Brussels a photographic black and white Diptych.

Taken many years ago, edited the other day. I’m enjoying doing the occasional photographic diptych: it isn’t so much about creating a sequence that illustrates the passage of time but more about bringing photographs together that question  the assumptions we make when watching or photographing a scene.

Black and white photographic diptych of a street corner in Brussels.

The question here is what does the observer assume about the relationship between the man,the boy and the woman. Is there a relation ? If so what is its nature ? Why is she behind them ? The possibilities are infinite.

Farms,wind turbines, sheep and big sky : a landscape. Fermes,turbines à vent, moutons et grand ciel:un paysage.

Hard to keep life in this very downsized for web version. Difficile de faire vivre  cette image dans cette version reduite pour la toile.

Northumberland UK  D800 and 35mm Black and white photographic documentary landscape. Photographie noir et blanc documentaire d’un paysage.

C’est la dernière image que j’ai éditée cette année,aujourdhui pour être précis, le signe d’un tournant vers une approche plus documentaire. Merci d’avoir interagi avec moi tout au long de l’année et vous souhaitant une année 2015 qui fasse sens. Et merci beaucoup de continuer à partager votre travail !

Last image that I’ve edited this year,today to be precise,a sign of a turning point towards a more documentary approach.Thanks for interacting with me throughout the year and wishing you a meaningful 2015. And thank you very much for continuing to share your work !

Watch Tv and Behave Regarde la Télévision et Sois Sage

Alnwick, Northumberland, UK

Some thoughts on this photo here

Quelques pensées sur cette photo ici.

La Danse The Dance Alnwick

Another edit of this photo taken in Alnwick during the Music festival a few years ago : if I remember it was the second time I was using the little fuji x100 .

Brussels Bruxelles La Grand Place

A post card of sorts…

Paris s’amuse /Paris has fun. Jardins des Tuileries . Fête Foraine /Funfair

It seems a long time ago since I took these pictures, and it was ! At least one was taken in the mid 1990s and the others in the early 2000s. All were captured on film . I scanned them a few months ago from the original 35 mm negatives .For as long as I remember, every summer this funfair sets up on the edge of the Jardins des Tuileries, across the Rue de Rivoli: I have fond memories of the place and love that time of the year :Paris, in August is particularly quiet and yet fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been working on a book project to present my favourites personal photographs of Paris:these will definitively be there.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, another street and architectural photographic encounter.

Until yesterday, I can’t recall using a camera stand on the streets and setting up a photograph as carefully as I’ve done here; with the exception of rare sutdio work, I’ve always taken photographs hand held  ( note the careful use of words here:I hate the expression “shooting” when it comes to photography). There was something quite pleasant about the whole process: looking around, setting up the stand, triple checking focusing thanks to a loupe, setting the f-stop manually, ,waiting for some interesting alignment/arrangement of people passing by, using a release cable, shifting the lens for a second frame, packing up sometimes to only move a few yards further along and starting all over again.

My aim was to get to grips with the 24 mm PC Nikon lens mounted on a D800 and come back with very basic no thrills views of buildings in town whilst taking care to work with either the sun behind me  to avoid complication with uneven skies and the likes (I took a few chances with the sun coming in from different angles). I didn’t bracket in view of possible light touch (realistic) HDR  treatment  for the simple reason that the D800’s range at it’s native 100 ISO is quite remarkable!

Anyway, I was hoping to also capture something more personal than asceptised brochure type views of buildings and if I am pleased with the twenty odd such views that I came back with, it is this photo and the ones in the previous post that matter to me. I am looking forward to printing them soon. A2 is a minimum:the resolution of the D800 is phenomenal.

These modern spaces are not always as lonely and cold as it appears here, but most often are. With that in mind, I consider this an effective portrait of a this space,created to encourage encounters but where people pass by each other most of the time without ever exchanging a glance or a word. With my stand I created some interest and had a lovely chat with a man who wanted to knoow what was interesting me in this particular place that he didn’t even notice anymore…

Place de la Nation 7 :Manif Mai 2002 Revisitée / Demonstration May 2002 revisited

See Place de la Nation 1 for explanation and take time to look at all these beautiful faces. Thank you. Merci

Place de la Nation 5 :Manif Mai 2002 Revisitée / Demonstration May 2002 revisited

See Place de la Nation 1 for explanation and take time to look at all these beautiful faces. Thank you. Merci

Place de la Nation 3 :Manif Mai 2002 Revisitée / Demonstration May 2002 revisited

See Place de la Nation 1 for explanation and take time to look at all these beautiful faces. Thank you. Merci ( Haven’t quite finished editing this one )