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Toulouse 2019 : Part 2

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I’m in transit in Aix-en-Provence as I write this blog. I left the city of Toulouse yesterday and so I finished these 3 weeks there. In a few hours I will take the train that will take me to the airport of Charles de Gaulle to fly to join my family on the Island of Reunion. It’s been a while since I’m waiting for this moment. Besides, it’s funny, it’s a one-way ticket. The last time I took a ticket of this type, it was in 1990 when I left my parents’ home to settle in the city of Perpignan for my studies. It’s quite symbolic to take a one-way ticket. That means we do not come back … In fact I could have taken a round trip in 1990 and plan this return in 2019 !

 

 

My training in Toulouse ended yesterday and you will have no Toulouse Part 3. My last week there was very dense with a lot of work and very little time spent on photography. By selecting the photos I was going to share in the slideshows, I realized that I had spent a lot of time in the Rue de Metz. It’s a big street that took me downtown. 90% of my photos were taken in this street that I came to know and appreciate. I’m not sure it’s a very touristy street. For those who know a little Toulouse, outside the Rue de Metz, I also loved to take pictures at Place des Carmes and that is really alive as a place.

 

 

You will see in the slideshow that I also went to the Stadium to see the team of Toulouse Football Club (Téfécé for connoisseurs). I promised my boys to bring them football shirts. Ok it’s less glitzy than those of As Roma or Liverpool FC that I brought them from my trips in these cities, but my boys do not care. They love football ! The TFC has had better seasons, but this year is complicated and moreover, following the defeat against the Girondins de Bordeaux, the coach was sacked … The match was pleasant even if the team lost the game. 3-1. Finally it was not the opinion of the fans who were behind me.

 

 

During these 3 weeks, I could not walk all the streets of Toulouse to do Street Photography. I rarely had a lot of time except weekends. That’s why I often stayed on the Rue de Metz. It was not far from my hotel … I had a lot of fun taking pictures in Toulouse. I spotted I think some street photographers. They are easily recognizable, as I must be. From the beginner with his reflex and his telephoto lens that put himself in front of the pedestrian crossings, the most discreet with their Fuji X100 or equivalent who shot while walking. By cons no Ricoh GR …

 

 

I compiled in this second slideshow the photos of the rest of my stay in Toulouse. For those who wonder why I always use the same music on my slideshows, the reason is very simple. YouTube systematically blocks for copyright reasons videos using music submitted to copyright. It sounds different with some artists like Mutual Benefit or Bill Ryder Jones. These are artists I love and apparently their record companies are more tolerant. I always notify at the beginning of the slideshow the music I used and the artist as well. Here it will be my second and last slideshow on Toulouse.

 

 

All the photographs were made with the Ricoh GR in the streets of Toulouse. See you around ! I’m almost ready to embark in the plane that will take me back home !

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Toulouse 2019 : Part 1

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It’s almost two weeks since I was in the city of Toulouse to do a training that aims to prepare me for my next job in Reunion. In short, as I have never worked in a control tower, this internship is important to reactivate dormant knowledge for more than 20 years ! Do not worry, I will also be learning on Reunion Island. I’m not going to work immediately as I used to in Aix-en-Provence … It’s weird to come back to the campus of the school I attended in 1997. As John Harper would say, an impression of Deja vu.

 

 

New buildings have been renovated, new spaces created but for most of the campus, nothing has changed … It’s quite obvious inside. No, nothing has changed ! The population has changed it. In my old good days (yes it sounds old dumass …), we had very few foreigners on campus. Today, ENAC (National School of Civil Aviation) trains as many as more foreigners. Which is quite strange. We are underemployed globally throughout France, but it is more interesting to train foreign controllers because it brings in more money ! On top of that, the decisions come from above concerning the French recruitment, the ENAC does only form the quotas of pupils that one sends him. But what I find more revolting is that the instructors responsible for training foreigners are French air traffic controllers ! So basically, we are understaffed as I told you, but we further impoverish ATC structures (Towers and en Route Centers) to supply ENAC with instructors who will be in charge of training people who will not work in France ! But what are unions doing ??? It was my rant here. End of the parenthesis …

 

 

Let’s go back to the city of Toulouse that I had not seen for a long time. It too has not changed much. In talking to some people, I was told that it was mostly in the periphery that the changes took place. The historic center has not moved much. Oh yes, like all big cities, the traffic is just a hell … That’s what jumps out at me. Beyond the congested traffic, it is the large number of city dwellers who use other type of transports such as bicycles, scooters and also skates or longboard for the youngest. It’s a pretty impressive ballet in the streets with all these different users cohabiting in the streets. The roads are much wider than in Aix-en-Provence and there are almost everywhere bike paths which forces us pedestrians to be even more attentive because the danger can not only come from cars, but also from bicycles or scooters !

