It’s been almost 3 years since this blog exists. It has evolved a lot since my first article and the content too. I have tried to expand the topics with the progressively T.M.E (Through My Eyes) and for some time, I decided to share with you my photos in slideshows. I could have posted these photos in Blogsposts, but I did not want to drown the reading under dozens of photos. The other reason is that I shoot a lot and so far so many of these photos were dusting my hard drive. I had found a way to show them by occasionally making a slideshow called What You Have not Seen # xxx. I decided to change the frequency of publication of these slideshows by offering it every month.
This slideshow is the first in a long series that will be published every month and that will gather the photos that I will not have had the time to share with you. They will be more or less long according to what I will have to share. For this month of August, Aix-en-Provence is in the spotlight. I did not have time to share these photos because I essentially shared photos of my recent trips in Rome and Marseille.
This is the last summer I spent in Aix-en-Provence. It makes me a little heartache because I was at home in this city. Even though I spent quite a bit of time in the streets of Aix during this month, I had a lot of photos. The slideshow below is very long if you have enough courage to watch it through.
All the photographs were made during the month of August 2019 with the Ricoh GR and GRD 4.
That’s it, I’m with my family on the island of Reunion ! To tell the truth, it feels good to be with my wife and children after more than a month spent away from them after their departure in early August. We have already been separated but never so long. The longest duration should not exceed 1 week. I do not stay long nevertheless because I have to go back to the continent for 3 weeks of training … I was able to discover the new routine of my children. Wake up at 6:15 am, leaving for school at 07:15 am. FYI, at Jouques we used to leave home at 8:00 am … Which is still a big difference. Two reasons explain this earlier departure. The traffic is very dense (not to say infernal …) and also the school that starts half an hour earlier. It’s a new rhythm to take.
Since we are on a tropical island, the sun rises earlier and the city activates earlier too. I was able to visit their school and I am very happy to see that the school is very good and that my children have already adapted to their new environment. They really have a capacity of adaptation that we adults do not have ! I did a little Street Photography in the city with them after school as you can see in the photo above. They have a uniform like the little English. Last Tuesday, I was able to go explore my new playground with my Ricoh GR. I had to roam a little over an hour in the streets of Saint-Denis, where I will work and also live. I was there very early and the streets were pretty deserted. We have to wait until 9:30 am to see the streets come to life.
Since I arrived, the weather is pretty capricious. To be honest, it was often cloudy and we even had some showers. But nothing really bad. We are on a tropical island and the sun reappears often after the showers ! This Tuesday morning, I had a lot of luck because the sun made meager appearances allowing me to play with the light. As in Aix-en-Provence, I am more comfortable now when the light is flat. Why ? Because I do not have to worry about where the sun comes from to take pictures. I just have to focus on the scenes to capture.
When I was in Aix-en-Provence, I knew my environment and it was quite simple to do Street Photography there. Here it is not yet the case. I do not know the city well yet or how people will react to my rather intrusive style. They will not react in the same way to my presence. Aix is a very touristy city and the presence of people with a camera passes almost unnoticed. Although there are also a lot of tourists in Reunion, they are not necessarily in the city of Saint-Denis which is not of great interest to people passing through the Island. My approach may be different at first to domesticate this city. It’s quite exciting but also intimidating. I might have run into another street photographer during my hour spent in the streets. There is no mistaking the signs. A shoulder bag and an analog DSLR screwed to the wrist. I did not dare to call him but I think I will run into him again in the streets of Saint-Denis …
The picture above is a failed one. You guess why, it was just a question of a few milliseconds when pressing the shutter. To be too close to people, that’s what happens … This woman is from the Comoros Islands, which are located in the north-west of Madagascar not far from Mayotte which is a French island. As you can guess, many Comorians fleeing the poverty of their islands try to pass on Mayotte to obtain the French nationality. For several years, there has been an increased presence of people of Comorian origin on the Island. This is not without generating quite a lot of tension with this community on the Island. I will not dwell on this delicate subject because it is not the object of this Blog. So we often meet women with these paintings on their faces. Reunion is a multi-cultural island. Several different ethnic groups live side by side without much problem. I still have to find the limits not to exceed so as not to offend these people. I keep a certain distance for the moment to evaluate their reactions to my presence.
