The Reader

28 April 2018: Al-Hussein mosque, Cairo, Egypt.

Celebration

This blog has always been first about pictures and then text (and sharing my thoughts). But the past months have been rather poor in pictures, with an environment and a work in Yemen not exactly encouraging me to go out and to capture moments.Today, for the first time in a year, I discovered a place I didn't know before and where I could take pictures without jeopardizing my work (and security).I would lie saying it didn't feel great to try to capture something special, making something mine.

28 May 2016: Celebration at Bet Maryam church, Lalibela, Ethiopia.

Geek Time

I was not a big Apple fan, far from it, but became one when I got my first iPod (nano 1G) and later started using a MacBook in 2007. Fantastic ergonomic coupled with a nice design and very intuitive to use (even for a big Windows XP user and geek).

I just purchased my 4th Mac (a MacBook Air 11") and like the previous one I owned, I have it most of the time with me. Amazing autonomy (up to 9 hours), great performances (faster that the previous one, with which I used to process all my pictures and even designed two books) and of course, incredibly thin and light.

Nothing new, for people knowing me, but what is, though, is that I have to recognize a certain lassitude lately. My MacBook Air is certainly still the best machine on the market in its category and Mountain Lion is amazingly stable and powerful. But I start seeing a clear lack of creativity. While google just provided a brand new easy-to-use gmail interface (sorting your mails for you), Apple still struggles to use the gmail flags properly and hasn't brought anything new in his Mail.app lately. And the upcoming new Mac OS shouldn't change anything neither.

The iPhone, that revolutionized the (smart)phone industry remains very expensive and starts lacking some serious innovation. iTunes still has bugs with iTunes Match (unloaded covers, weird albums grouping, …) and I fail to see a real interest for a fingerprints reader (which, by the way, already equipped my IBM laptop 7 years ago). Androide's phones certainly have tons of useless and unfinalized applications, but at least, Google is making some effort to bring new technologies.

I am ready to pay more, to get an outstanding customer service (Apple store and warranty), a great design (Macbook Air) or a fantastic ergonomic (Moutain Lion / Apple touchpad) but I am not ready to pay a fortune just to get a bigger phone and I worry when I realize that nothing, in the new Mac OS really interests me. Where are the new Time Machine, multi-fingers support or other spotlight functionalities? I understand that it takes time to design new products and to invent something really inovative. But in the past months/two years, Apple hasn't surprised me at all. Maybe NOW is the right time...

11 September 2013: Agaichatou, Naivasha, Kenya

Monkey's Connection

Someone just asked me if (and how) I have access to internet in the field. While I had a pretty good 3G internet connection in Darfur, internet in the South East of CAR is a rather rare and expensive resource. It is more or less either by BGAN (mobile solution, at 5$/MB) or by VSat (fixed installation, at about $1000/month), both using a satellite connection. Although I've been travelling lately with a BGAN for work, I can obviously only use it for professional and urgent matters (or it's gonna become a rather expensive Youtube video…). But if I have the chance to get access to another organisation's wifi, then it's X-Mas and I can load the news on my iPhone and read all the daily articles of the New York Times, which usually keep me busy for a while at night.

However, being isolated has some positive aspects too. You can learn how to cook a monkey, stop a colon of aggressive ants going out hunting or simply how to make sure a turtle doesn't flee before you start boiling it.

12 August 2013: Yes, after long researches, I finally found the last dinosaur, somewhere in the South-East of CAR

So, because it's always good to know it when you have annoying neighbours or a spoiled nephew: How to cook a monkey?

It's actually very simple: Find a monkey, kill it, throw it in a fire, carbonize it for a while, remove its hair, cut it in half, eviscerate it and chop it into pieces. Do NOT throw away its hands or head, it's supposed to be the best parts and it's a fantastic way to shock your vegan friends.Enjoy your meal!

Zero-G

When music isn't enough, photography has always proved to be my best bubble. Just focusing on the light, the subject, trying to reproduce the feeling or ambiance perceived, and enjoying it.

And all the rest doesn't exist anymore. What else?

20 June 2013: Papy, worker in Mboki, CAR, Africa

Bubble

Bonobo (Live in Merlin, Budapest) and my camera. Welcome back to my bubble.