 

 

Toulouse is not famous for its sunny days. It’s not Marseille, but it’s not Brest too. It is relatively beautiful. I have been lucky since the beginning of my stay to have good weather. The temperatures are quite high and clearly the summer plays extra time. I decided to cut this blog related to Toulouse in 3 parts for my 3 weeks there. As you can imagine, it is in relation to slideshows that I will present on this city. John teased me about this training by asking me if it was relative to my work as air trafic controller or if it was just an excuse to hang out in the streets of Toulouse ? Well the answer is in the picture below. This is your writer in the new environment that will soon be his.

 

 

It’s just a simulator but as you can see, it’s quite impressive and most of all realistic. The immersion is real even if it is not perfect. For info, at home the sky will be blue and I will not have to control Airbus A380 (nor British Airways too …). So yes it’s a serious training, but fortunately I also have free time. I live close to the city center, which allows me to go whenever I want. Besides I do not hesitate and as soon as I returned to the hotel, I take the opportunity to go for a walk 1 hour or 2 in the streets of Toulouse. On weekdays I rarely have more time. By cons weekend, I have no constraint and I can go hang out as I want.

 

 

The photos gathered in this first slideshow were made during my first week in the city of Toulouse. There are many people on the streets during the week and even more on Saturdays. Sunday is quite calm. A bit like in Aix-en-Provence or any French city I guess. I found it simple enough to take pictures in Toulouse. The population is quite young and dynamic. As I know the city a little bit, it was a bit easier to find me in the city. Nevertheless, I practically did all my photos in the same street this first week. It is the Rue de Metz that brings me to one of the nerve centers of the city: Esquirol Square. It was not voluntary because it’s not the kind of place I usually enjoy. It’s a big and wide street. I prefer alleys where proximity allows me to make closeup. But it was interesting to work more airy compositions.

 

 

Here I am finished with this part 1 relating to the city of Toulouse. You can find below the slideshow for this first week.

 

 

All the photographs were made with the Ricoh GR.

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What you haven’t seen : September 2019

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A quick post to share with you the What you haven’t seen of September 2019. A slideshow with very few interesting photos. There are a lot of photos of Toulouse that I have not shared yet, but I keep them for a future blogpost about my stay in this city. All the photos in this slideshow were made in Aix-en-Provence and Reunion Island with of course the Ricoh GR.

 

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What you haven’t seen : August 2019

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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.

 

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Roman getaway

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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.

 

 

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What you haven’t seen #5.

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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.

 

 

All the photos were made with the Ricoh GR.

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YouTube Channel

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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.

 

 

You can subscribe to my YouTube Channel here.

 

 

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Ricoh GRD 4 : Grande Finale.

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Recently I had a comment on a YouTube video of someone telling me that my Blogs on the Ricoh GRD 4 made him want to buy one. It surprised me a bit because as I said before, I basically write for myself. This Blog is a personal diary of my photographic journey. I almost started it at the same time that I discovered Street Photography in 2016. I’m always amazed by the reach that some of my articles can have.

 

 

I spent 3 weeks on vacation in Reunion Island to shoot exclusively with the Ricoh GR. But as soon as we got back to Jouques, I had put the GR away and had pulled out my old GRD 4 for my work in the street. It took big problems with my GRD 4 for me to dust off my GR. Basically, the GR was a backup camera in case of glitch with my GRD 4. It must be said that the GRD 4 was my only camera for 2 years. I only bought a second hand GR just recently. While in Bristol, I had recovered a brand new GRD 4, but I still wanted to use the GR there. Why ? It was the opportunity for me to actually test this camera in the street. I had used  it 3 weeks in Reunion, but it was for the holidays. It was in Bristol that I began to realize the potential of the Ricoh GR.

 

 

Let’s talk about annoying things right away. Some will say that I drool, but the GR is really lame in low light. The auto focus is really bad when the light is lacking. It changes me from the GRD 4 which excels with its hybrid AF. Beyond ISO 6400, the files are really awfull in color but still remain exploitable in B&W. In general, the rise in ISO is not great on the Ricoh GR … Beside that, the GRD 4 is much better with its small sensor. In narrow streets with little light, keeping the same depth of field and the same speed, I am at ISO 400 max while the GR easily climbs to ISO 1600 or 3200. It is 2 to 3 Diaph difference.

 

 

Since my return from Bristol, my opinion on the GR has changed. I know his weaknesses, but I also know his strengths. Compared to GRD 4, the buffer is incredible. No need to wait 2 seconds between two shots. But what changes especially is the APS-C sensor. I’m losing depth of field, but I’m gaining dynamic ! Normal tell me, I go from a small sensor 1 /1.7 “to an APS-C sensor. Why does that change the game ? With the GRD 4, I have to pay close attention to light conditions because the dynamics of the camera is not great. It’s hard to recover things in the highlights and save information in the dark … The GR on its side has a better dynamic range and allows me to pay less attention to the light conditions in the street. I do not change my settings when I go from shadow to light. What I was doing constantly with my GRD 4. Casually, getting rid of it allows me to focus more on what is happening in the street.

