Full of Surprises

5 years ago, I had made official my decision to stop working as an engineer and was preparing a 5 weeks trip to China. Nobody would have been able to make me believe that I could be the person I am today. And I cannot imagine who and where I am going to be in 5 years.

11 November 2012: Cow market at Mboki, South East of CAR (Central African Republic). For the first time in years, the persons present there asked me to take pictures but then did not try to pose in front of my camera

5 years ago, I was struggling to add new functionalities to a user interface. This week, I’m going to reunite a young girl, former child soldier, with her parents. Life is full of surprises…

P.S: I just put online a series of portraits I took in Peru

Fall in Switzerland

Some quick news: I'm currently in Geneva, to follow a training before going to Central African Republic in two weeks. Looking forward to being back in Africa and to discovering something new.

21 October 2012: Versoix, next to Geneva, Switzerland

London

A few pictures from London, around Brick Lane. Nice place, particularly on Sunday, with the "vintage market" and of course, the best British cuisine: Indian food :-)

I also recommend a very nice photo exposition at the Barbican: Everything Was Moving. I am not totally sure to have seen the link between all the pictures published, but it remains really interesting. Some photographs are already famous (e.g. a few from Larry Burrows, in Vietnam or from Ernest Cole, in South Africa) but I discover with pleasure the work of a few other photographers, including Bruce Davidson (photographer for Magnum).

Now, back in Switzerland, I see myself repeating the same process, while preparing my departure. But that's another story...

07 October 2012: An afternoon around Brick Lane, London, UK

Preparation

After some hard work, the book for the Fundation Achalay has finally been published. I'm not totally satisfied with the color rendering and particularly for the cover, but with such a limited time at my disposal, I'm globally happy and glad I can start working now on new projects. Currently, it mostly means preparing my deployment to Central African Republic and before that, a three weeks course in Geneva.

I am also looking for a portrait lens, as my Canon 24-105 f/4.0 is not producing a depth of field or bokeh really interesting. My 24mm 1.4 (maybe my favorite lens) is great but obviously can not be used for close-up/head shots. I'm really looking forward to start playing with it (certainly a 100 f/2.8 IS or 135 f/2.0).

The coming weeks should be great, professionally and personally speaking. Inch'allah

25 August 2012. Race in Harlem, NYC, USA

Inspiration

In Perpignan, admiring the work of some of the best photographers. Thousands and thousands of pictures, teasing me, pushing me, inspiring me and forcing me to do better and to re-question my vision of photography and of the world.And a book, particularly stunning: Bosnia 1992 - 1995 with an amazing selection of fantastic photographers including James Nachtway, Gary Knight, Ron Haviv, Eric Bouvet and many others. Just watch the video and you'll certainly understand what I meant. My love for books is not going to die now...20 Aout 2012. Girl cleaning the floor, in San Andres, North of Lima, Peru. It's one of the last pictures I took in Achalay and in Peru. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Last Days

I just finished the calendar 2013 of the Fundation Achalay (fundation for who I'm working) and almost finalized their book. Finishing a publication is always painful. The last pictures are always the worst and I frequently realize that there is one picture/idea that I would have liked to see, etc... I suppose it's normal but still wonder if James Nachtway, Paolo Pellegrin or any other top photographer face the same problem or if their experience helps them to deal with the last shots more easily.June 2012: Daily life in the Achalay association in San Andres, Peru. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

New Life

Back to work and new series of portraits, while finalizing my book. This time, I did not work with children members of the association Achalay but with a former member. Nice to see that solidarity sometimes really works and can positively influence and change someone's life.13 August 2012, Lima, Peru: Teodora with her two children. Despite her handicap and a difficult beginning in life, she managed, after a few years with Achalay, to find a job and now works as a locksmith. She is married, has two children and named her first daughter Fernanda, like the founder of Achalay. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Back to Peru

Last day in Chile. Sad to leave amazing landscapes but glad to go back shooting portraits and persons in Lima. I am working on a book and hope to have it published in the coming months. More soon...28 July 2012: Flamingos in Laguna Hedionda, between Uyuni and Tupiza, Bolivia. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].02 August 2012: Basilica San Francisco, Salta, Argentina. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Alone in the Wild

Five days driving in the Bolivian mountains, crossing the largest salt flat in the world and admiring amazing landscapes. Isolated, without an internet connection or even a GSM network. Alone, enjoying one of the most fascinating scenery I've ever seen. But Gosh... why does it have to be so freezing cold.Give me some time to process and sort my pictures, once I can move my fingers again :-)28 July 2012: El Arbol de Piedra (The Stone Tree), Bolivia. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Photography, La Paz and Batman

