worth switching to this new model if you’ve got the III and it’s working fine? Hmm, I’d say no. If you’re in the market for a new GR like me, between the GR III at €900 and the GR IV at €1,300, I’d still go for the latest version. OK, it’s a lot more expensive, but my first impressions of this new model are quite good.

This trip to Singapore also gave me the chance to enjoy using the camera’s native 28mm lens once again. I often found myself needing a wider focal length whilst I was there. All the photos were taken with the Ricoh GR IV in Singapore.

Cet article First week with the Ricoh GR IV … est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Read more at Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY

In the days leading up to our trip, I’d been agonising over what kit to take. The Ricoh GR III? The Fujifilm X-E2? Both? In the end, I settled on the Ricoh and nothing else. By the second day, my Ricoh had lost its autofocus! Just that. My GR III has already been faulty for months, with an LCD screen that doesn’t work very well anymore. I’ll refer you to the blog post where I talk about it. Until now, I’d been putting up with this problem, which I consider minor.

This week, just before I left, I wanted to clean my sensor as there was a tiny speck of dust on it. Nothing too serious, but I thought a clean sensor would be ideal. Well, whilst taking my Ricoh apart, I noticed that a small ribbon cable had been severed. I think that’s why my LCD isn’t working properly. Another, more serious problem has cropped up. I can’t get one of the screws holding the sensor in place out. So it’s impossible to clean it. Out of frustration, I put it back together without cleaning it…

So here I am at the very start of my trip with a Ricoh GR III that has two problems. A faulty LCD screen and no autofocus. Just so you know, the Ricoh doesn’t have a viewfinder and isn’t designed to be used without autofocus, as the manual focus is just rubbish. Well, rubbish in the sense that it’s very, very difficult to focus manually. For one thing, the camera doesn’t have a focus ring, and for another, everything is done via the LCD screen. This is all the more problematic when the screen, like mine, is faulty…

I quickly have to make do with what I’ve got. On the morning it happened, we were visiting Chinatown and I used everything I knew about zone focusing to carry on taking photos, even without AF. I switched the camera to fully manual mode: focus set to 2.5 m, f/8 and Auto ISO (max 6400 & shutter speed 1/800 s). But I still have serious doubts about the focus. In fact, I didn’t know if it was just the AF system that was broken or if it was more serious than that and the whole focusing system had stopped working…

Anyway, I started fretting about it, and Gwen told me I should just use my other camera (the Fujifilm). She couldn’t believe it when I told her I hadn’t brought it with me… Well, you’ll just have to buy a new camera then! I must admit I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the idea (yes, really!), but I gave it serious thought as we were only at the start of our holiday. In the end, the fully manual mode seems to be working well, and I got confirmation that evening whilst editing the photos that it really is the AF system that’s on the blink. The GR III is half-broken, but it still takes great photos!

I’d never really tried manual focus with this camera before. Without a viewfinder or a focus ring, it’s virtually impossible. I use the depth-of-field data provided by the camera and the distances I know (arm’s length ~ 0.7 m…) to focus when I want to shoot at a wide aperture. It’s still zone focusing, as I can’t achieve precise focus. But it works quite well!

In fact, I feel as though I’m taking a step backwards and using the GR III just as I used to use the GRD IV years ago. I’m learning to keep the ISO down by deliberately reducing the shutter speed in situations where I know I won’t need 1/800s. For example, in fairly static situations. This helps me keep noise to a minimum. So I find myself adjusting the ISO more often depending on the situation. That’s what I used to do systematically with the GRD IV, which produced a lot of noise above ISO 400.

I don’t know if this is a long-term solution. But buying a new one is out of the question for the moment. The GR III may have lost a few features, but it still works! I’ve got a faulty LCD screen that’s still usable, no autofocus, and a speck of dust on my sensor. Hey! It could have been worse, couldn’t it?

All the photos were taken with the Ricoh GR III | 35mm crop.

