I had finished 2020 exhausted. A certain weariness had set in and I had all the trouble in the world making photos in the streets of Saint-Denis. I know that the right attitude to have in this case is not to force things and not to force yourself to take pictures in order to take pictures. As I said in my previous blog. I don’t think there are quick fixes to find the urge.
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That’s it, it’s the 37th and last Blog of the year! I didn’t think I wrote so much this year. I even felt like I lacked imagination to find interesting topics to discuss in 2020. Note some will say that there was nothing interesting in what I wrote in 2020 .. For many years, I drew a lot of inspiration from social media. I had become this crazy guy. I can’t do this anymore because I left Facebook and Instagram a long time ago. (more…)
I have the impression of reliving what I have already experienced in Aix-en-Provence. Something like déja vu … I started to see boredom coming last month. When you find it hard to motivate yourself to go out and take pictures because your eyes can’t see anything anymore and you feel that the streets are boring to death and you only have one desire, to escape, to go elsewhere because that it is well known: the grass is greener elsewhere. I had already experienced this in Aix-en-Provence when I started Street Photography. I went regularly to Marseille, the big city next door, for a little exoticism and rediscover the pleasure of taking photos.
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When I first started this Blog in March 2016, I wanted to interview some photographers I really like. I wanted to know more about them, may be just to see that besides the fact that I loved their work, they were just ordinary people like me. I interviewed very interesting people and I kind of gave up on this exercice because I felt like that I was asking everytime the same questions. Lately I wanted to do something different by turning it into some kind of conversation with a friend. I needed my guinea pig and unfornunately for John Harper, he would be the first one. I called this Blog “John Harper revisited” because he already participated to this Blog a few years ago. Like revisiting one’s work, I found it interesting to interview people again a few years after. (more…)
I have always criticized photo competitions because for me, photography is not a competition. I refer you to a blog written some time ago here. But besides that, I have already submitted my work for free contests where there was something to be rewarded. The bait of gain ! Of course without success. Good for me. When you do something, not for good reasons, there is no reason to be rewarded ! There are so many photos submitted in these contests that the chances of hitting the jackpot are almost nil.
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Over the past two months, I have been able to have a lot of success on the streets. I don’t know if that has something to do with the fact that since the beginning of August I have taken my Ricoh GRD4 back for my wanderings in the streets of Saint-Denis or elsewhere. As I’ve said many times, it’s not the most responsive camera on the street, but it’s the same for a lot of photographers, there’s an alchemy going on with this or that camera. For some it will be a Leica, for others a Fuji, a Sony or a Pentax … For me it is with the Ricoh GRD4 that I am in symbiosis. I also liked the Ricoh GR a lot, but I still have a preference for the GRD4. Make no mistake, I only see these cameras as tools for what I do and nothing else. I don’t give names to my cameras, I don’t make feelings. It’s just a tool for capturing moments in the street, but it’s a tool I chose and it’s the Ricoh GRD4 that suits me best.
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I have already told you about this state of mind that drives me when I photograph my own children. It’s stronger than me and I try to photograph them as I photograph people in the street. I have exactly the same approach, keeping the candid feel. I don’t like posed photos because I never get them. Some are good at it, not me … Last week, I went with a group of 22 young people for two days for a mini road trip in a minibus. The opportunity for me to take pictures, while I was weaned lately with Ronan’s injury (Moreover, he is much better!).
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The children return to school tomorrow morning after 2 weeks of holidays. As usual, these periods are quite slack at the Street Photography perspective for me because I try to spend more time with them and I have fewer opportunities to go roaming in the streets of Saint-Denis. No way to hang out in the streets after work. I go straight home to find them. We nevertheless decided to go and spend a few days on the west coast of the island to enjoy the beach. I had booked at the last minute, an apartment with sea view and a large swimming pool in the residence. Looks like Heaven will you tell me ?
The perfect combo for a successful vacation ! If you are a regular reader of this Blog, you know that I have killed a few Ricoh GRD4 by getting too close to the water … It must be said that I am irreparably drawn to water and my children always offer perfect photo opportunities. The holidays started on Friday evening and will last for 15 days. This vacation takes us back a few weeks. Very precisely on August 4th.
Lauren Welles : A “Metzkeresque” photo (look up Ray Metzker, if unfamiliar with his work). Perfect lines, shadows, light and triangles – Fundamental elements of good composition. While I often see work like this in Street Photography, I think that verticals are much harder to get right and this one does it perfectly, making use of evey inch of the frame. (more…)