Hello John, you are one of the first street photographer I interviewed on behalf of my Blog at the beginning of 2017. I was already impressed by your work at the time, but in these almost 4 years, it has changed a lot and in a good way. We were able to meet and discuss during my visit in early 2019 near your home between Bath and Bristol. I was able to follow in your footsteps and see with my own eyes the places you walked and photographed tirelessly. I wanted to talk to you again about various topics related or not to street photography, to life in general.

It’s typical of you ! It’s the same with your photography, you’re being hard on yourself. I like this because it shows that you have a critical eye on your work. It’s been a little over a year since I created my YouTube channel. I found it interesting because I didn’t have time to share my photos in my Blogs anymore and since I love music a lot, associating photos with artists that I liked seemed fun. And I also feel like I’m sharing with a different audience than the one who frequents my website. You also got started a few weeks ago by creating your channel to share slideshows. What did you like about this new way of sharing your work? 

The jury is still out on the YouTube channel. I’ve posted about six slideshows so far. I like music too, but seem to be stuck with the free theme tunes from Apple, I use “Photos” on the iMac to make a simple slideshow. I’m not ready to spend money on it just yet. Slideshows aren’t really the best option for YouTube presentations, that said one of my posts had 1.3k views, perhaps it’s the way to go. There’s a rumour in our house that Father Christmas might be bringing me a GoPro. If he does then I’ll do a Vlog, it won’t be as polished as Tim Huynh’s though, he’s a very accomplished film maker. A few POV street walks definitely and possibly do some of my trips on the motorcycle. Well just fragments of the journey if there’s anything interesting and then a POV of wherever I happen to be photographing.

To continue talking about photography, I have seen over the past four years your style of photography change. Even if you always keep that rigor in the composition that characterizes your style, the fact that you adopted 28mm instead of 35mm, did that change a lot of things in the end? How did this transition go, after so many years spent photographing with 35mm?

I don’t think it changed hugely. Definitely I can get closer with the 28mm than the 35mm and retain focus throughout the frame. The 28mm has been glued to the camera for 10 months, okay, before that the same could be said for the 35mm. It’s a slightly wider feel to the frames and that’s what I wanted. The 35mm is certainly more of an all rounder, but I’m enjoying this 28mm immensely. Actually this week, as we’re in another lockdown I’m using or forcing myself to use the 50mm, the dust has been blown off. I’m not sure I like it very much at all, really hard work to manually focus and very tight framing. I’ll write it up in the blog.

Thank you very much John for these wise words shared with us. The photographs in this Blog are only monochrom and that was on purpose. John shoot now a lot in color, but I kind have a preference for his monochrom work. These photos were chosen by me among a very good selection that John provided me. These photographs speak to me and I don’t know if they can be considered as the best ones he has made. He’s a very prolific photographer and I urge you to subscribe to his Blog to be notified when new articles are available.

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When I knew that I had my transfer to Reunion, I did not jump for joy. It was expected, not really a surprise. Gwen even asked me if I was happy to go there or if I had any regrets. Frankly, staying in Jouques would not have displeased me. I had my friends there, my habits, my routines. Everything was set up like music paper. We knew that the children were going to go to college in the neighboring village and to Aix-en-Provence for high school. So yes now we are on Reunion Island and it will not happen as I had planned, but I have no regrets. I would have stayed in my Aix countryside, but we will also be good here. My children and my wife are happy on Reunion Island and that is enough for me.

Photographically speaking (because it is still a Photo Blog …), when I knew that I was going to move, I told myself that I only had 2019 to document the streets of Aix -in Provence. I thought until now that I had all the time in front of me. There was no hurry, the next 50 years I was going to hang around the Place de la Mairie, in the small pedestrian streets or on the Cours Mirabeau … The prospect of leaving put a little pressure on me. Each time I went out, I remembered that my days were counted in Aix-en-Provence. Besides, I took advantage of every moment to go hang out in town. What I hadn’t foreseen is, who says transfer, says move. There were a thousand things to do to prepare for our departure. Starting with the sale of the house. It was important to me to sell it myself. Not for the sake of money, but I didn’t want to delegate the sale of the house to a real estate agent. We did well because in the end, we sold it at the price we wanted in just 1 month.

When I look at my photos between January and October 2019, the date of my arrival in Saint-Denis de la Réunion, I realize that in the end I made quite a few photos in Aix-en-Provence. I have done many in Paris, Bristol, Toulouse, Marseille and even in Reunion. During this first half of 2019, we have moved a lot. Our long-planned holidays in Reunion, our week in Paris and for me short stays in Toulouse, Marseille, Bristol and Rome.