Cet article Half broken est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Read more at Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY

Me too! Well, I’m still working, but I’m very involved in my two children’s education and I spend a great deal of time with them on their homework and helping them catch up on their weaknesses – mainly in science. I studied science myself, and even though it’s been many years since my own secondary school days, a quick refresher is all it takes for me to guide them through maths and physics. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been very busy with Joachim, who, as well as his French A-level, had a new early maths exam. Since mid-June, I’ve finally been able to take a breather and let the children do the same. I’m very demanding and I’m probably not the easiest person to get on with.

Both children go to private schools, and it’s fair to say that their secondary schools put quite a lot of pressure on them, as they have a reputation to uphold and strive for excellence. Weekends are therefore very busy too, with all the homework to be done for the coming week. All this to say that I haven’t taken many photos over the last few months, what with being so busy tormenting my children by making them work… Last weekend, I went, with a light heart, to the Grand Boucan, the carnival held every year near Saint-Paul, a coastal town in the west of the island. St Paul has been hosting the Grand Boucan for three years now. It used to take place in St Gilles, but it was moved to a larger town because its growing popularity meant it was becoming difficult to accommodate in the small seaside town of St Gilles.

This is the second year I’ve been to the Grand Boucan in St-Paul. In fact, I’d forgotten to note the date in my diary, and it wasn’t until the day before the carnival that I realised the event was taking place this Sunday! I persuaded a photographer friend to come along with me. I love this sort of event because it brings lots of people together, all in fancy costumes. But it’s also a bit of a challenge because it’s very easy to end up with photos that aren’t particularly interesting. If I had to compare it to what goes on in the streets of St-Denis, I’d say they’re worlds apart. There’s just too much going on at a carnival, and the trick is to manage to extract something interesting from all that chaos. The most important thing for me was to arrive before the parade set off, as that’s my favourite part. In fact, we left shortly after the parade had sarted, my SD card full of hundreds of unremarkable photos – though, of course, with a few keepers.

This break gave me the chance to make up my mind about which camera I’m going to use in Malaysia. We’re leaving in a week’s time and I was still wondering which camera I was going to use. I came across some photos I’d taken in Thailand with my Fujifilm X-E2 and the 23mm f/1.4 (35mm equivalent, as it’s an APS-C sensor) and was blown away by the image quality produced by this camera, which is over 10 years old! I remember having a right good time with the X-E2 and I was really torn between it and the GRIII. Every now and then, I still use the Fujifilm, mainly with my 35mm f/0.95 lens. But this trip to Le Grand Boucan has definitely settled the matter. I’ll be taking the Ricoh GRIII to Malaysia!

This camera is so light that I can’t imagine choosing any other. Come to think of it, back in 2024 when I went to Thailand, I’d taken the Fujifilm X-E2 with me because I wanted to try out the 35mm lens, and I didn’t think I could use the GRIII with the 35mm crop. The only problem I’m likely to face is the GRIII’s rubbish battery life and the fact that the camera overheats. But then again, I’ve already done this in Vietnam in the middle of January when it was much hotter, and I’ve got 8 batteries (!!!) for my GRIII! Though it seems quite a few of the batteries are quite old and don’t hold their charge very well anymore… We’ll see. At worst, whilst we’re in Kuala Lumpur, I might pop out and buy a few extra batteries. Honestly, I hope Ricoh has sorted that out on the GR IV!

This week, I went for a wander in Saint-Denis three times and took the opportunity to take some photos. After the big fuss over the Grand Boucan, Saint-Denis seemed rather dull to me, but there’s still plenty going on there. I went for a wander round Vauban, a neighbourhood I know quite well, as I went to nursery and primary school there. The area has always been working-class, but it’s changed a lot since the 1980s. It’s even poorer than it was back then and has become a bit of a ghetto. Women who are no longer in their prime, offering their services, loiter on certain street corners. Some dodgy-looking blokes astanding guard in front of certain blocks of flats. During the day, I’m not particularly afraid to wander around the neighbourhood. But there are some street scenes I find hard to photograph, and God knows I’m quite daring.