12 February 2013: Inhabitant of Mboki using an ICRC manioc mill. Manioc is a very important element in the centrafrican diet and its preparation is everything but fast and easy

Silence

The sky is filled with stars and the night absolutely silent. Just a small, soft music, in my head.

Lots of meetings and discussions with interlocutors. Some sms. And a memory card in my pocket, containing some first official pictures to be processed.

The music gets lounder. 48 heartbeats/min.

Another night in Africa.

11 February 2013: Thanks to Alyona, for posing despite the bad light and lack of chair. Bangui, Central African Republic

Love, Smile and Two Flight tickets

- "I again spent the night with that guy. I really have a crush on him"

- "Is it why you look so tired? ... :-)"

- "No, I was just so afraid of telling him "I love you" while dreaming that I did not sleep at all"

- "Love is tough..."

Friendships sometimes lies in details. Not in the amount of emails exchanged or in the frequency of your phone calls. Sometimes, it's just about a story shared on skype, or a card sent from the other side of the world for Christmas.

Love lies in microscopic details...

14 January 2013: Sarah, Yaoundé, Cameroon. Thanks to her for the patience...

And if you think you are well settled, in your favorite leather sofa and clean apartment, without any motivation for going anywhere . Just watch this.

Challenge accepted...

Musicalement parlant in Yaounde

2nd weekend spent in Yaoundé, still waiting for my return ticket to the field. Weird situation, with one hemisphere at work and the other one on vacation, trying to kill time.

At least, it gives me some time to discover some local restaurants, bars and music clubs. No jazz or concert of Bonobo but a really interesting combination of styles, musics and attitudes on stage. It's just sad that my new portrait lens is not with me right now, but in a trunk somewhere in Bangui, hoping to be found again at my return ...

05 January 2013: Concert at Bois d'Ebène, Yaoundé, Cameroun

CAR Anniversary

On the way back from the airport, I can not prevent myself from smiling, listening to Alpha Blondy's singing "You don't have the right to shoot the children". At the back of the land cruiser, a father and his daughter are trying to get used to each other again. Few minutes earlier, they embraced for the first time in two years, result of an incursion of the LRA in their house one night.

Later, watching a movie under a sky filled with stars, I feel relaxed and in peace. That was before I decided to apply some mosquito-repellant on my arms and hands and then went to the toilets, unfortunately in that order.

Life is tough… sometime.

01 December 2012: A group of local taxi drivers performing during the 54th anniversary of the independence of the Central African Republic, in Zemio, close to the border with Congo

Book and travels

A book on my work in Darfur and particularly in Abu Shouk internally displaced persons camp is finally available on Blurb, in two different versions:

• Hard cover
• Soft cover

It's a strange feeling to finally see the result of more than two months of hard work and to be aware that I can't change or add anything now. It is also a bit frustrating to realize that I haven't taken any decent picture since.

But now that I have a few months before starting my new job (more about that later), maybe it is a good opportunity to travel a bit and to work on a new project. But weirdly, for the first time since... ages, I don't want to hit the road and would prefer to live for a few weeks at the same place. So if you know someone (association, organisation, school, private, etc...) who could be interested to use my skills (computer science, photography and public relation/communication) in South America (so than I can practice/improve my Spanish), let me know asap. Thanks!17 May 2012: Somewhere in the Saône-et-Loire department, France (thanks Bro ;-) )01 May 2012: Sitges, next to Barcelona, Spain.

Dancing Behind My Eyelids

A close friend asked me today what would be the first thing I would do at my arrival in Switzerland. I didn't really know what to answer. Nothing satisfying came to my mind.Hug my family, take a bath, see my friends and celebrate with them, buy and read books, enjoy early breakfast in a cafe while reading the news, go skiing and then what? Then what?Tonight, exhausted, in my inner world and trying to work on my final report, I suddenly realized that I now consider life in Switzerland as something exotic.20 October 2011: Darfuris waiting for the arrival of a delegation of Special Envoys to Sudan. Mukjar, West Darfur. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Everything will be fine