My stay this year in Bristol had a special flavor. I had already come to this city in 1998. I have almost no memory of this city apart from the pub which served as a meeting spot. I still spent 3 weeks there … I wanted to go back to find out what I had missed during my student youth. This city exceeded all my expectations. I loved hanging out on its streets. From a street photography perspective, Bristol is a hell of a city. A very heterogeneous population and neighborhoods. Bristol was also not far from Bath where John Harper roams. I wanted to visit him before leaving Jouques. It’s always intimidating to meet people you’ve known through social media. Do we really know people by chatting with them on the internet? And if it was a finished idiot? We create an image of the person with whom we are talking and then comes the moment of confrontation with this person. My fears evaporated as soon as we met. You remember from the Blog that I wrote John Harper: Gentleman Photographer. Well, that’s exactly him ! A person full of humor, very intelligent. I hope only one thing, that we have the opportunity to meet again in the future, here, elsewhere, whatever.

When the sales agreement was signed, I granted myself a little Parisian weekend with the blessing of my wife as a reward. I was very stressed by the sale of the house because it was an essential point to settle before leaving. Before the sale, there was some work to do in the house to present it in its best profile. Lots of paperwork too. These 3 days spent in Paris were a reward for all the work done. It was also an opportunity to visit Elizabeth Char had a solo exhibition. It is not at his first show, but it was close to my heart to be present for this still very special moment for photographers. It was also an opportunity to see her one last time before flying to Reunion. This was my second visit to Paris in a few months, except for this great weekend, I was alone in Paris with my Ricoh GR!

I also gave myself two little escapades to Rome and Marseille after my wife and my children went to settle in Reunion at the beginning of August to make the kids school start on August 17th. The house was sold, the move made, I was squatting with friends with a few boxes and bags while waiting to leave too. I can say that the last two months spent alone, I lived and breathed Street Photography H24. I don’t think I will experience another period like this. Besides, I came out of this leached period because I benefited a lot from it. I made a first selection of about 100 photos. This first sorting allowed me to see that in the end just 1/3 rd of the photos had been taken in Aix-en-Provence. Quite paradoxical in the sense that I told myself that I was going to make the most of Aix for this past year and in the end, I end up with more photos elsewhere.

I was very prolific during these getaways because I was solo and that changes everything ! It’s difficult to do Street Photography when you’re traveling with your family. So those moments I selfishly took advantage of. There was also this urgency to take a lot of photos because I knew that I was not going to come back to these cities soon. 2019 was not over, however, because I also spent the last two months in Reunion. I can’t say that I really started documenting the streets here. I think it will take time to get something consistent. I have time, we plan to stay the rest of our days in Reunion. Finally it must also be the case in Jouques …

Ah yes I was supposed to present to you in this Blog my selection of 12 photos to summarize 2019. As every year, it is an almost compulsory exercise, a little like the blooper of December 31 … This selection is very personal and therefore subjective. I went out of curiosity to review my end of year selections for 2016, 2017 and 2018. Through these selections, it is my evolution as a photographer that I see. Less aggressive post-processing, more shades of gray in my Black & White work, more complex compositions, better color management. When I started in 2016, I didn’t think I could take this kind of photo.

My best 12

2019 is also an important year for me because I have definitely given up on social media. I had already deleted my Facebook and 2018 account and at the start of the year, I did the same with Instagram. These photos were nevertheless shared on my YouTube channel that I created this year. I found with this support, the possibility of sharing more photos in the form of slideshows. Speaking of a slideshow, you will not escape my selection for 2019. The selection of the Best Twelve was made on this basis.

This Blog concludes this year 2019 which was rich in every way. I wish you a very happy holiday season and I look forward to seeing you next year for new adventures in the tropics !

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These videos have already been posted on my YouTube Channel for several weeks but I did not have time to write a Blog to keep you informed. I take advantage of this blogpost to share a video made not too long ago in the streets of Aix. Moreover for the record, I decided to change my equipment because my cheap action cam that I bought a while ago has no stabilizer and I feel nausea when I look at these videos … So I bought myself a GoPro and I’m waiting to receive my new toy before going on the streets of Aix-en-Provence !

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Je farfouille en ce moment dans les photos de mon séjour à Bristol pour éditer mes vidéos faites avec mon Action Cam fixée sur mon Ricoh GR. Ces fameuses vidéos T.M.E (Through My Eyes) que je réalise depuis quelques temps déjà. Je dois en avoir deux de Bristol que j’essaye d’éditer. Me fallait donc les photos correspondant aux vidéos. Alors que je parcourais mes fichiers sous lightroom, je suis tombé sur quelques photos que je n’avais même pas pris la peine de regarder.

Certains laissent mariner leurs photos sur leur cartes mémoire plusieurs jours voire mois avant d’éditer leur travail. Personnellement je ne le fais jamais. Le soir même des prises de vue, je passe toutes mes photos sous lightroom et je les retouche tout de suite. Je sais que ce serait mieux d’attendre quelques jours voire semaines pour être détaché émotionnellement des photos qu’on vient de réaliser. Très souvent quand je rentre chez moi après quelques heures passées dans la rue, je sais quelles sont les photos qui ont un certain potentiel. Le problème c’est que ces photos polarisent mon attention et j’en arrive à ne pas avoir un œil objectif sur les autres photos.