It’s like a sixth sense that tells me it’s not worth it. I know people often say, shoot first, talk later. But I don’t want to get myself into a pickle. I think I behave differently depending on where I am in Saint-Denis. When I’m in the city centre, I’m quite carefree. Here in Vauban, my senses are on high alert. It’s a neighbourhood I’m not used to visiting, so I keep a fairly close eye on where the people around me are, and I’m a bit more careful with my belongings – for example, checking my bag to make sure it’s properly zipped up after changing the battery. I scan the street to spot interesting things to photograph, but also to anticipate any potential trouble. Some might say I’m worrying for nothing, but I’m what you’d call streetwise.

So, in a few days’ time, I’ll be off to Malaysia. Its big cities, its jungle, its idyllic beaches! I don’t think I’ll have a chance to hang out in Saint-Denis before I leave. I don’t know if I’ll have time to write a blog post from there, with the billions of photos I’ll have to edit!

All the photos were taken with the Ricoh GRIII | 35mm crop. Only two of them were taken with the Fujifilm X-E2 using the 35mm f/0.95 lens.

Cet article Finally Holiday ! est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Read more at Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY

When I started street photography almost 10 years ago in March 2016, I knew nothing about the practice. At that time, it was already gaining momentum and was very popular. I became very interested in everything related to street photography. There weren’t many blogs about it, or perhaps I didn’t know where to look. I have developed my skills over the course of these 10 years.

My style has evolved considerably since I took my first photographs in Aix-en-Provence. I remember that day quite well. It was quite intimidating to point the camera at people to photograph them, and the easiest thing to do was to take photographs while walking to avoid any unpleasant confrontations. I don’t know what I was afraid of! Then, for a long time, I started taking close-ups of people, as if photographing them up close showed that I was a guy who had what it takes and was bold enough to take photos with a 28 mm lens 70 cm from their faces… I must say that this was my bread and butter for quite some time. To tell you the truth, I’m not really interested in it anymore. In fact, I’ve given up the 28 mm to devote myself solely to the 35 mm.

For the past few years, I feel like I’ve finally found what I love about street photography. It’s not the light and shadow effects, which I find very tiresome, nor is it, as I said above, close-ups, nor is it high-contrast black and white photos (I’ve done a lot of that too and got tired of it…). No, what I love is just the banality of the street. I discussed this with John Harper. Nothing pleases me more than scenes of street life that are depressingly mundane. The kind of things you regularly come across in the street without paying any attention to them because they’re so ordinary. Of course, when I photograph these kinds of scenes, I try to highlight the moment I’m capturing.

I am very sensitive to the energy that emanates from a scene. It is this same energy that I want the viewer of the photograph to feel. I want them to feel like they are right there beside me at the moment I pressed the shutter button to capture that moment. I also love mingling with the crowd so that no one pays attention to me, as if I were part of the street. I know very well that with my camera, however small it may be, I don’t go unnoticed. People see me and aren’t fooled. But after a while, it’s as if there’s an unspoken agreement and people no longer pay attention to what I’m doing, and that’s when I really enjoy myself!

A picture paints a thousand words! Here is my selection of my 12 photos from 2025. As always, this is a very subjective and personal selection from the past year, which would be very different if I were to make it in a few weeks’ time… But this selection may help you better understand what I have tried to explain above.

I have also included a longer slideshow of my work this year below if you would like to take a look.

As I forgot to wish you a Happy New Year 2026 in my previous blog post, I’m doing so now! Above all, I wish you and your loved ones good health. And thank you for following me over the past year.

Happy New Year 2026!

Cet article Looking back year 2025 est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Read more at Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY

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

Cet article October Highlights est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Read more at Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY

I had intended to attend the big parade on Saturday evening as well, but having worked the night before, I decided to skip it… Last year, I went on my own and had a wonderful time. We were treated to a small parade of deities to kick off Holi. I was expecting the same thing this year. For me, the start of Holi coincided with this little event. Below are a few photos I took in 2024.