Change is good. In Aix-en-Provence, I was at home. This change will force me to evolve, to do things differently to confront new type of people. Will it be harder to do Street Photography on Reunion Island ? It is difficult to answer this question because I spent just a little time in the streets of Saint-Denis. What is certain is that it will be different. What I did in Aix will serve me but I have to reinvent myself in relation to the context.
This photo could be my last photo made in the streets of Aix-en-Provence. At the time I write this very short blog, a page turns. I am finishing today my last day of work in Aix. I go directly find for a few days my beloved family on the island of Reunion. Yesterday, going to work and heading to a restaurant where I had to find some friends, I continued to do what I did for the last 3 years. I had my Ricoh on my wrist as usual and I captured here and there some scenes in the streets of my city. What’s funny is that all the pictures I made yesterday, I post-processed them in B&W.
I did most of the photos between 7pm and 8pm and it was sorely lacking light and the B&W was needed because in color, the photos would have been awful … Everything had started in monochrome for me and it had to be so for finish. I study the possibility of switching to the Ricoh GR 3 for better performance in low light. Case to follow …
I will try to make a blog more consistent to summarize these almost 4 years roaming the streets of Aix-en-Provence. I’m always looking to the future and I’m pretty excited to see what I can do in Reunion Island. It’s also a big leap into the unknown because there was some comforting routine in Aix. Before that, I would have the opportunity to spend 3 weeks in Toulouse before focusing on my island.
All photos were taken yesterday with the Ricoh GR.
This year 2019 is a key year with many things that have happened in recent months. A year of change symbolized by our move to Reunion Island. My children and my wife have taken a little advance on me because they have been there already for 1 month. Besides I will join them a few days because we had a little underestimated this separation of 2 months and a half. I will go see them 15 days before returning to the city of Toulouse to finish my training. Since this beginning of the year so, despite the time spent taking care of the move and the sale of the house, I was able to go on the side of Paris, Bristol and last week, I went for a small 3 days trip to Rome.
As for all my previous destinations, this little trip to Rome was done solo. You might find it surprising, but I like to go alone on a trip. It’s selfish enough as a choice, but I like having no constraints and doing what I want. Do not believe that I am someone asocial (may be …). It’s just that I like these moments spent with myself. Do not be fooled, I also love traveling with my wife and children ! You can imagine that behind all that, there was also the possibility of doing street photography freely. This was the case for Rome last week. The idea was to find a destination not far in Europe to spend a few days. I hesitated between Istanbul, London, Madrid and Rome. My choice as you can see it focused on the Italian capital. it was much later that I realized that my English friend John Harper was also in Rome two weeks before me (I invite you to read his Blog here). Holy coincidence ! After Bristol and Bath, it would have been fun to meet in the streets of the Roman city !
So here I am for a few days in Rome. Usually, I learn a little about the city that I will visit before going there. I read a few guides, I look at some pictures, I study the neighborhoods … But here I did nothing of all that. I went there without knowing anything about Rome. I had just booked on the advice of some friends, my visits to the Coliseum and also to the Vatican. I was also vaguely briefed on interesting places in Rome. I did not know much because my idea was to roam the streets without taking care of anything else. I went there for the purpose of doing street photography. So the place did not matter to me. By the way I did not use any public transport, preferring to walk.
The end of the day was a relief because I had to walk more than 10 kms per day ! I do not regret this choice because it allowed me to better visit the city. Nevertheless, I struggled a lot the first morning because I had a hard time finding my way around the city. I did not know it and I did not know where to go. I lost a lot of time trying to locate myself on my smartphone. I had also left the hotel very early and found myself in almost deserted streets at 9am. It was Saturday morning and the streets began to fill up much later. I then understood better how the different neighborhoods of the city were articulated and I was much more comfortable on the streets.
This element is crucial to allow me to focus on photography. I already explained it in several Blogs. I need to understand the city to do street photography. Understand where the flows of people are. Understand where the interests are. It will have taken me almost a day for that. When you spend only 3 days there, you do not have much time to make photos … But 3 days is not bad. The ideal would be to spend 4 to 5 days in Rome. In three days, you do not have time to capture the soul of the city. Moreover you can see in the photos that I share in this Blog, that I mainly photographed in touristic places : in the vicinity of the Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Piazza di Spagna … It would be necessary to spend more time to succeed in making Street Photography out of these places. Clearly there I did not have time and I had to take shortcuts and do Street Photography in touristic places.
