This beach is located in the south-west of the island and is a black sand beach. Although most of Réunion’s beaches have golden-coloured sand, we do have a few beaches with black sand. We rarely go to Etang Salé because it’s quite far from where we live. This time, we went there because it was a little less windy. First surprise: the flag is red and swimming is therefore prohibited ! Here too, the lifeguards have received instructions. But there were quite a few people in the water and the children did as the others did and threw themselves into the waves ! It has to be said that Yellow Vigilance takes effect at 4pm. But the lifeguards had already put up the red flag in the morning so they wouldn’t have to get everyone out of the water at 4pm. From what I understand, given the number of people in the water, swimming is tolerated. At least that’s my interpretation.

Nevertheless, I ask the children to stay on the shore and not to go too far. All they want to do is roll around in the waves and come back to the shore with 3 kgs of sand in their swimming costumes ! Etang Salé beach is much wilder than Boucan. The black sand is much finer and the photo results are amazing, with beautiful reflections when the sand is wet.

As usual, I’m hanging out at the water’s edge with my Ricoh GRD IV to take photos of my children, but I’m also on the alert for any photo. I have a keen eye, whether in town or on the beach. As you can imagine, these two girls didn’t go unnoticed when they arrived on the beach. You can see them in the photo taken of Ronan making mud out of the black sand.

I’m still snapping at my kids, who are playing silly buggers and having the time of their lives. They should be. It’s still the holidays and I envy their carefree attitude !

Like any photographer, I’m attracted to extremes. It can be beautiful people like here, or people with a more unattractive physique. In fact, I need something out of the ordinary. That’s essentially what catches my eye in the first place. Of course, that’s not enough. I need something else. I need to tell a story. I love the freedom I have as a street photographer. With just a frame I can tell a story with the composition I choose. Here, two gentlemen in their late fifties came out of the water and stood right next to me. At the same time, my two naiads took each other by the hand and headed for the waves. I quickly framed and clicked because I knew I had a great photo with this man in the foreground.

It’s easy to see that the man in the foreground, with his stout build, is a mature man. The contrast between him and the two young girls walking away is striking. It looks as if the man is telling himself: “Man! I wish I was younger… Times flies away…” In fact you could imagine any story about this scenery. As you can see, I got a bit splashed by my boys and micro-droplets on my lens caused the blur. I’m quite happy with the result. The last important element of the photo is the tilted horizon. It adds an enormous amount of dynamism to the photo. So no, this isn’t just a photo of two young girls in thongs. That would be a rather facile shortcut !

All the photos were made with the Ricoh GRD IV.

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I was parked a stone’s throw from the Little Market and it was quite naturally there that I headed to take pictures. It is one of the rare places where there is a little activity in the morning with the deliveries of vegetables and fruits. But I didn’t stop at the market, I went straight to the best spot in Saint-Denis. The Little Market bus stop. Generally speaking, bus stations are good places for street photographers. People wait, others pass. We always have new faces and above all, we can stay in one place without looking too suspicious. And even if people notice you, they’ll be gone in a little while …

When I got there, I was immediately drawn to the old man with his cane. I composed with a man in the foreground on the right. I tried different compositions while working the scene until this man got on a bus. I also got closer to the other people present at the bus stop. I took pictures of no real interest, but just because the scene seemed interesting to me. I also lingered on the trafic cone that sat above the bus shelter, but I’ll spare you the tasteless photos I took … There may be potential, but I couldn’t find the right angle and how to integrate it into a composition.

In the meantime, the old man with the cane was gone and I came back to where I was a few minutes before. And that’s when I saw this gesture of the guy who had served me in the foreground when I photographed the old man! For us, street photographers, these moments are precious and we notice them immediately. It’s interesting to see how my vision has evolved in not even 5 minutes. The person who embodied my foreground suddenly became the central element of my composition. Well his hand! My first photo is blurry and there is nothing else but the gesture. I was glued to his hand and had not activated macro mode. I quickly correct the situation and I try to watch the people who come in my direction because he will not stay in this position forever. You have to act quickly, but that’s not up to me. I do with what the street wants to offer me. And there, the street offers me the best with this character dressed like an English Dandy who completes this composition.