Bristol c’était il y a 3 semaines de ça. Je suis repassé sur toutes les photos que j’ai faites sous lightroom. Je me suis rappelé de toutes les photos que j’avais prises et j’ai découvert certaines photos que je n’avais même pas pris la peine de retoucher. Pourquoi ? Sûrement par manque de temps, mais aussi parce que comme je l’ai dit, d’autres photos ont polarisé l’attention. Ce sont ces photos qui illustrent ce Blog. Je suis assez étonné d’être passé à côté d’elles. Ne vous méprenez pas, ce ne sont pas des Glory Shots, loin de là. Mais ces photos sont intéressantes et je voulais les partager avec vous.

La photo d’ouverture de ce Blog est au final une de celles que je considère les plus réussies à Bristol. Rien de tape à l’œil, mais j’aime sa composition. Nous avons ici un cadre dans le cadre avec entre les deux un chien tel un cerbère qui garde l’entrée. Nous avons de la profondeur dans l’image avec en plan intermédiaire des personnes assises sur les marches de l’escalier et d’autres qui marchent sur le trottoir. Et en arrière plan une voiture et une personne qui marche sur le trottoir opposé (Il y a aussi une autre personne qui se confond avec la porte noire). Nous avons aussi un peu de contexte avec les tags sur les murs du bâtiment. Cette photo a été réalisée dans le quartier de Stokes Croft (comme indiqué sur le bâtiment qui fait l’angle en arrière plan )en sortant de la Canteen. J’aime cette photo car elle me force à regarder partout dans le cadre. Je n’attends pas à ce que les gens aiment cette photo comme moi je l’aime. Je reste persuadé que si je devais partager cette photo sur les Réseaux Sociaux, elle passerait inaperçue.

Je regrette juste que cette dernière photo n’apparaisse pas dans le diaporama que j’ai réalisé sur Bristol. Elle devrait y être comme les autres photos de  ce Blog. Je tenais à la mettre en avant dans un Blog, car elle méritait mieux que de finir noyée parmi tant d’autres sur mon disque dur …

Toutes les photos ont été réalisées avec le Ricoh GR à Bristol (UK)

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The lost files.

I am currently rummaging through the photos of my stay in Bristol to edit my videos made with my Action Cam attached to my Ricoh GR. These T.M.E (Through My Eyes) videos that I realize for some time already. I have to have two of Bristol that I’m trying to edit. I needed photos corresponding to videos. As I scanned my files in lightroom, I came across some pictures that I did not even bother to look at.

Some let their photos marinate on their memory cards several days or even months before post-processing their work. Personally, I never do it. The same day, I sent all my photos to lightroom and I post-process them right away. I know it would be better to wait a few days or weeks to be emotionally detached from the photos that have just made. Very often when I come home after a few hours on the street, I know which photos have some potential. The problem is that these photos polarize my attention and I manage to not have an objective eye on the other photos.

Bristol was 3 weeks ago. I went over all the photos I made under lightroom. I remembered all the pictures I took and discovered some pictures that I did not even bother to post-process. Why ? Surely due to lack of time, but also because as I said, other photos have polarized the attention. These are the photos that illustrate this Blog. I am quite surprised to have missed them. Do not get me wrong, they are not Glory Shots, far from it. But these photos are interesting and I wanted to share them with you.

The opening photo of this Blog is ultimately one of the ones I consider the most successful in Bristol. Nothing fancy, but I like its composition. We have here a frame in the frame with between the two a dog like a cerber who keeps the entrance. We have depth in the image with people sitting on the steps of the stairs and others walking on the sidewalk. And in the background a car and a person walking on the opposite sidewalk (There is also another person who is in the frame of the black door). We also have some context with the tags on the walls of the building. This photo was taken in the Stokes Croft neighborhood (as shown on the corner building in the background) coming out of the Canteen. I like this picture because it forces me to look everywhere in the frame. I do not expect people to like this picture as I do. I remain convinced that if I had to share this photo on Social Networks, it would go unnoticed.

I just regret that this last photo does not appear in the slideshow I made on Bristol. It should be like the other photos in this Blog. I wanted to put it forward in a blog, because it deserved better than to end drowned among so many others on my hard drive …

All photos were taken with the Ricoh GR in Bristol (UK)

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La ville de Bristol est d’après différentes études une des villes où il fait bon vivre en Angleterre. Elle est classée #2 (après Londres) pour les moins de 30 ans.  Elle a même eu le titre honorifique de la capitale mondiale du Vegan devant des villes comme Portland, Edinburgh, Vancouver et Seattle. J’ai passé 1 semaine là bas pour des raisons différentes, mais en me baladant dans les rues de Bristol, j’ai pu sentir pourquoi cette ville était très différente des autres villes anglaises où j’avais pu séjourner. En 1998, j’étais resté 6 semaines à Bristol pour mes études et je n’ai presque aucun souvenir de cette période. A l’époque j’avais 25 ans et on a du passer tout notre temps dans les pubs ou autres nightclubs. Je ne me souviens même pas avoir visité la ville. En fait j’avais choisi Bristol comme destination car je voulais aller dans la ville du groupe Massive Attack pour éventuellement les voir en concert. Sauf que je me suis rendu compte qu’ils étaient en tournée aux USA pour la sortie de leur album Mezzanine …