Weird but positive feeling this time, that being writing a post at almost 3700m, from the highest capital city in the world. I would love to say that I've plenty of pictures to show you. The reality is a bit different. Surrounded a bit too frequently by tourists, I have to recognize that taking my big camera out (Canon 5D II, before you ask) and walking around, with it around my neck, doesn't really fit my notion of trying to be a bit discrete and enjoying what I see.It's a real shame because what I see here is great. But more than ever, I realize that I am not really keen in landscape photography and taking pictures of people, which is a really what I like to do, takes time. You need to talk with your subject, you need to wait for the right moment, the perfect light. And sometimes, I just want to walk, quietly, observing, analysing and enjoying what I'm seeing, without having to think about the safety of my equipment, the disturbing background or how to make my subject feel confident and relaxed. Maybe I should also travel with a smaller camera. But till yet, I haven't found a nice, not too expensive one. Maybe the new Canon ESO M... but that's another story.17 July 2012: Isla del Sol, Lake Titikaka, Bolivia. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].19 July 2012: La Paz and shoeshiners, Bolivia. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].20 July 2012: Streets of La Paz, Bolivia. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].And because I am (and certainly will remain) a very naive boy, I hope that, one day, the USA will start thinking of a system to better control the way their weapon are sold (and used). It is with real pain that I read the news and the shooting in Aurora...

Food, Beer and Flip-Flop

Walking in the streets of Cuzco, Agua Calientes or other cities in Peru, looking for a restaurant, is a weird experience. While the first was the capital of the Inca Empire and the second, also called Machu Picchu village, is the entrance door to the mystic Incan city, the majority of the restaurants proposes pizzas, burgers and pasta, adding only sometimes local food to their menu.This phenomenon is definitely not proper to Peru. You can also eat German bratwurst, hot dogs, pizzas or other "international cuisine" on a beach in Thailand or in any touristic cities. But while it usually consists only in a small part of the menu or involves mostly very touristic restaurants, it seems to have infected the majority of the restaurants located at the center of the cities mentioned below. Consequently, it takes some time to find a restaurant providing local food and it is almost impossible to find a restaurant serving only local food and no spaghettis Bolognese or other pizzas.If there are so many pizzerias, it certainly responds to a demand from travelers. While I kind of understand it from people enjoying life on a beach during their week of vacation, I'm a bit more surprised to see that people crossing an ocean, spending hours in an airplane to discover a culture so different from theirs, have apparently not curiosity for or interest in local cuisine, nor the minimum amount of willing to adapt themselves to a new way of living or to local habits. We are not speaking about eating worms, wiping your ass with your left hand or drinking local untreated water. No, local cuisine in Peru consists of rice, potatoes, chicken, pork, vegetables, etc ... Not exactly a big gastronomic step.11 July 2012: Cuzco Market, Peru. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].I'm afraid that this is one of the many examples representing the lack of interest or preparation from many tourists. It frequently starts with a group of (usually) girls climbing a mountain wearing flip-flop ("Nobody told me we had to walk that long during our 5 days trekking") or of people having only t-shirts while traveling at 4000m altitude in winter ("I thought that every country south of Miami was warm"). However, they usually know exactly how much cost a beer and where to party topless (even if they are in a Muslim country).I've considered for a long time that traveling was a unique opportunity to better understand the world we are living in, to put in perspective our own living condition and therefore, to improve our own existence. But while I still consider it as true, I'm afraid it doesn't apply to everyone, especially when you don't make some small efforts to discover a new culture/country, trying to adopt a different state of mind. The consequence of it is to have to deal with people, or to listen to their conversations, full of clichés: Africa is populated of poor people always begging for money and trying to robe you, but beer is cheap. Thailand is great because beer and girls are cheap. Laos is even better because food is cheaper. In Europe, everybody drinks beers, go out at night and eat tapas (if you have studied in Salamanca with non-European, you certainly know what I'm talking about). Traveling around the world is then just a unique opportunity to get drunk for free (or almost), to have sex with a pure stranger (after having spent three hours speaking about how boring are you respective countries) or of taking pictures in fantastic places, simply to update your Facebook profile picture.11 July 2012: Cuzco Market, Peru. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].Maybe I’m a bit bitter or push it too far. Or maybe it’s just a new type of travelers, influenced by our dear Leo DiCaprio, who says in "The beach" that his trip in Thailand, "his beach life”, was the best time of his life. Indeed... sex, beers, drugs and a few gunshots for the fun.

New adventures

It took a bit longer than expected but finally, the great news arrived. I should start working with a new humanitarian organisation in October this year and join my new mission in Bangui, Central African Republic, a few weeks later.Although my passion for Photography is more present than ever,  I feel, after more than three years working with the United Nations in Darfur (Sudan), the desire to play a more important role in the humanitarian field. I want to believe that, by working with one of the best, oldest and most respected humanitarian organization, I will have a chance to contribute, even slightly, to improve the situation of a country, region, family or simply of one person. Although a good dose of cynicism and black humor is usually needed in that job, that's not always an easy task.My experience in Darfur taught me than things are rarely black or white, truly good or bad. Good intentions are sometimes the first step to serious mistakes. Observing people (including myself) making such mistakes made me think of how I could make sure my work globally had a positive influence on the life of the people I was supposed to assist. There is certainly no perfect solution. But some seem better to me than others and I believe that principles of independence, impartiality and neutrality can make a difference.And before daily radio checks, curfews and other restrictions become part of my life again, I'm just enjoying discovering a new continent, new cultures, ways of living and improving my Spanish. The calm before the storm, maybe.9 July 2012: Manu area, Peru. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Looking back (at yourself)