I really like this composition with the play of textures and paterns between the shirt of our character in the foreground, his hand and also our Dandy’s clothes. Other significant elements, the triangles present in the photo give a lot of dynamism to the whole.

I then left to join Gwen to go lift some heavy weights at the gym. In the end, I’m happy with the time spent this morning in Saint-Denis. The small problem is that I took a fine because I had parked without paying the parking meter and I will soon receive my fine of 17 € … Not a big deal, it was worth it and if not, Gwen passed her job interview, so all is well !

All photos were taken with the Ricoh GRD4.

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Not having had much time to hang out in the streets of Saint-Denis this week, I took advantage of two short hours this Saturday just for me to walk my Ricoh GRD4. I already told you, during the week, the city is rather empty and it comes alive a little after 4 p.m. It is in principle at this time that I pick up the children at the end of the school to bring them home. Saturday is something else with a lot of people flocking to the streets to shop. Usually I take the children to their scooter lessons on Saturday mornings, but my wife offered to take care of it yesterday so I took the opportunity to take pictures in Saint-Denis.

Barely parked, I come face to face with this sexy red nipple. Finally limit a little vulgar. If I had a little girl, OMG never would I have bought her something so suggestive. Finally, that is not the point. This Saturday, I am very happy to come across it. It launches, one could not better, my little trip in the streets of Saint-Denis. The problem is that the place where I am is absolutely not passing. We will have to be creative to highlight this nipple. Note it is sufficient on its own with this bright red. I tried different things, playing with the contrasts offered by the morning sun. I knew it was going to be something very minimalist. I underexposed and that’s when I realized that the ground marking offered me another interesting element. It’s that white arrow.

Of course this arrow only appears because I have moved the sliders under Lighroom to darken a good part of the image. OK that’s not really what my eyes saw, but it’s the image I had on my LCD screen because I used the underexposure to get what I wanted on my screen. That’s the point of shooting with the screen. WYSIWYG: as the Anglo Saxons say, What You See Is What You Get!

I don’t usually take such graphic photos because I have a different approach on the street, more straightforward. But there, I spent a good ten minutes trying to compose something with this scarlet red nipple.

All photos were taken with the Ricoh GRD4.

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Last Friday I went to have lunch with my wife in town because she had a two hour break. After dropping her off at her work around 2:00 p.m., I parked to go hang out in the streets of Saint-Denis because I had to pick up the children at 3:30 p.m. after their day of scooter training. I had stopped at a crossroads because there were workers who had blocked the road that leads to the city center. Signs had been installed. I had decided to linger here for a few minutes because I always find the traffic cones, the signs, the workers in orange vests graphic … But of course that is not enough. We need something else: like a guy in an electric wheelchair in the middle of the road ! Pfff don’t exaggerate Jeff, that never happens. Well to be honest, I had this situation a bit later in the afternoon. Well, not in the same place, but sometimes the stars are aligned and that’s when you have to click !

In short, back to our workers. No electric wheelchair in the area. On the other hand, passers-by called out to the workers because their car was parked behind the panels and they asked them if they could move them just for a moment so that they could reverse. It becomes interesting as a situation. A few years ago, I would have been satisfied with this composition. But now I’m trying to look around to see what I can still fit into this composition. It is at this moment that I see this lady who comes in the distance on my right, holding her hat because there is a little wind. The timing may be tight, but it’s playable. She has to be at my level before the car leaves, otherwise I lose the first element of my composition. She arrived at my level when the car has finished reversing. The workers even put the road signs back in place. The selected photo works because I have this lady with her hat which offers me a nice foreground and the scene which is played behind questions. If I were to show only this photo, the position of the car is not normal.

I put you below, all the photos taken before this one.