Back in Bristol plus de 20 ans après. La ville a dû changer depuis mon premier passage, mais je me suis rappelé du théâtre l’Hippodrome et aussi du pub qui est juste à côté. Ou l’inverse … C’est donc avec un regard presque vierge que je découvre Bristol. Je séjourne à deux pas de Clifton Village et donc pas très loin du centre ville. A peine 20 minutes de marche. Ce qui est vraiment agréable dans cette ville, c’est qu’elle est de taille raisonnable et qu’on peut tout faire à pied. Je n’ai pas pris une seule fois les transports en commun, préférant déambuler dans la rue. Comme je vous l’avais déjà dit dans un précédent Blog, j’avais décidé de venir à Bristol pour aller à la rencontre de John Harper qui photographie essentiellement dans la ville de Bath qui n’est qu’à quelques kilomètres de Bristol.

Bristol a une scène artistique qui est très active. Je vous ai déjà parlé de la musique avec Massive Attack, mais il y a aussi Portishead (petite ville balnéaire à côté de Bristol) mais aussi quelques DJ très célèbres comme DJ Derek dont le décès a ému non seulement la ville de Bristol, mais qui a même eu un écho mondial. On disait de lui : You’re the white man who talks the people’s talk and plays the people’s music. Vous pouvez lire un article très intéressant sur ce personnage qui était une véritable Légende à Bristol. Je ne le connaissais pas, mais c’est ma prof d’anglais qui m’a parlé de lui.

Qui n’a jamais entendu parlé de Banksy ? Sûrement le Street Artist le plus connu au monde. Et bien sûr il est de Bristol ! Quelques unes de ses œuvres sont disséminées un peu partout dans la ville. De très nombreux Street Artists ont peint leurs œuvres un peu partout. C’est vraiment agréable de découvrir au détour d’une rue, des fresques murales qui peuvent être gigantesques. Par moment, on a l’impression de se balader dans un musée à ciel ouvert. Pour certains ce n’est pas de l’Art, mais juste des tags sur les murs. Pour moi c’est de l’Art urbain. J’aime cette idée de l’Art accessible à tout le monde. D’ailleurs pas mal d’œuvres ont été bombardées de pistolet à peinture et le paysage urbain change constamment au grèsdes artistes qui peignent sur les œuvres des autres. Ce n’est pas un monde figé mais qui est en perpétuel évolution. Je suis allé prendre l’apéro chez des amis de ma prof d’anglais qui habitent dans le quartier très bobo de Montpelier (non il n’y a pas de faute d’orthographe …) et c’est étonnant de voir que leur porte de garage change d’aspect au fils des mois, suivant la créativité des Street Artists.

Je n’ai pas encore parlé de photographie. J’ai besoin de quelques jours pour me sentir à l’aise dans une ville. Pour tout dire, je regrettais un peu de  devoir partir au bout d’une semaine car je commençais à comprendre comment cette ville fonctionnait. Comme je vous l’ai déjà dit, j’ai du mal à faire des photos ailleurs qu’à Aix-en-Provence. J’ai besoin de connaître la ville avant de pouvoir me sentir à l’aise dans la rue. J’ai besoin d’arpenter encore et encore les mêmes rues pour m’approprier ces endroits. Et pour Bristol, j’ai commencé à être à l’aise dans les rues en fin de semaine avant de partir … D’ailleurs quand je regarde toutes les photos que j’ai réalisées, elles sont meilleures en fin de semaine.

Ça fait partie du processus d’appropriation des lieux que je considère important en Street Photography. Certains n’ont pas besoin de ça et où qu’ils soient pourront faire des photos sans problèmes. Ce n’est pas le cas pour moi. Le vendredi avant de repartir, j’ai eu l’opportunité de passer une matinée en compagnie de John Harper. Nous sommes allés traîner un peu dans le quartier de Stokes Croft que j’apprécie tout particulièrement. Ce quartier est en plein gentrification, on y croise des junkies qui déambulent comme des zombies dans les rues, des jeunes hypsters, des familles, des bobos, des afro-jamaïcains, des indiens, des marginaux … Bref un mélange assez hétéroclite de personnes. C’est ce qui fait la force de ce quartier. J’avais quelques appréhensions à aller traîner là bas, mais au final, c’est un coin très agréable. Tout le monde cohabite. J’ai même vu défiler devant moi une bande de junkies et juste derrière eux, une maman avec sa poussette ! Dans n’importe quel autre endroit au monde, un tel quartier serait un ghetto. Pas ici. On ne masque pas les problèmes. Il y a des problèmes de drogue. Des associations sont là pour aider ces personnes, mais on ne les mets pas dans des ghettos. On vit avec eux. C’est un peu déstabilisant au début, mais on s’y fait vite à les côtoyer dans les rues.