Some pictures haunt you. You get an idea and try to realize it. Most of the time, it doesn't work. But sometimes, you finally manage to get something. It's never really what you were looking for, but it still remains a nice feeling.22 June 2012: Jose, part-time employee and previously children at the Achalay foyer-farm. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Portraits in a children's world

After a bit more than a week shooting, I'm back to Lima for a quiet weekend. Steak, view on the pacific and drinks, before restarting working on a new photo book for the Fundation Achalay. And in ten days, I should start traveling a bit more around the region.  June 2012: Children in San Andres, North of Lima, Peru, at the Achalay Center. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Rucksack and camera: The Return

After a few years dreaming of it, I am finally in Latin America (Peru). Wondering where to travel, I decided to work for 2-3 weeks for an association, before hitting the road. With simple living conditions, isolated in a small village, it sometimes reminds me field trips in Darfur. But for once, I speak the language and communication is therefore easier (not to mention the absence of national security).I hope to keep improving my Spanish skills and really look forward to taking pictures, hopefully depicting interesting situations. More to come... inch'allah.07 June 2012: Children watching a movie in San Andres village, Peru. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

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.

Technology, Progress and Relativity

A bit more than ten years ago, while attending a class at my engineering school, a professor told us that it would soon be possible for a computer to recognize someone's face in a jpeg picture or to automatically find who is the author of a song. Knowing that the audio CD sales were at their peak, digital camera useless and the iPod still inexistent, that sounded like (exciting) science fiction.06 April 2012: Holy week procession at Salamanca, Spain. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].Today, Facebook, iPhoto and many others propose automatic tagging of our pictures and nobody finds surprising that Shazam works even in crowded noisy bars (Gosh... i love it). Of course, in computer science, ten years is an eternity. But I find interesting to, from time to time, try to remember what was "normality" few years ago.I haven't seen anyone using a cassette (K7) player or even a Discman (CD player) for a long time now. No pile of CD, batteries or cassettes in the traveler’s bags. MP3 and digital music are part of our life now, and not just as a way to illegally acquire music. I personally haven't purchased a CD in years (I don't even have one in my room) but I buy music on iTunes on a monthly basis and only use my computer/iPod.06 April 2012: Holy week procession at Salamanca, Spain. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].But while Internet, emails, digital cameras, smart phones and computers seem like normal technology for most of us, many people never got access to it. E.g. I worked in Darfur with a fantastic Ghanaian, who had never used a computer in his life. Copying pictures from a memory stick to a laptop was science fiction to him. Unfortunately, under the current circonstances, his salary will certainly never be high enough to allow him to buy a computer. At home, he has a cassette player. The same cassette player that our children do not recognize anymore…How will it be in 10 years time?06 April 2012: Holy week procession at Salamanca, Spain. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

At night

I miss the night. Walking in the dark and observing life, or its absence, all around me. Listening to the silence or my music. Just walking, without a goal or a map. Just being connected with the place I am, and with myself.I miss you ...3 April 2012: Plaza Mayor, Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain.Maybe it's time for me to go back to the field...

Half-Dreaming

Il est tard. Je cherche mon autre chez-moi, et je prends un chemin que je ne connais pas: Un petit sentier qui longe les usines et la ville entre-coupant par la forêt. Je commence à peine à entrevoir la nature, lorsque tout d'un coup, la nuit tombe.Je suis plongée dans un monde de silence, pourtant je n'ai pas peur. Je m'endors quelques minutes, tout au plus, et quand je me réveille, Le soleil est là et la forêt brille d'une lumière éclatante.Je reconnais cette forêt. Ce n'est pas une forêt ordinaire, c'est une forêt de souvenirs. Mes souvenirs. Cette rivière blanche et sonore, mon adolescence. Ces grands arbres, les hommes que j'ai aimés. Ces oiseaux qui volent, au loin, mon père disparu.Mes souvenirs ne sont plus des souvenirs. Ils sont là, vivants, près de moi, ils dansent et m'enlacent, chantent et me sourient.Je regarde mes mains. Je caresse mon visage, et j'ai 20 ans. Et j'aime comme je n'ai jamais aimé.

M83, Echoes of Mine

[Click on the pictures to enlarge them].

(Big) Apple

I frequently read that "Apple computers are way too expensive". Although I have never seen a laptop that can compete with a Macbook Air, I have to recognize that Macbook Pro are indeed more expensive that PC laptops. I personally believe that the difference is in the finition, ergonomics and the operating system, but it might be a question of personal taste.However, where e.g. Dell has a very bad reputation with his (lack of) customer service, Apple's support is quite amazing. I got the chance to experience it once again in NYC. In a packed Apple store on the 5th Avenue, I brought my Macbook Air at 7.3pm, to fix a (physical) problem with a USB port. Despite this problem usually not being covered under warranty, they spontaneously consider the fact that my laptop looked like new and repaired it for free. The next morning, at 7am, I had an email announcing me that my computer was ready for pickup...If you use your laptop every day (for work or not), I am sure you can appreciate what an overnight repair means.Try the same with a PC and let me know...23 February 2012: Apple Store, 5Av, NYC, USA. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].