This lady in blue becomes the focus of the photo when it had been composed without her. My focus and interest changed while composing this photo. Moreover quite quickly I follow in the footsteps of this lady because I like her attitude. Her blue dress which floats in the wind and her right hand which holds her hat. I follow her, hoping that another interesting situation will allow me to take more photos. Which is not easy because she walks fast and walking just as fast behind her, would make me a stalker ! Even if in absolute terms it is not completely wrong at the time … Luck comes to my aid because she arrives at a pedestrian crossing where the lights are green. She must wait to cross. It gives me time to catch up with her without it looking too suspicious. This is where the second photo will be taken. Two young girls are also waiting in front of the pedestrian crossing. Their gestures are interesting and I can even integrate a 4th character on the other side of the street.

Below are all the photos taken.

Exactly 4 minutes separate the first photo from the second with the two girls. I could have stopped after the first photo with the workers, but sometimes you feel like you have to keep going because there might be other opportunities. It does not always work but this Friday, I did well to insist !

All photos were taken with the Ricoh GRD4.

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This time, I will participate in this free entry competition with the idea of winning a Fuji X100 V. A camera clearly oriented Street Photography but with a fixed focal length of 35mm. I invite you to submit a photo of your side too. It’s free, I’ll remind you ! This contest asks you to submit a photo, but also to attach a text to explain the story behind this photo. I always thought a photo stand out for itself. It’s up to the viewer to  question the photo and interpret it. The photographer gave some information in the frame and that’s what makes an interesting photo for me. The photo can be interpreted differently depending on who is looking at it. Our sensitivity will not make us have the same interpretation of the photo.

This is a very Street Photography reasoning that I have when talking to you about this. The best photos for me are the ones that ask more questions than they bring answers. Some are very mysterious and must keep their mystery. On the other hand, I created a series on this Blog: Behind This Shot, which allows you to learn more about a photo that I have selected. It is a desire to have done this to explain through examples the process that had taken place when I took the photo. It’s like T.M.E (Through My Eyes). Trying to get you into my head to see what caught my eye when I click the shutter button. But I won’t do it for all of my photos.

Either way, you would be disappointed to know that in the end, the story behind some photos is appallingly banal. This is what is beautiful in Street Photography. We manage to sublimate the mundane. These are often simple scenes which frozen at 1/500s or more which offer us very beautiful moments of eternity.

So yes, I will surely submit one of my photos for this contest, but I’m still hesitating because for the photo I want to submit, I don’t particularly want to say anything about it. The photo, you know it, is of the old man with a thoughtful attitude on the beach. This photo is sufficient on its own. It is mysterious. This is what makes the charm and interest of this one. To say more does not make sense.

For the record, I’m never been interested in the story behind the street photos I see in books or on the internet. I like this freedom given to me to interpret the photo I have in front of me with the elements that the photographer wanted to distill in his composition. A good photo is a photo that questions me, challenges me and forces me to have a pro active attitude in front of it. It’s a photo that captures my attention. This is why I no longer give a title to my photos. If I need to give a text explanation for a photo, it’s not a good photo or in the case of this competition, it’s because the process is different.

In the end, the more I think about it, the less sure I will participate in this competition. It’s true that it would be cool to have a new toy like the Fuji X100 V. But it’s like all competitions. There is a jury and their choice will always be very subjective. Moreover, quite funny thing, Valérie Jardin, of which work I am not particularly a fan, is part of the panel of photographers who will vote for the most interesting photo (and story!). And among the thousands of photos that are going to be submitted, let’s face it, my photo is unlikely to attract any interest. Nothing flashy in what I am going to present. No layers, no Light/Shadows, no funny juxtaposition or other gimmicks so appreciated by the competitions. In short, I still have until November 30th to make up my mind …

All the photographs were made with the Ricoh GRD4.

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Let’s come back to this photo. For some time now, I tend to hang out a lot in the same places to take pictures. Because I know where there will be more people to do Street Photography. As I already told you, Saint-Denis is a big city, but in the end it’s never the big crowd in the streets. To be completely honest, at the end of the afternoon after kids leaving school, there are quite a few people going home. I even noticed that on Friday at the end of the afternoon, the streets came alive a little more. Surely the approach of the weekend !