Je ne suis pas resté assez longtemps à Bristol pour capter l’âme de cette ville. Il me faudrait passer plus de temps à arpenter les rues pour cela. J’ai compilé dans un diaporama quelques photos réalisées lors de ce séjour Bristolien. J’ai aussi réalisé quelques vidéos T.M.E avec John Harper que je n’ai pas encore eu le temps d’éditer. Je les posterai un peu plus tard.

Toutes les photos on été réalisées avec le Ricoh GR à Bristol (UK)

~o~

Back in Bristol.

The city of Bristol is according to different survey one of the cities where it is good to live in England. It is even ranked # 2 (after London) for under 30s. She even had the honorary title of the world capital of Vegan in front of cities like Portland, Edinburgh, Vancouver and Seattle. I spent 1 week there for different reasons, but walking around the streets of Bristol, I could feel why this city was very different from other English cities where I had stayed. In 1998, I stayed 6 weeks in Bristol for my studies and I have almost no memory of this period. At the time I was 25 years old and we had to spend all our time in pubs or other nightclubs. I do not even remember visiting the city. In fact I had chosen Bristol as a destination because I wanted to go to the city of the trip hop band Massive Attack to eventually see them in concert. Except that I realized that they were touring in the USA for the release of their LP Mezzanine.

Back in Bristol more than 20 years later. The city has had to change since my first visit, but I remembered the theater at the Hypodrome and also the pub which is next door. Or the other way around … It’s with almost a blank glance that I discover Bristol. I stay close to Clifton Village and therefore not too far from the city center. Barely 20 minutes walk. What’s really nice about this city is that it is reasonably sized and can be done on foot. I did not take public transport once, preferring to roam the streets. As I told you before in a previous blog, I decided to come to Bristol to meet John Harper, who is mainly photographing in the city of Bath, which is only a few miles from Bristol.

Bristol has an artistic scene that is very active. I’ve already talked about music with Massive Attack, but there’s also Portishead (a small seaside town next to Bristol) but also some very famous DJs like DJ Derek whose death moved not only the city of Bristol, but who even had a global echo. It was said of him: You’re the man who talks the people’s talk and plays the people’s music. You can read a very interesting article about this character who was a true Legend in Bristol. I did not know him, but my English teacher told me about him.

Who has never heard of Banksy? Surely the most famous Street Artist in the world. And of course he’s from Bristol! Some of his works are scattered throughout the city. Many Street Artists have painted their works everywhere. It’s really nice to discover at the bend of a street, murals that can be gigantic. At times, one has the impression to walk in an open air museum. For some it’s not Art, but just tags on the walls. For me it’s Urban Art. I like this idea of ​​Art accessible to everyone. In fact, a lot of works have been bombarded with spray guns and the cityscape is constantly changing as artists paint on the works of others. It is not a static world but one that is constantly evolving. I went to have a drink with some friends of my English teacher who live in the very hypster neighborhood Montpelier (no there is no misspelling …) and it’s amazing to see that their door garage changes appearance months after months, following the creativity of Street Artists.

I have not talked about photography yet. I need time to feel comfortable in a city. To be honest, I regretted a bit of having to leave after a week because I began to understand how this city worked. As I already told you, I have trouble making pictures elsewhere than in Aix-en-Provence. I need to know the city before I can feel comfortable in the street. I need to walk the same streets again and again to appropriate these places. And for Bristol, I started to be comfortable on the streets at the end of the week just before leaving … By the way, when I look at all the pictures I made, they are much better at the end of the week.

It’s part of the process of appropriating places that I consider important in Street Photography. Some do not need this and wherever they are will be able to take pictures without problems. This is not the case for me. On Friday before leaving, I had the opportunity to spend a morning with John Harper. We went to hang out a bit in the Stokes Croft area that I particularly enjoy. This district is in full gentrification, we cross there junkies who roam like zombies in the streets, young hypsters, families, Afro-Jamaicans, Indians, marginalized … In short, a rather heterogeneous mixture of people. This is the strength of this neighborhood. I had some fears to hang out there, but in the end, it’s a very nice place. Everyone lives together. I even saw in front of me a group of junkies and just behind them, a mom with her stroller! In any other place in the world, such a neighborhood would be a ghetto. Not here. We do not hide the problems. There are drug problems. Associations are there to help these people, but we do not put them in ghettos. We live with them. It’s a little destabilizing at first, but it is quick to rub them in the streets.

I did not stay long enough in Bristol to capture the soul of this city. I would have to spend more time walking the streets for that. I compiled in a slideshow some photos taken during this Bristolian stay. I also made some T.M.E videos with John Harper that I have not had time to edit yet. I’ll post them a little later.