Due to some recent incidents, my big project is not progressing as much as I would like to. And although I was supposed to be in Switzerland, celebrating the wedding of a close friend, I'm stuck in Sudan. By chance, after one month in El Fasher, working on different photo assignments, I've been sent to Khartoum for two days. At least, it gives me some time and space for pampering in a nice hotel. Next stop... Switzerland. In 6 weeks... Inch'allah.09 October 2011: A classroom in Abu Shouk IDP camp. Schoolboys and girls seat on the floor, on a thin carpet and can be up to 100 per class. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Step by Step

After a long long week waiting, I finally got the authorization needed to continue my projet. There is a lot of work ahead, but it's a good step. May the coming days be as productive ...03 October 2011: Mohamed Ishad, 27 years old. He left his village in Jebel Marra and his studies of the Holy Coran to come to Abu Shouk IDP camp. He now has his own shop, where he sells shoes. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Daily life

18 September 2011: Mahedin, 18 years old, butcher. Knowing how to slaughter and dismember goats and cows, he decided to try with camels and is now one of the two only butchers killing and preparing camel's meat in the IDP camp he lives. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Rehab

After almost three months shooting mostly meetings, resulting in a serious lack of inspiration and creativity, I'm back to the field with a very exciting project. It's quite challenging, sometime frustrating when I can not get what I want, but it's a real pleasure to shoot again and to try to present something different. Final result in a few short months.20 September 2011: Ahmedhay Ahmed, 25 years old, farmer in North Darfur. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Life in Black

Blablabla. I want a room, somewhere in the world, to put all my books and my pictures. A room with a mattress on the floor and bookshelves. Even if I am never there.19 July 2011: Amina Usman, 18 years old, in Zamzam IDP camp, North Darfur. Amina sells charcoal everyday in El Fasher. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Contemplating

10 July 2011: A habitant of Sehjana village, North Darfur, during a meeting with UNAMID, UNHCR and other NGOs, to discuss the possible return of about 800 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Kabkabya to Kutum. The rainy season has started and the reason and condition of their possible return still raise many questions. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Saturday Morning Thoughts

I have been a bit more geek lately and spent more time playing with my computer at night. I don't know if it worths sharing it but I'll let you judge:The movie industry has put in place restrictions to make sure you can not easily read in Europe a DVD bought in the US (and vice-versa). They mostly want to make sure they don't kill movie theaters by allowing customer to buy abroad movies that haven't been presented yet. Therefore, they introduced the notion of zone. The world is separated in height zones and you can only change zone five times before having your dvd player locked to the last zone used. It makes sense if you live in Europe but if you're traveling a lot or live in a country without movie theater but with people from all other the world, it's a bit problematic. For Macbook Pro users, the solution is quite easy. You just need to check if your DVD drive is zone free (RPC-1). If not, then just update your DVD firmware. Finally, use Region X to reset the zone counter. If you don't want to do it, you can either stop watching DVD, buy one laptop per zone or be a bad guy and only watch pirate movies (divx). But don't hold me responsible for anything.05 July 2011: A Darfurian internally displaced person (IDP) gives water to her cattle at Zamzam water point, North Darfur, Sudan. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].Finally, I have been testing the new google+ social network. Most of my friends and acquaintance are still not registered so it's difficult to have a final opinion but I particularly like the way the privacy settings are defined. The notion of circle is not different with the notion of limited profile on Facebook but is way more intuitive and you don't need a PhD from Facebook University to understand all the options (or simply to find them). Wait and see ...

In a Geek World

Tonight, I'm buying music on iTune using my iPod touch connected to an anonymous network (TOR, a second-generation onion routing) through a protected wifi connection shared by my Macbook Pro and its 3G modem. Yeah... I am a bit geek sometime.05 July 2011: Darfurian workers preparing cole bags in Zamzam internally displaced person (IDP) camp, North Darfur. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].Speaking about geek, I strongly recommend Dropbox and Chrome. If you have or work on more than one computer, Dropox will allow you to share your files automatically . And as they are kept both online and locally, you won't have problems working if you don't have an internet access. Regarding Chrome, it provides the same functionalities than any browser like Safari, Firefox or IE but allow you to automatically synchronized your bookmark, saved passwords and other auto-fill. Again, if you work with more than one computer... it's really neat.