 

 

It’s been over a month now that I only use the GR in the street. I learned to cope with its lower depth of field. When we get used to not worry about this element, it’s quite disturbing to see that some elements in the photo are not in focus. I have to be careful about the focus. Which I absolutely did not do with the GRD 4 which was for me a Point & Shoot ! The GR demands more discipline on that side. To get rid of it, I would have to shoot at f16, but in this case the ISO would go up inexorably … My settings on the GR are quite basic: f8 | 1/500s. If the ISOs rise too much, depending on the situation, I degrade the aperture, the speed or both !

 

 

The GR has become over the weeks my only one camera for my work in the street. I was scalded by my misadventures with my GRD 4. The pinnacle was reached when I had problems on my two GRD 4 in Paris. Like an idiot, I did not want to take my Fuji XE2 with me during this trip. The GRD 4 was released in 2011. Even though Pentax still provides the Ricoh GRD 4’s service, the parts are starting to run out and it’s not at Leica’s level. These cameras are not made to last. I’m at my 4th Ricoh GRD 4 in not even three years. I know that the GR is not free of defects too (dust on the sensor …). But the small difference is that there are plenty on the market opportunity in case of problems.

 

 

I know that my work is very much related to the Ricoh GRD 4. I think that many people have discovered my Blog through my articles on this device. Michael Ernest Sweet told me at the time that this Ricoh GRD 4 was a Street Legend. Just that. I totally agree with him. No other camera will allow me to photograph so close people in the street, no other camera will offer me this crazy depth of field … But there is also the rendering of photos with this CCD sensor ! It’s organic and really beautiful. Besides, the GR has a very digital renderfing. Even by working on the RAW files, I can not get the quality of Ricoh GRD 4.

 

 

By switching to the Ricoh GR, I know that some will not understand. I am one of the apostles of the Ricoh GRD 4 … I have always boasted the superiority of the GRD 4 ! So what, I return my jacket ? I’ll be honest on that. The GRD 4 is really good, but the GR allows me to worry less about my settings in the street. I also wanted to stop this Ricoh GRD 4 addiction. These cameras even if we continue to find them on eBay, are increasingly rare. And buying them secondhand carries risks. My last two GRD 4 had besides had problems shortly after their purchase … I know that the GR can also have problems, but by switching, I have the embarrassment of the choice with the GR, the GR 2 and even the brand new GR 3 (all APS-C Sensors) !

 

 

That’s why I stop using GRD 4 for my work on the street. Well not completely, but it’s not my main camera anymore. During the last two weeks, I still wanted to shoot with the GRD 4. After several weeks spent with the GR, I found myself clumsy in the street, spending a lot of time modifying my aperture or my ISO according to the available light. There are also situations where I regretted the GR. These outputs have confirmed my choice to move on the APS-C sensor. I have always considered the camera as a tool that serves my vision. The GR is the device I need on the street today.

I have grouped you in a slideshow, a collection of photos taken in the last two weeks with the Ricoh GRD 4. Kind of Tribute to this camera that had accompanied me this last two years in the streets of Aix-en-Provence. All photos were taken with the Ricoh GRD 4.

 

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Paris : Far away, so close …

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(English version at the bottom of the page)

Ça y est, je m’atèle enfin à la rédaction de mon Blog sur mon court séjour parisien. Les souvenirs sont encore là mais j’ai l’impression que ça fait une éternité ! Paris c’était il y a 1 mois, mais entre temps beaucoup de choses se sont passées. Bristol a beaucoup occupé mon esprit et j’ai d’ailleurs rédigé un bon paquet de Blogs sur mon séjour en UK. Il faut dire que j’avais passé une semaine à ne faire que de la Street Photography. La dernière fois que j’avais fait ça, c’était à Liverpool il y a 3 ans … Continue reading Paris : Far away, so close … →

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Looking back to the year 2018.

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(English version at the bottom of the page)

Blog presque obligatoire de fin d’année, je m’y colle aussi. Et pourtant je n’ai pas envie que cette année se termine ! J’essaye de me rendre dans Aix-en-Provence dès que j’ai le temps après ou avant le boulot. 30 minutes me suffisent. 2018 est presque fini et 2019 c’est déjà demain (ou presque…). 2019 rime avec départ pour moi. On ne partira pour l’Ile de la Réunion qu’en fin d’année prochaine, mais ce sera bien en 2019. Je profite pleinement de mes moments passés dans Aix à chaque fois que j’arpente les rues avec mon appareil photo en main. Continue reading Looking back to the year 2018. →

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