Anyway, it does not change me much of Aix-en-Provence which shares many similarities with Rome. I’m not talking about the size of the city, but the architecture and the fact that they are highly tourist destinations. The challenge was not to fall into the ease by photographing tourists who take themselves in pictures. I will admit that it is quite difficult and that it is necessary to focus not to reproduce these tasteless shots. For the record, I photographed interesting situations in the streets of Rome and I realized later that I had photographed French people ! Hey, I will not tell you which photos it is !
It’s quite simple to do Street Photography in Rome. Almost everyone has a camera in their hands. The areas are very dense and you go unnoticed when making your photos. I stayed in relatively touristic places, but I think in less crowded places, the presence of the camera draws more attention. This is particularly the case of the district of Termini (railway station) where I lodged. Tourists here are in transit and you will see very few people taking photos. It will require a little more discretion.
I would have liked to spend more time in the Roman city, but I already feel lucky to have spent 3 days walking the streets of Rome with my Ricoh GR. I tried to capture at best a glimpse of what is happening on Roman streets. You must tell me that in view of the photos that I put forward in this Blog that I did only color in Rome ! That’s not the case. I shot a lot more in B&W. I made a selection of about fifty photos that I grouped in a slideshow that is quite long if you have 6 minutes to lose. The photos are presented in their order of shooting. No desire to order or reorganize all that … You can see through this slideshow my wanderings during these 3 days spent in Rome.
I remind you that all these slideshows are present on my YouTube channel and you can subscribe to be informed as soon as a new video or slideshow is put online. All photos were made with the Ricoh GR.
I have not told you about skateboarding on this blog. I reassure you right now, I do not skate. I already have trouble standing on a scooter I’m not ready to venture on a skateboard. I always admired the skaters and how cool they are on these little boards. I think that after the heroes of Marvel, the skaters are the coolest on earth ! In 2017, my children became passionate about skateboarding and started having fun on the terrace of the house. I quickly decided to bring them to dedicated areas for this sport to prevent them from dmaging the house by trying their tricks ! We have spent a lot of time on different skate parks in the area. You will find below photos collected during my Skate trips with the kids.
There are rarely a lot of people on the skate park. What is nice is that all levels coexist in the same place. Advanced skaters are very tolerant towards beginners and make room for them to have fun too. I have never seen a skater kick out a beginner. He is wisely waiting for his turn to ride. As for the photos, it’s quite simple to do because the photographers are well accepted. It is a discipline where style is important and I think it must flatter the ego to know that we are being watched. The best sesame anyway was the presence of my kids having fun on their skates.
What I like most of all is the atmosphere that prevails near the skate park. We have the impression that the adults who frequent them have not grown up and have remained great children. And that’s to say, but I find skaters very cool ! They have this idleness that only surfers have. After all it is also a sliding sport and to look more closely, they are quite similar. I had already spotted this skate competition last year, but I could not get there. This year, it’s not much better because I work the whole weekend and in the end I can just attend the session of Friday which sees the amateurs compete for 2 qualifying places to compete with the professionals.
So I’m back to Marseille for the Red Bull Bowl Rippers Skate 2019 ! The bowl of Prado is located by the sea. At the end of the afternoon at the Prado, there is a lot of people. Many people enjoy summer and holidays. For those who work, it’s the end of the week and it’s a break for the whole weekend. Quite quickly I meet young people who seem to all converge on the place of the demonstration.
You will find very few photos of the competition on this Blog. There was a security perimeter around the Bowl that kept me from being closer. Difficult to have something interesting with a 28 mm! But I did not care. The show was elsewhere on the rostrum with a very colorful population. It’s a very special atmosphere that reigns at the Bowl du Prado. The presence of the beach a few meters away is for something.
I regret not being able to attend professional sessions that were held on Saturday and Sunday because these guys are real virtuosos on their skates defying the laws of gravity. I put you in touch the video relating to the 2019 edition. It is very long but by zapping a little, you can see what I want to talk about.