All the photographs were made with the Ricoh GR in Bristol (UK)

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Comme vous avez pu le remarquer, depuis quelques temps j’ai crée cette nouvelle rubrique Behind this shot qui me permet de vous parler d’une photo qui m’ a marqué. Ici en l’occurrence il s’agit d’une licorne un peu grassouillette que j’ai photographié la veille de mon départ de Bristol. Je ne suis pas arrivé sur cette scène par hasard. Je traînais devant le centre commercial de Cabot Circus quand j’ai vu deux jeunes filles habillées façon manga dans la rue. Je me suis tout suite dit qu’il devait y avoir une GamesCon pas très loin.

Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas ce type de manifestation (Games Convention), il s’agit d’un événement jeux vidéos. Ce sont des salons Grand Public où de nombreux fans se pressent habillés comme leurs héros de jeux vidéos. On appelle ça le Cosplay (contraction de Costume Player). J’ai donc suivi ces deux filles en espérant qu’elles me mèneraient à la convention. J’ai bien fait car c’était à moins de 500 m de là où je me trouvais.

L’accès à la convention est payant, mais ne m’intéressait pas plus que ça. Je préférais rester sur le trottoir face à tous ces fans qui se pressaient habillés en héros de jeux vidéos ou de mangas. C’était assez chaotique et j’avais du mal à trouver un personnage réellement intéressant. C’est à ce moment qu’est apparue ma Licorne ! Je l’avais enfin mon point d’ancrage de ma photo. Me restait plus qu’à travailler autour de cette Licorne qui se prenait une pause clope (Eh oui, même les licornes ont ce vice …)

Vous vous demandez pourquoi je parle de Brexit Unicorn ? Tout simplement parce que la Licorne est devenue le symbole des opposants au Brexit ! En gros, croire au Brexit, c’est comme croire aux Licornes … Bon ok comme me l’a soufflé John Harper, les Licornes existent donc bel et bien (photo à l’appui !), par contre elles ne ressemblent pas du tout (sic) à ce que les Brexiteers veulent bien nous faire croire !

Je trouve assez rigolo d’avoir pu capturer une telle scène à Bristol. Ces jeunes étaient là pour s’amuser et n’avaient aucunement en tête les problèmes qui leur pendent au nez avec ce Brexit. Je ne savais pas non plus que la Licorne était devenue un symbole des opposants au Brexit. La rue réserve bien des surprises.

Pour les connaisseurs, j’adore tout particulièrement notre Sailor Moon qui est très kawaii avec ses poils sur les jambes !

Toutes les photos ont été réalisées avec le Ricoh GR à Bristol (UK)

~o~

Behind this shot :

The Brexit Unicorn.

As you may have noticed, for some time I created this new section Behind this shot that allows me to talk to you about a photo that marked me. Here in this case it is a chubby Unicorn that I photographed the day before my departure from Bristol. I did not arrive on this scene by chance. I was hanging out in front of the Cabot Circus shopping center when I saw two girls dressed in manga in the street. I told myself that there must be a GamesCon not far away.

For those who do not know this type of event (Games Convention), it is a video game event. These are consumer shows where many fans crowd dressed as their heroes of video games or animation. This is called Cosplay (Contraction of Costume Player). So I followed these two girls hoping they would take me to the convention. I did well because it was less than 500 m from where I was.

You have to pay to gain access to the convention, but it did not interest me more than that. I preferred to stay on the sidewalk in front of all those fans who crowded dressed as heroes of video games or manga animation. It was quite chaotic and I had a hard time finding a really interesting character. That’s when my Unicorn appeared ! I finally had my anchor subject. All I had to do was work around this Unicorn who was taking a cigarette break (Yes, even unicorns have this vice …)

Wondering why I’m talking about Brexit Unicorn ? Simply because the Unicorn has become the symbol of Brexit opponents ! Basically, believing in Brexit is like believing in Unicorns … Okay, as John Harper told me, Unicorns do exist (photo is a proof !) , But they do not look like anything at all. (sic) what the Brexiteers told us they would look like …

I find it quite funny to have been able to capture such a scene in Bristol. These young people were there to have fun and did not have in mind the problems that hang in their face with this Brexit. I did not know that the Unicorn had become a symbol of Brexit opponents. The street is really surprising.

For experts, I particularly love our lovely Sailor Moon who is very kawaii with hair on her legs!

All photos were taken with the Ricoh GR in Bristol (UK)

Cet article Behind this shot : The Brexit Unicorn ! est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

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Bonjour, je m’appelle Jeff et je ne suis pas allé sur les réseaux sociaux depuis 4 semaines déjà … Ne vous méprenez pas, c’est une boutade et j’ai beaucoup d’empathie pour toutes ces personnes qui souffrent d’addictions et qui essayent de s’en sortir dans des thérapies de groupe. Que ce soit à cause de l’alcool ou de drogues, je reste persuadé que parler permet de mettre des mots sur des maux et donc est un pas important vers la guérison. Il s’agit d’accepter qu’on a un problème et aussi accepter que les autres puissent vous aider.

