I told you that I had started working on a book that would bring together photos of my 3 years spent in the streets of Aix-en-Provence. I have already made a selection of about 130 photos. I had paused this project because I was not satisfied with the processing of some old photos. The problem is that I no longer had control over these photos because I had lost the RAW files during a hard drive crash. Finally, I accidentally dropped the HDD on the ground and since then it no longer worked. I still waited 4 years before looking into the issue. So I sent the faulty HDD for a clean room data recovery. It cost me the tidy sum of € 800 … Continue reading 2016 re-processing→
During my first years of blogging, I wrote a lot about the Ricoh GRD4. A little normal, I used this camera for almost three years continuously. Since then I switched to the Ricoh GR which is the camera that I now use on the street. But I have the impression that my blog is still associated with the Ricoh GRD4. Many people end up on my site after having researched on google for infos concerning Ricoh GRD4. These are 2 or 3 year old blogposts. Recently a person called me on YouTube asking me if it was relevant to buy a Ricoh GRD4 today and what about color photography with this camera? Continue reading Ricoh GRD4 and color→
We have been confined for more than 45 days. When this period started, the children were on holidays. Nothing has changed … Today the children are officially on vacation. In the meantime, my wife and I have spent all of our time teaching them school at home. One thing is certain, I am not made for that. Not enough patience and surely a lack of education too. But I don’t think we were too bad during this confinement. We hope that the deconfinement planned for May 11st in France will go well. Children should start school on May 18th. It is still conditional. In principle, we would like them to resume school, but we are awaiting more details on how to resume classes. The virus appears to be under control in Reunion Island. In the past two weeks, we have counted fewer than 20 cases. Continue reading What’s next ?→
That’s it, it’s been more than 15 days that we are confined to our home. Not being essential to work (I am still in training), I was asked to stay at home until further notice. The children do not have school either and we are supposed to teach them every day. After just 1 week, I came to the conclusion that this virus was not very bad and that the children should go back to school … More seriously, I find that the children live confinement rather well. My parents’ house is very large and they also have at their disposal the garden with a concrete section which allows them to ride a scooter. We make them work in the morning and part of the afternoon, but it has a little holiday taste for them. Not really for us … Continue reading Revisiting 2016 & 2017→
Most of the time when I’m on the street, I’m on the move. I even photograph while walking without pausing. There is a lot of instinct in the way I operate on the street. I photograph what catches my attention. But sometimes, I happen to ask myself and take more time on a stage. Very often these are scenes with static characters. It’s like in landscape photography. The mountains or the trees in front of us will not move. We can take the time to compose better, to better orient ourselves in relation to the sun … It’s the same thing in certain circumstances with Street Photography. Continue reading Street Photography Tips : work the scene→
December 2018 marked a radical change in the life of my family and mine. Two months earlier I had applied for a return to Reunion Island. After more than 25 years spent in Provence between Aix-en-Provence and Jouques, why want to change ? While it may seem like diving into the unknown, it really wasn’t. Finally more of a little splash. My parents and my sister being over there, our installation would be done without problems. Nevertheless we were aware that we were going to leave life as we had built it in Jouques. Lots of changes in the end for everyone. We had to sell the house we had built, to leave very close friends. Never underestimate a move, especially when it is done with children. They left friends behind. They grew up together and the separation was difficult for them. But as you well know, children are resourceful and have this ability to move forward without looking behind them. Continue reading Looking back to the year 2019→
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.
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.
EGO Series
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.
EGO Series
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.
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 !