All the photos were made with the Ricoh GR and the GRD 4.
I recently shared a slideshow about my 3 days in Marseille on my YouTube channel. I had not yet had the time to write a Blog on it to share it with you. You will find the link just below. One of my followers wanted to know a little more about the composition. I work a lot on instinct. Which does not mean that it’s guess work and that with a little luck I have something suitable. It does not work that way … In most cases, there is thinking before pressing the shutter button. It happens very quickly. These are composition schemes that I have in mind. Nothing is fixed. I do not apply ready-made recipes, but with all these different schemes in mind, my brain knows how to recognize interesting situations and compositions.
I will try to detail in this Blog, which led me to take a picture. What are the important elements that I wanted to integrate into my composition and especially when I decided to press the trigger. This Blog will not be exhaustive. I just take the opportunity to explain some photos taken recently in Marseille. I do not pretend to give composition classes. These are just tips. I started the T.M.E (Through My Eyes) project to show you what my eyes were seeing in the street. Here, it will be more a question of explaining to you what led me to press the trigger.
Exemple 1.
You can see that this picture is composed of three elements. I locked from the beginning the exposure on the highlights (on the sky here). I had to spend in all and for less than a minute to get to this picture. I spotted two people waiting for the bus and of course the gentleman with the hat caught my attention. A silhouette of a guy with a hat always works. I also had this billboard bathed in light. The interest was to now complicate this too simple composition by integrating another element. The bus arrived rather quickly counteracting my plans. I managed to have a picture with a cyclist. Then people started to get on the bus, that’s when a lady came with her stroller. I had to take a small step on the left so that her silhouette stands out against the sky. I had my three elements. That’s when I decided to start. You can see the other photos below.
Exemple 2.
I already knew that this photo would be in B&W. FYI, I shoot in RAW only and I do not use a filter on my Ricoh GR to have a preview in monochrome. But I know right now for some photos if I will work in color or monochrome. Here clearly for me it was B&W. Why ? The horizontal stripes of the gentleman’s shirt and the vertical bars. The gentleman’s attitude in the foreground had caught my attention, as well as the silhouette of the man leaning against the fence in the background. The road and the barrier allowed me to play with the leading lines that led me to the bus stop which gives me a little context in reading this image. We are near the Catalan Beach in Marseille. It certainly does not speak to you, but all the Marseillais know this beach. The girl on the billboard, it’s just a bonus. I did not pay attention, but it complements the overall composition. Note that I stalled the hand of the guy in the foreground at the bottom right of my image for more dynamism. This photo was made while walking. When I saw the scene, I paused to integrate all the elements I told you about, and then I just kept walking until I was able to trigger at the right moment. I do this to keep the candid moment of the scene. If I stopped to compose, the gentleman would surely have looked at me. Sometimes that’s what I’m looking for, but very often I do not prefer it.
Exemple 3.
I love this picture because there is movement and it represents the tumult of Marseille. This photo was made in the district of Chartreux close to the apartment where I lodged. My attention was of course drawn to this group of young people who were coming back from the gym presumably. The idea was to organize the chaos that reigned in this place to get something readable out of it. Again this photo was made while walking and waiting for the right moment to trigger. What is the right moment will you tell me ? I took into account several elements. Be careful that there are no overlapping characters (there is the little boy with the striped t-shirt, but I do not find it embarrassing). Have characters coming in and out of the frame. And to finish points of support in the background (the man with the helmet). All this thinking is taking place quickly in my mind. The small bonus of this photo is the small group of young people coming down the sidewalk. Why is this so important ? It gives life to the photo ! It’s like people coming in and out of the box. This photo is not static. There is movement, life and tension. You can see below, another exemple of this kind of picture.
Exemple 4.
Obviously this picture I only conceived in color ! I stayed close to this gentleman for 5 minutes with his yellow swim shorts. This is the kind of character that catches your eyes when you’re on the street. A few years ago I would have put myself in front of him shamelessly and I would have taken a photo with a low pov. Not anymore. It’s like when I was younger, I was doing daredevil stuff that I will not do it again now. It’s stupid to get old … Instead, I tried to compose differently by integrating another bather who was tanning with also a yellow swimsuit. I only had to wait for other people to finish my composition. These two ladies will do the trick. We have yellow on the outside and blue on the inside. This photo would have no meaning in monochrome. you can see that there is an eye contact. It was inevitable by staying so long on the spot, I am necessarily spotted.