This late afternoon, I had decided to go hang out on the seaside for a change. I walked past Saint-Denis Cathedral and saw this small group of people who were likely to attend a wedding. Moreover, given the current health circumstances, a marriage has a good chance of turning into a cluster of covid-19 … It has often happened to me to interfere in the middle of a wedding to take pictures. I like these situations because people are well dressed. In Aix-en-Provence every summer weekend, the town hall square in the city center saw dozens of weddings. It was quite fun trying to capture some interesting scenes. There were very few people outside here except for this small group of people.

I hesitated a bit. It’s easy to blend in with the crowd when it’s crowded. But there it was more complicated … But still, there were these little girls in tutus ! In the end, as you can imagine, it was stronger than me. I went there without knowing how I was going to go about successfully photographing these girls without being noticed. I just walked over to the small group. In the current situation, I had to climb the stairs to get to their level and it allowed me to be able to take a photo while being slightly lower than the little girls. This is important because if you don’t get up to their level by photographing them from above, you crush them and the picture is not very nice. I couldn’t afford to walk up next to these girls and get on my knees to take the picture. There I would have been unmasked and questioned in the best case and insulted in the worst case … The stairs allowed me to take the picture while being slightly lower, as if in the end I had knelt down. All this reflection, I had it by traversing the tens of meters which separated me from them. It’s always like that when I spot a situation from afar. I’m trying to figure out how to take the photo.

I quickly took a picture at the bottom of the stairs. I knew this photo wasn’t the one I wanted, but it’s like a reflex that prompts me to click in case I wasn’t going to get what I want afterwards. As much to say to you that it is strictly for nothing because the photo is of no interest. Just that will serve me to lament later on this lost opportunity. As I walked up the stairs, I was surprised to see this little group breaking up and having a cleaner scene with the two little girls in tutus looking at someone behind me. As a bonus I had a little gesture from one of the two girls. The photo was in the box and nobody noticed anything and yet this photo was not taken from the hip, but while aiming with the screen. I waited until the characters didn’t overlap to click.

I wondered if I wasn’t going to stay a bit to take more photos, but it forced me to go back down the stairs because the position of the sun dictated my position. It was too complicated and I was going to arouse suspicion and lose this moment. Very often with children you only have one chance to take pictures. Then you are quickly spotted and assimilated to a predator or pervert. It’s a shame because I love to take pictures of children in the street. They are unpredictable and always offer good photo opportunities. A person came out of the cathedral and I took this last photo.

I remain convinced that there was still potential here but sometimes you have to know when to leave. I got what I wanted. Was it necessary to go further at the risk of being exposed or even creating a potential confrontation ? These people were still there to share a moment of joy and celebration. No need to ruin this moment. So I left them. In the end, I did not go to the seaside. Next time !

You can see that in the end the photo was post-processed in Black & White. The colors in this precise case did not add anything to the photo. Monochrome allowed me to make these girls identical with their tutu. There was also already a white cast in this scene with the walls and pylons. The Black & White prevailed.

All photos were taken with the Ricoh GRD4.

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I don’t know him, but his world is quite colorful. The store in question therefore installed two cartoon characters on the street fixed on metal plates. So there was a dog and a young boy. The colors are very bright and unfortunately the sun was not there at the end of the afternoon. I stayed a bit to figure out how to build my photo. What was obvious was that I was going to play on this discrepancy between real characters and these cartoon characters.

I had my idea in mind and I stayed a long time waiting for a dog to pass by. I waited 40 mins and no dog … This is Street Photography. The school of frustration. You are not in the studio. Situations arise, the light is what it is and it’s up to you to deal with what you have at hand. Alex Coghe often says, very aptly, that he sees Street Photography as a visual equation to be solved. I don’t think that’s always the case, but very often I can’t help but agree with it.

Here I had several ideas in mind. Such a colorful dog is bound to attract attention on the street, but people must be jaded because in the end, no one paid attention. Even the children did not linger. Only one little boy stopped to touch this cardboard dog. On Saturdays, people might be more relaxed and hang out more with their toddlers, but I don’t have time to go to Saint-Denis during the weekend … I also tried to integrate this fake dog in a scene as if someone was walking with their dog, but it didn’t work. The photos are interesting, but not really what I wanted.

