Tag Archives: Life Photography

Reunion Island : First contact

September 12, 2019 Jeff Chane-Mouye 6 Comments

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.

All the photographs were made with the Ricoh GR.

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EGO

August 11, 2019 Jeff Chane-Mouye 3 Comments

This photo was made along the cornice between the Vallon des Auffes and the beach of Catalans in Marseille. I have just returned from 3 days in the Phocean city. Friends lent me their apartment and I was able to walk during these few days the streets of Marseilles. When I started Street Photography and I was bored in Aix, I went to Marseille to satisfy my need for exoticism. Convinced that if my photos were not good it was because of Aix-en-Provence which was too small … For those who follow my work, you know that 99% of my work is now done in the streets Aix. For more than two years, I do not go to Marseille to take pictures. The grass is not greener elsewhere.

I started a project called EGO some time ago. You can have a look in the SERIES section. You’ll tell me it’s just a selfie project ! For me it’s more than that. I did not start this project because I had a massive ego and I wanted to shout aloud : me Me ME ! I have always had a problem with my image and I enjoy myself only rarely on a photo. Maybe that’s why I like being on the other side of the viewfinder. It’s also hard for me to feel comfortable when I’m in the center of attention. Just for the anecdote; at our farewell party, I had to give a speech in front of nearly 80 people. Even if they were friends, I was pretty uncomfortable. People told me that it did not show. It’s normal, I put up the front but deep in me I just wanted to go hide myself !

This EGO project is therefore a challenge for me. Succeed to accept myself in photo. I brought back two pictures of my recent stay in Marseille. The entrance to my friends’ apartment was right in front of the elevator. An elevator they do not use elsewhere because they stay on the ground floor. The light is always on in the cabin and a mirror is inside. I suppose we often put mirrors in the elevators so claustrophobic people do not feel oppressed by the cramped space. Anyway, this mirror allowed me to play with my reflection. It was the day of my departure that I had the idea to use masks hanging around my friend’s apartment. You can see on the photos below, the evolution of my work during these 3 days. The last picture is the one I selected. I tilted my head a little, which gives a little creepy side or toxic aspect to the photo.

The opening photo is a classic with a small difference. I had spotted this window with this huge impact. Many people would have tried to align the impact on a passer-by. Not me. From the beginning, I knew it was my head that had to be covered by the impact. No need to sit on a sofa to analyze this approach. I just thought it was very aesthetic and it worked well with my EGO project. I had on my back the blue sky which offered me a beautiful uniform reflection. The focus was made on the glass in macro mode. I waited for people to complete my composition to click. Even though there was no crowd passing on this sidewalk, I still could get what I wanted. Including two people including one of them who looks at me asking what I was doing.

It’s very egocentric as a procedure. So don’t we say that in street photography, even if we photograph others, in the end, it is ourselves that we reveal in our photos ? My photos tell a lot about who I am and how I feel when I take pictures.

All photos were made with the Ricoh GR and the Ricoh GRD 4.

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Time to relax …

June 12, 2019 Jeff Chane-Mouye 4 Comments

Since we returned from our vacation on Reunion Island last February, we are in an active phase for our move. Quasi military preparations to be ready in early July when all our stuff will leave in a container for the tropics. The house was on our minds and has generated a lot of stress. I had some work to finish for the sale of the house and the signing of the sales agreement was delayed because of a diagnosis that we lacked. It’s been a little over 10 days since we finally signed and we can finally focus on the cardboards …

We did not wait for the signature to start packing up eveything. It’s been a while since we sort our stuff to define what we’re going to keep and what we’re going to get rid of. And I can tell you that I have made trips back and forth to the dump … A lot of things have ended up in the dumpster and even more things have been recovered by an association that will surely recycle and sell what we do not need anymore. It feels good to empty. We tend to accumulate things, especially when we have a big house and room to store. We had already done a garage sale 3 years ago, but there was still a lot of useless things in the drawers and cupboards.

We have finally finished the sorting and it remains only to finish the boxes. We have the impression that there are still many things, but we still have 4 weeks to spend in the house. There is no point packing everything now. Especially children’s toys. The last weekends have been spent sorting in our business. Children do not really understand why we are so busy. We do not go out anymore because we have a lot to do. This weekend lasted 3 days with the Monday off. After working Saturday and Sunday on the move, we decided to take a break on Monday and take the kids out.

Direction Corbi Park which is 30 mins from us. This is not the first time we go there. There are some pens with birds (chickens, ducks, geese, peacocks …) but also rabbits, donkeys, goats. But what really interests children is the inflatable structures. and as the beautiful days are back, there are the water games. Unfortunately we had forgotten to take bathing suits. No worries, we sent them to have fun with their shorts while preserving their underpants and t-shirts for the return by car. They spent 4 hours having fun like crazy in the structures.

They spent most of their time in the structures ! It’s quite impressive thinking back because at no time there was weariness. It was non-stop slips for 3 hours. A good moment of release for them. We were happy to see them having fun. A little respite also for us because we had the head in the boxes for a while.

This Blog has a direct link with the previous one where I spoke to you about photographing children in the street. This is still the case here because I made many pictures of my children having fun, but also other children. Here, it was even more delicate than in the street because the little ones were in swimsuits, as at the beach. Some will say that I have no limit. I think it must be done respectfully. The thing is, it’s stronger than me. These are the situations that dictate my shot, not the fact that they are children or adults. There was action, laughter, color and tgehre were people ! When you do Street Photography, you do not wait to go out into town to do Street Photography. You do it anywhere ! This is the case for me. It’s a state of mind.

This photo above is my favorite of this day. Would you like to know if I was splashed ? Well, a little … As usual, I like to be very close to my subjects especially when there is water (I refer you to a previous blog about a Ricoh GRD 4 that would have taken a little the water …). I love this picture because there is energy and action. This photo sums up pretty well the atmosphere present around the structures during this day. My Ricoh GR works normally, finally for now …

All the photographs were made with the Ricoh GR.

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Documenting Memories.

March 6, 2019 Jeff Chane-Mouye 4 Comments

(English version at the bottom of the page)

J’avais déjà écrit il y a longtemps un Blog sur ma façon de documenter la vie de ceux qui me sont chers. Depuis que j’ai commencé la Street Photography, j’ai une approche totalement différente quand je prends des photos de mes enfants, de ma femme ou encore de mes amis. Je ne les fais plus poser. Enfin la plupart du temps. Ça m’arrive encore de leur demander de prendre la pose, mais de moins en moins. D’ailleurs la dernière fois que j’ai demandé à Joachim mon grand de poser pour moi, il a fini par râler … Continue reading Documenting Memories. →