Exemple 5.
This photo was made on the boat that took me to the island of Frioul which is off the coast of Marseille. I spotted these two Japanese who were dressed identically. These colorful shirts were a feast for the eyes and made the use of color mandatory. I made something like 10 photos to get to that one. As usual, I try to complicate the composition by adding elements. Here it was trying to integrate the lady with the hat in the frame. I think I kind od succeeded here and I even had bonus gestures. My only regret about this picture is to have been too close to them because I would have liked to see a little more their shirt. The reason I was so close was to eliminate other clutter elements from the composition. Half succeeded because we still distinguish the face of the guy with the FC Barcelona t-shirt left.
Exemple 6.
Photo taken on arrival on the island of Frioul. I was immediately attracted by these supermarket shopping carts lying there on the platform. Surely to help vacationers carry their luggage. I put myself on the other side to take a picture and I noticed at that moment, the colors that match well. This photo was motivated by the oddness of the scene.
Exemple 7.
This photo above was made on the esplanade at the top of MuCEM. It is a very photogenic place. This photo is a failed one. I really like the shadows of people who come into the picture. They do not overlap and we clearly see 3 people walking. This photo was taken late afternoon with a sun that stretches the shadows. It’s not good because nothing is happening ! I highlighted in red the missing elements. Finally that’s what I had in mind when I imagined this picture in my head. Shadows that enter the frame, a character on the right side of the picture, another in the middle and finally characters in the upper right, a bit of gestures ans that’s all ! Just to have a balanced composition. All that would have happened if I was more patient, but it was a late afternoon and I had already tired … In the end I managed to have all these elements separated but not all together !
I still managed to have something interesting when I did not expect it. The low sun often offered me gestures where people protected themselves from the sun. It was the case on this last photo. I was also lucky to have a gesture from a character who was on different layer. This last picture was taken as I was heading for the exit. I did not expect it. I had not managed to get what I had imagined in my head, but another scene came to me. It’s the street. Very often, nothing happens as expected. You have to be responsive and always be ready to press the shutter button.
Exemple 8.
I introduce you Mario, the plunger of le Vieux Port ! If I only had to show this picture, you’d say, “Thumbs up Jeff, you have an eye and caught a great moment! “. In fact the reality is quite different. I had to take about twenty photos of Mario before I managed to get what I wanted. I went down to the Vieux Port to take pictures of the fish stalls with everyone who is pressing on this place in the morning. I heard a huge splash on my back. That’s when I realized that someone had just plunged into the harbor ! I saw him reappear and climb on the platform. I knew well that he was going to start again. So I stayed there at the edge waiting for him to jump again to try to capture this time his jump. I did not know how to compose. Like an idiot, I tried to take a low pov to have him detached on the blue sky. Missed test. It was later that I realized that I had my background so that he stands out in the composition. It was the sea ! I like this picture because the attitude is perfect with the palms of the hand turned towards me and his pink swim suit that contrasts well with the blue of the sea. Of course this picture works better in color. I worked the other photos in B&W, but clearly the photo is better in color.
Exemple 9.
Photo still taken at MuCEM. I was going out when I saw this place that was just beautiful with the shadows on the ground. Little detail, there was no one in front of me … I peeked behind me and saw 3 people arriving including a woman wearing a long dress. So I waited for them to go past me to make this picture. The image can be divided into 3 parts. I stalled the woman’s head against the back wall that was clear for the photo to be successful. There the monochrome or the color did not matter much. I retouched it in B&W because I like the B&W …
Exemple 10.
I was on the Esplanade de la Major (famous cathedral in Marseille), when I saw a crowd of people with blue helmets screwed on their heads. The street often rhymes for me with routine but it is also know how to spot the unusual. And there clearly, there were pictures to do. It was a group of tourists who were preparing to go and visit the city on these species of all-terrain gyropods. They had just finished taking the instructions and were on the way out. I immortalized their departure. It was like a small army going into battle. The most complicated thing was to trigger at the right moment to prevent the photo from being unreadable with overlapping gyropods. I still succeeded there even if a person is overlapping behind my foreground silhouette.