This dog had heart-shaped glasses and was winking. I told myself that I could play with the slightly naughty side of this dog who would have eyes that pop out of his head like in the cartoons. I took a lower point of view to compose that the legs of passers-by. There of course, the ideal would have been to have a young woman in a skirt with heels that would pass. Much like the photo I exchanged with Elizabeth Char which you can see here. Incidentally, it’s just a sublime photo ! But no, none of that. I had to do with what I had.

What bothered me the most was the black plinth that carried this cartoon dog. Switching the photos to Black & White made it possible to make this metal plate less distracting, but took the interest away from the photo. I tried to cut off his legs a bit so that it looked like a real fake dog. Are you still following me there ? It was then that I saw this postal van arrive and was drawn to the similarity of the colors. I showed it to my children and it made them laugh, this contrast between the cartoon dog and a real life scene. And they were wondering how I had done that ? It’s a pretty simple photo and in the end it works.

All the photographs were made with the Ricoh GRD4.

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We decided to spend the day at the beach to take advantage of this early summer. As it was extremely hot, it was an opportunity to cool off a bit. The children were finishing their first term at school and they were starting to stick out their tongues. This little trip to the beach had a little holiday taste. The children were like madmen and were agitated everywhere. It is for this reason also that we returned to live in Reunion Island. We wanted the children to experience different things. They who love going to the beach, from now on they will be served ! The beaches are not near Saint-Denis where we live, but it’s quite easy to get there. Finally when there are no traffic jams. But above all, you can enjoy it all year round and not 2 months a year like in mainland France.

We used to take a dip in the Mediterranean Sea, but the ocean is really different. Here with us outside the lagoon which shelters a multitude of fish, the rest of the coast is wild and it is when there is a little swell, the children have fun being turned in the rollers which are smashed on the beach and bring them off. 10 years ago, it was not yet the shark crisis. Another era. We didn’t swim everywhere but here at Boucan Canot, there was a big surf activity and the whole beach was swimmable. Today things are different. We installed shark nets and no more surfing activity. I remember having come here often and just with a mask and a snorkel, to have seen moray eels, rays, huge groupers … Now I do not venture very far even in the nets.

Let’s go back to the photo I presented to you at the start of this Blog. In a somewhat complicated period with the Metoo, the scandals that regularly arise, I do not know if this photo that I share will be well understood. I’m just documenting what I see on the street. In this case it was at the beach. Children like to splash around in the small natural saltwater pool which is next to the main beach. I had made a similar photo last February. Since I have been doing street photography, my eyes are alert and clearly there, I had colorful and similar elements that caught my attention, in addition to the bikini … For those who are wondering, these are pineapple buoys. It’s quite exotic, but I remind you that we are on an island!

Do you see how crystal clear the water is on this February day? You will not see the color of the water on July 4, 2019, for good reason that I preferred to post-process the photos in Black & White. The water was somewhat greenish. This pool has a big problem. The water does not renew itself regularly and if there is not a little swell to pass sea water on the other side of the rocks, the water tends to cloud. It was the case that day. The pool was still swimmable but it was a little green. I was also discussing this with the gentleman in the photo when I saw his gaze turn to the entrance to the pool. I quickly understood what had caught his attention. What is funny is that I saw him pose with his elbows resting on his knee to calmly watch the girl. Some will find it offensive and I understand that it can annoy or make it uncomfortable for girls to be constantly ogled everywhere they go. There was nothing nasty in his attitude, I even had the impression that he was even posing like a peacock would deploy his tail to signify that he was there.

It was a nice day and as usual, it allowed me to document a little the life of my kids in Reunion, but it also allowed me to do Beach Street Photography and to continue my Beach please series ! As  a side note, you can see that all the galleries have been removed from my website. I experienced some problems after installing Polylang. From now, you can select English or French to read the Blog section. I’m working on the issues to bring back the Galleries … 

All the photos were made with the Ricoh GR.

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