Ça fait un peu plus de 4 semaines que j’ai effacé mon dernier lien avec les réseaux sociaux. Honnêtement, je pensais que le manque allait être terrible et que ce réflexe d’aller checker son feed, de voir si des personnes avaient liké mes photos serait plus fort. Mais il n’en est rien. Rien de tout ça; la vie continue avec ou sans réseaux sociaux. il faut dire que j’ai été pas mal occupé ces dernières semaines entre les visites pour la vente de la maison, notre semaine passée en famille à Paris et maintenant à Bristol.

Je vais vous avouer que j’ai un problème avec le grignotage à la maison. Comme tous les parents qui ont des enfants en bas âge, j’ai tout plein de biscuits ou friandises qui traînent dans les placards. Et quand je m’ennuie à la maison ou si je ne suis pas en train de bricoler, j’ai tendance à grignoter. Ce n’est pas vraiment par faim (ok je suis un peu gourmand …) mais c’est essentiellement parce que je m’ennuie !  J’ai ce même sentiment en ce moment avec les réseaux sociaux. Ils ne me manquent pas car j’ai tout plein de choses qui m’occupent en ce moment.

J’espère juste me tromper car à un moment ma vie reprendra un fil plus monotone, plus routinier et ça veut dire que je recommencerais à être addictif aux réseaux sociaux ? Cette réflexion est assez intéressante car j’ai toujours dit que j’étais présent sur les réseaux sociaux pour montrer mon travail, avoir un retour sur ce que je faisais … Mais si au final j’étais sur ces réseaux pour tuer l’ennui ? C’est prétentieux de parler pour les autres. Je ne le ferais pas. C’est une réflexion qui ne concerne que moi. Je n’ai pas à juger les raisons de quiconque.

D’ailleurs on en a parlé un peu avec John Harper, cette semaine quand on s’est rencontré dans Bath. John me pointait l’absurdité et la futilité de ces plateformes mais même ça, il déclarait qu’il y était toujours. Il y a toujours certaines choses qui vous retiennent. Pour John, c’est la possibilité pour des membres de sa famille de voir les photos de ses enfants. Personnellement, j’étais arrivé à un point où plus rien de me retenait.

J’ai déjà évoqué comment ces plateformes sont très chronophages. J’en étais à près de 1h passée par jour sur Instagram. 5% de ma journée ! Vous vous rendez compte ??? Et je reste persuadé que des personnes passent encore plus de temps. Il serait beaucoup plus utile de passer cette heure à faire des photos dans la rue. Bien évidemment ce n’est pas possible car on ne fait que checker de temps en temps son feed, on ne passe pas une heure d’affilée dessus. D’ailleurs pour parler d’ennui, très souvent au travail, je checkai Instagram parce que je m’ennuyais … C’est pas si con finalement ce lien entre les réseaux sociaux et l’ennui …

Est ce que ça me manque de voir le travail des autres ? Honnêtement ? Pas vraiment. Il y a beaucoup de photos chiantes sur Instagram ou autres plateformes. Ce sont des photos sans âme qui se ressemblent toutes ou sinon des photos à l’esthétique léchée comme si la rue était un studio de shooting.  Alex Coghe a écrit un Blog il y a quelques jours qui résume tout ça. Sa conclusion était qu’il ne voulait plus être associé au terme Street Photography car la pratique était vidée de toute sa substance. Même si je suis à 200% d’accord avec Alex, je continue à penser que je fais de la Street Photography. Sûrement pas celle prônée par tous ces festivals ou soit disant collectifs influents. Je ne me laisserai pas dicter ma vision de la Street Photography qui est assez old-fashionned.

Le fait d’avoir complètement coupé les ponts avec toutes ces pollutions de l’esprit me permet d’être plus libre dans la rue. Pas de tentation de faire ce que les autres font. C’est moi avec mon Ricoh et c’est tout. Mais je continue de fréquenter les blogs de certaines personnes comme Alex Coghe, John Harper et Don Springer de manière régulière. Je suis abonné à leurs Blogs; donc je suis tenu au courant d’une nouvelle publication.

Je suis aussi réaliste. Je reviendrai tôt ou tard sur Instagram. Mais ce qui est sûr c’est que pour le moment je n’ai aucune envie de replonger dans le tumulte des réseaux sociaux. Ma passion pour la Street Photography est toujours là et je profite de chaque instant pour documenter les rues.

Toutes les photos ont été réalisées avec le Ricoh GR à Bristol et à Clevedon (UK)

~o~

Social Media Anonymous.

Hello, my name is Jeff and I have not been on social networks for 4 weeks now … Do not get me wrong, it’s a joke and I have a lot of empathy for all those people who suffer from addictions and who are trying to cope in group therapies. Whether because of alcohol or drugs, I remain convinced that talking can put words on problems and therefore is an important step towards healing. It’s about accepting that you have a problem and also accepting that others can help you.