Here I am done with these few dissected photos. These explanations are to be taken for what they are. In no case a lecture on composition. I’ve just unraveled some of the photos in this slideshow to explain what happened in my head when I pressed the shutter button. I can do the same for each photo of the slideshow but it’s quite long …
All photos in these examples were made with the Ricoh GR.
When I knew that I had my transfer to Reunion Island, I told myself that I would have another year to document the streets of Aix-en-Provence. But in the end I am less than 3 months from my final departure for the tropics and I have the impression not to have spent much time in the streets of Aix … I must say that since early 2019, I travelled a lot. We went for 3 weeks to Reunion island, I went 1 week in Bristol and spent a few days in Paris (family and solo). And next to that, we had the sale of our house and also the move to manage. So many things that occupied my mind.
I wrote a lot of Blogs about Reunion, Bristol and Paris. In the end, I shared many photos of these trips and very few photos of Aix-en-Provence. This is quite normal, since almost all my spare time in Aix-en-Provence has been used for the sale of the house and also the move. But I also know that I was very lucky to have been able to go to Bristol and Paris alone to do Street Photography. Me who always said that the grass was not greener elsewhere, I must say that it feels good to go elsewhere because we leave our comfort zone and it’s refreshing !
For several months, I had neglected my playground Aix-en-Provence. I, who love so much roaming in the crowded streets of Aix during summer, put all that aside to enjoy my children and my wife before they leave early August. We will be separated for 2 months and a half because I have to finish some training here before leaving for Reunion. As the school year starts in mid-August, my wife and children have to leave earlier. My wife tells me that I will have time only for myself ! Shes’ right. Although I will miss them, I see the good side of things. I will be able to make photo without constraints (week-end with the children, to pick them up at the school …).
I intend to take advantage of these moments by continuing to document the streets of Aix-en-Provence, but not only ! I will also spend a few days in Marseille, Roma, Corsica and also in Toulouse where I will spend 3 weeks of training. Beautiful holidays in perspective ! Since last May, I have not had the opportunity to share many photos of Aix-En-Provence. Even if my outings in the city were scarce, I took advantage of every moment available to use my Ricoh GR.
I compiled in a slideshow about fifty unshared photos. All these photos were made in Aix-en-Provence except for some that were taken in La Ciotat by the sea. I realize that I shared many photos of my recent stays and very few photos of Aix. Most of the photos are in B&W while I basically brought back color photos of my recent trips. As if Aix-en-Provence rhymed with the B&W for me. For more than 2 years, I only documented the streets of Aix in B&W. I have trouble seeing this city with colors while it is a place bathed in light. I’m happy to put Aix in the spotlight with this slideshow.
It’s been three months since these videos were made in Bristol and I finally edited them! Yes, if you have not realized it yet, I procrastinate a lot … I took advantage of this week to do a lot of Street Photography and I also met John Harper who made him on his side a lot of pictures in the city of Bath. I invite you to reread my previous Blogs relating to Bristol and Bath.
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 !
It’s been a while since I wrote anything. I did not have much to say and I am in a state of transition right now. Significant changes are happening right now in my life and I have very little time to devote to my blog. Photo is also a little complicated because I had a lot to manage and I had no time to spend on the street. But you know what ? We touch the goal ! This month of June was very busy. We had to deal with the preparations for the move, the children’s farewell parties, our farewell party and of course the move itself. We are happy to have this behind us … We had to clean the house for future owners. We cleaned it from floor to ceiling. It was our way of saying goodbye to this house where our children were born and where we spent 10 wonderful years. Besides Ronan, our youngest son was very moved when leaving his house.
As I told you, I did not have much time to hang out in the streets of Aix-en-Provence. There is a time for everything … I tried to enjoy all the tiny moments that were within my reach to keep clicking. I even made some T.M.E videos again that I did not have time to edit yet. A series of 3 videos of the same street at 3 times of the day (9am, noon and 5pm). Just to see how the city changed according to the time. This series was made during a single day where I took advantage of my breaks to quickly make some photos (and videos!) In Aix. I had less than 30 mins for each session and I had to work in a hurry, but as often for these videos, the result does not matter. The interest is simply to show you the street through my eyes.