This year, there was no parade! We just heard a small procession of Tamil percussion instruments announcing the start of the festivities. We were still sitting at the table having lunch. It was only when we went to the place where Holi was supposed to take place that we realised that the real fun had already begun! Colourful people were already making their way back. Damn, we had missed the start of the festival of colours!

Everyone rushed to the points where small pots filled with coloured powder were being handed out, throwing them at their neighbours to their heart’s content. It was a joyful mess where it was difficult to stay clean. Last year, I tried to be very careful with my Ricoh GR3. This camera is a real dust magnet, and the conditions were extreme. We also had to be careful of water splashes. Large fire hoses were set up to cool people down, and as you can imagine, the kids loved getting soaked. This festival is, in a way, very digressive.

Fred, a photographer and videographer friend, joined us that day. Fred is a teacher and had Joachim and Ronan in his class. That’s when I met him. I don’t think I’ve ever met a teacher who does so many activities with his students. He regularly makes short vlogs to document his class’s outings and activities. Basically, when he goes out, he has his Lumix mirrorless camera ( G9II) , which allows him to take photos and film, but he also often carries his drone or his pole with his 360° camera! In short, he’s a guy who’s addicted to still and moving images! He took the opportunity to make a short video, which I’m sharing with you so you can see the lovely mess that was Holi.

A week before Holi, I had to open up my Ricoh GR3 again to clean the sensor. It’s become routine for me. I think I can do it in less than 10 minutes! So, for the occasion, I installed a filter on the Ricoh to avoid any unpleasant surprises. The camera isn’t weathersealed, but at least I protected it from dust.

And I think I did the right thing because I got thoroughly sprayed with coloured powder. The most annoying thing was having to constantly check that the filter was clean so as not to ruin the photos I took. And very often, it was when I was cleaning my filter that a sneaky little one would attack me!

Water was also the other major hazard that day. I have always been drawn to people having fun in the water. I have ruined more than one Ricoh GRD IV by getting too close to the water. I saved a few in rice boxes, but others did not survive… Even though the lens part of my camera was protected, as I said, the GR3 is not weathersealed and therefore does not like water! So I stayed at a reasonable distance from the water to take photos (that means very close for me …)

The sky was overcast but very bright, which made shooting with the LCD screen very difficult. I could hardly see anything when I was shooting, so I relied more on my instincts and my knowledge of the 35mm focal length. I wasn’t shooting blind, but I was composing the photos more with my eyes without necessarily looking at the LCD screen. I could vaguely make out shapes on my LCD screen.

In any case, we had a great time and even Gwen, who wasn’t necessarily keen, had a blast! Next year, I’ll try to go to the parade, because I think that even though it takes place at night, there are opportunities to take some nice photos. Even if it means going a little earlier to document the preparations in the late afternoon.

All photos were taken with the Ricoh GR3 | Crop 35mm except those of Fred which were taken with the Lumix G9II

Cet article A delightful nightmare for a (street) photographer est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Read more at Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY

#1

A photo you’ve already seen in a blog dedicated to this year’s Francofolies festival. I really like this photo because it exudes incredible energy. You can just make out the singer in the bright area, which fits with my perspective as a street photographer: the most important thing isn’t the show on stage, but what’s happening around it. In this case, at a concert, it’s the audience. Here, the light falls on the stage and the crowd in the form of rays, and the festival-goers’ gestures seem to respond, with their hands raised towards the source of the light. This photo is grainy, and I like its raw feel, with its highlights deliberately blown out during post-processing.

#2

‘Women are beautiful,’ said Gary Winogrand, and of course I agree with him! His book was published in the midst of the feminist movement in the 1970s, but I don’t know how such a collection would be received today in our post-#MeToo era, where so many scandals have erupted.

When I take photos in the street, I can be attracted by several things. I’ve already talked about light, gestures and moments. But I’m also drawn to beautiful people, whether they’re men or women.