It’s been a little over 4 weeks since I deleted my last link with social networks. Honestly, I thought the lack was going to be terrible and that reflex to go check his feed, to see if people had liked my pictures would be stronger. But it is not so. Nothing of that; life goes on with or without social networks. I must say that I have been pretty busy in recent weeks between visits for the sale of the house, our week spent with family in Paris and now in Bristol.

I’ll admit that I have a problem with snacking between meals at home. Like all parents with small children, I have plenty of cookies or sweeties hanging around the cupboards. And when I’m bored at home or if I’m not working in the garden, I tend to snack all kind of stuff… . It’s not because I’m hungry (ok I’m a bit gourmet …) but it’s mainly because I’m bored ! I have this same feeling right now with social networks. I do not miss them because I have so many things that occupy me right now.

I just hope I’m wrong because at some point my life will resume a more monotonous, more routine and that means that I would start to be addictive to social networks ? This reflection is quite interesting because I always said that I was present on social networks to show my work, to have a feedback on what I was doing … But if in the end I was on these networks to kill boredom ? It’s pretentious to speak for others. I will not do it. It is a reflection that concerns only me. I do not have to judge anyone’s reasons

Besides, we talked a little with John Harper this week when we met in Bath. John pointed to the absurdity and futility of these platforms but even that, he said he was still there. There are always things that hold you back. For John, this is the opportunity for family members to see the photos of his children. Personally, I had arrived at a point where nothing was holding me back.

I have already mentioned how these platforms are very time-consuming. I was almost 1 hour a day on Instagram. 5% of my day! You realize ??? And I remain convinced that people spend even more time. It would be much more useful to spend this time doing photos in the street. Of course it is not possible because we only check his feed from time to time, we do not spend an hour in a row on it. Moreover to talk about boredom, very often at work, I check Instagram because I was bored … It’s not so stupid finally this link between social networks and boredom …

Do I miss seeing the work of others ? Honestly ? Not really. There are a lot of lame photos on Instagram or other platforms. These are pictures without soul that are all alike or otherwise pictures with aesthetics licked as if the street was a shooting studio. Alex Coghe wrote a blog a few days ago that sums it all up. His conclusion was that he no longer wanted to be associated with the term Street Photography because the practice was drained of all its substance. Even though I’m 200% in agreement with Alex, I still think I’m doing Street Photography. Surely not the one advocated by all these festivals or so-called influential collectives. I will not let myself dictate my vision of Street Photography which is old-fashionned enough.

Having completely cut the bridges with all these pollutions of the spirit allows me to be freer on the street. No temptation to do what others do. It’s me with my Ricoh and that’s it. But I continue to frequent the blogs of people like Alex Coghe, John Harper and Don Springer on a regular basis. I subscribe to their Blogs; so I’m aware of a new publication.

I am also realistic. I’ll be back sooner or later on Instagram. But what is sure is that for the moment I have no desire to plunge into the tumult of social networks. My passion for Street Photography is always there and I take every moment to document the streets.

All photos were made with the Ricoh GR in Bristol and Clevedon (UK)

Cet article Social Media Anonymous. est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

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~o~

My boys love soccer and have asked me to bring them soccer shirts in memory of my Bristol English courses. Three years ago I brought them back shirts from Liverpool Football Club. This year it will be Bristol City Football Club. It’s less flashy than Liverpool because Bristol is not in the Premier League. Besides they have very little chance to play the play off because they lost their last home game … I think my children do not care about that. They are interested in having a nice Bristol shirt. After inquiring, there is no official shop in the city center. I have to go to the Ashton Gate Stadium and get all that from the shop. I know there are buses to go there. It is not very far and I prefer to walk for 40 mins instead of being lazy.

In fact there is also this desire to walk in this part of Bristol that I do not know. The sky is heavy and I even have a few drops. The rain threatens but I have my umbrella with me. As I approach a large building that looks like a shed, I saw written  NO LAUGHING in capital letters. I told myself that the English definitely have a lot of humor.

But it is by putting me right in front of the shed that I remain speechless in front of these letters that make no sense. NNOO LBAAURGKHIINNGG. It looks like a Scottish thing ! It does not take me long to understand that they used the fact that the metal curtain is in accordion to make this humor. By putting me on the left of the shed, one can read NO BARKING. I burst out laughing at this brilliant idea that sums up the English humor and also the creativity of the Bristolians. It is a city where art is everywhere and especially in places that you do not suspect !

I also had another thought after looking at these pictures. It’s like Street Photography ; the point of view is important. The same scene will not be read in the same way depending on the perspective. This triptych had a particular echo in me.

I did not expect anything special when I went to buy these soccer shirts. In the end I think I did well to walk there … All pictures were made with the Ricoh GR in Bristol (UK)

Cet article Behind this shot : It’s all about the perspective ! est apparu en premier sur Jeff CHANE-MOUYE PHOTOGRAPHY.

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