Recently, a friend asked me how many photos I had of the streets of Aix-en-Provence. I did not know what to answer … I told myself that if I had answered “thousands”, I would go for a freak and yet I think we are more in “tens of thousands” … I just evaded saying that I had “a lot”. I preferred to engage in saying that I had quite a few photos of which I was particularly proud. I leaned a few months ago on my work by doing a sort of introspection. Since then, the photos are piling up on my computer and I do not have the time but also the strength to sort all these photos. Moreover, I should update my portfolio and also the slideshow on the front page of my site.
My friend asked me another interesting question: “What am I going to do with all these pictures? “. I found myself a little stupid, because this innocuous question sent me back a few months back where I tried to answer the question “Why Street Photography”. Almost all of my work is confidential. I spent some time on Facebook, Instagram or other sharing platforms, but for several months I’ve been away from social networks. So, why do all these photos if they will not be seen or shared ?
I deleted my Facebook account last November and it’s been 3 months since I did the same with Instagram. These few months away from social networks have appeased me. Just look at my Blogs. I found many topics in the practices that I saw through social networks. Since I am “disconnected”, I do not see these behaviors that bristled me so much the hair. More Blogs so I spent my time bitching to denounce certain practices. These few months away from Social Networks also confirmed that I was doing Street Photography for me and no one else. I do not do this to be known, for glory. The confidentiality in which I indulge is one of the proofs.
Another friend of mine told me that for him the goal was to show his pictures at exhibitions. It is true that it flatters the ego to see his pictures hung in a showroom, but precisely for what reason does one really exhibit ? Is there a message that we want to pass or is especially a question of vanity. Personally I do not really want for the moment and anyway no one offered me to expose. Well it is not quite true … I was offered to exhibit in the library of my village in Jouques, but I did not really want.
I never liked being in the light so much as to say that it is not today the day before that you will see me launching into an exhibition. I still do not feel like I haven’t gone back to the first base. There is a time for everything as I said and it is not the moment. There is something that tempts me nevertheless, it is the self-production of a book devoted to these almost four years spent walking the streets of Aix-en-Provence. This is a chapter that will end in a few months and it will be time to take stock of this period. It’s just an idea that has crossed my mind, but I do not know yet if I’ll finish this project.
For the rest, I almost want to say that it’s like the Blogs that I write. It is primarily for me that I do it. All these reflections I have in my articles are just a way to organize my thoughts about photography and about life in general. For photos, I find satisfaction in the process: walk around the streets. In an increasingly dehumanized and individualistic society, being attentive to what is happening around me, allows me to feel alive and to be part of this world. For a moment, I looked for the extraordinary on the street as if I needed that to prove to everyone that I was doing Street Photography. A little in search of a kind of legitimacy, I wanted to show that I knew how to observe the little details of the street that nobody pays attention to. Bullshit! Street Photography is mundane. Sometimes there is something unusual happening, but 95% of the time, I only photograph mundane things and that’s what I like. I do not photograph to please others, I don’t follow trendy things. It’s stupid to say but I only shoot for myself !
Some time ago, I decided to create my YouTube channel. A way to host my T.M.E videos but also my slideshows on the platform of Google. The main reason was to free up bandwidth on my hosting site, may also be able to post bigger videos because WordPress only allows videos up to 100 MB. Videos are also smoother because hosted by YouTube.
This channel is unpretentious and besides, as you can see, I only have 12 subscribers and most of them are friends ! At the moment I have very little time to write blogs with the move. Besides, I have almost no opportunity to go take pictures. There is a time for everything and at the moment, it is mainly the move that takes up all my time. I was planning to write more Blogs on my Parisian weekend which was very rich, but I do not have the time and make a slideshow to share the photos seems more appropriate.
I am aware that some photos deserve a little more attention than 3 seconds drowned in a slideshow, but I miss the time and at least I would have shared even if they are not highlighted. You can find the related slideshow from Paris below.
Some weeks ago, I also compiled a slideshow What you have not seen # 4 and I did not have time to share it. You’ll find it on my YouTube channel or else below. The photos are not immemorial, even rather forgettable, but as I have often said, these imperfect photos are useful to understand what has not worked and what remains to improve.