Some might dismiss this photo as just another picture of two pretty girls walking down the street, and therefore dismiss me as a photographer who is simply attracted to the physical beauty of these young women. I won’t lie to you, and it’s true that my eye was drawn to their youth and beauty. But I’ll tell you why I found this photo very interesting. Here, I also photographed youth as I see it every day on the streets of Saint-Denis. I haven’t forgotten that I’m documenting the streets of my city, and the photo shows several elements of this era.

I will come back to this point, but first I will talk about the almost identical posture of the young women. Just look at their legs. There is also a certain sense of sisterhood in the way they dress, which is almost identical. Denim mini shorts and black sleeveless tops. If you look more closely at the photo, you will see that they are both wearing an ankle chain on their right foot. Réunion suffers from junk food like no other place. We have overweight young people consuming fizzy drinks or fatty street food, which is available everywhere in the city, at all hours of the day. Here, the young girls are quite slim, but the one on the left is nevertheless holding a bottle of fizzy drink in her right hand and a small paper bag in her left, which I know contains local fried food that can be bought almost anywhere in the city. I won’t hide the fact that I feel like everyone in Saint-Denis is constantly snacking on something or holding a bottle of soda. It’s pretty scary from a health perspective…You also have the phone in the girl’s pocket. You must have noticed how girls carry their phones, which are getting bigger and bigger. Whether in their front or back pockets, there’s always something a little sexy about seeing these phones sticking out of their pockets, and the XXL size of the phones has a slimming effect on the girls’ figures, a bit like vertical stripes on clothing. Well, that’s not the case here with these girls, who are already very slim. The last element specific to this era is the electronic cigarette. I don’t know how old these girls are, but I think they must be just over 18. The tobacco industry has succeeded in promoting e-cigarettes as something cool and sexy to young people. Cigarette consumption has fallen, but young people are consuming e-cigarettes at an increasingly young age…

The final elements that make me love this photo so much are the carefree nature of youth that emanates from this scene and, of course, the delicate gesture that I managed to capture.

So no, this photo is not just another photo of two pretty young girls walking down the street. This photo is much more than that. It is a photo that is deeply rooted in its era.

#3

On the street, there is always this desire not to photograph people in situations that do not show them in a favourable light, but also not to censor the street by not photographing what is dirty or ugly. I have decided to photograph everything. This man lying on the ground is unfortunately a familiar figure to the people of Saint-Denis. When he is more or less sober, he begs for money, and when he is completely drunk, he is always lying down somewhere. He lives on the street, goes to the city’s emergency room when he is not feeling well, and shortly afterwards, he is back on the streets. I regularly give him a few coins when I am hanging out in Saint-Denis. I know very well what that money will be used for, but I give it to him anyway… When you spend a lot of time on the streets, you see new people arriving on the pavements and you even witness their descent into hell. I’ve seen the evolution of other homeless people. Those who still took care of themselves a little, who tried to maintain some dignity, only to see them several months later as rags dragging themselves around the city. It breaks my heart. I had talked to one of them. I was surprised to realise that this man who had just arrived on the street was someone like you and me. Out of modesty, I didn’t ask him why he was now on the street. We just talked and I gave him some coins. What struck me was that he had beautiful long white hair that contrasted with his tanned skin. That same homeless man has been on the streets of Saint-Denis for several years now. He has now a empty stare, his hair is cut very short, and he has long since lost the well-groomed appearance he had when he first arrived on the street. I have even seen people disappear completely from the landscape. There was a woman whose decline I witnessed over several months. Then one day, poof, she was gone. We don’t tell ourselves that this person has gone somewhere else. We know very well that after a while, this person has probably passed away.

This photo isn’t just a photo of a homeless person completely drunk on the streets of Saint-Denis. It’s also a photo that sincerely documents what’s happening on the streets of my city.

That’s it. Not many photos for this month. I’ll try to do better in October!

All photos were taken with the Ricoh GR3 | Crop 35mm

Cet article September 2025 Highlights est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Read more at Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY