ひさしぶり

Hisa shi bu ri (long time no see)

The book preparation just took all my time.

Status:
- All Photographs selected, scale and ready for conversion in CMYK (I removed all portraits)
- Book design with cover finished (minor adjustments are anyway foreseen)
- Content of the French text more or less decided
- (crude) English version available
- All quotes from printers received and compared
- ISBN requested
- Price chosen

Tonight - low resolution PDF!

Must be more than good, 2000 copies in front.
Keep cool Christophe...

Montalivet, France -2009.

Christmass Time!

In December 2009, now, you can order a hard cover version of my first Carnet "So_Kyla".
Taking opportunity of the Holliday deals, you can get one for less than $30 ($10 off) using the following codes (depending on your location):

Orders from the US (using US $):   GREATGIFT

Orders from UK (using UK £):   GREATGIFT2

Orders from EU (using EU €):   GREATGIFT3

Orders from AU (using AUD $):   GREATGIFT4

So_Kyla (Soft Cover version)

Blurry & Focus

Both Blurry & Focus in my mind now.

Paris, France - 2007.

Busy WE & Monday

A lot of things done this past days, book work, Photo edition, shooting.
Melissa came over and we had great sessions at the Studio and in outdoor Onsen (under the snow).
She is nice and sweet; it was a pleasure to exchange about the Japan life and I learn some about Tattoos.

Melissa, Japan - 2009.

Second publication in Carrie Leigh's Nude (Summer 2009)

I finally get my hands on the summer issue of the Carrie Leigh's Nude mag. (all sold out).
I have 4 pics published - Nice - I like to see and touch real paper.
And I have an extra copy for Elwenne (cf. Photo, Paris - France).
EGO / PROMOTION, the infernal loop...

Me, Rokkasho, Japan - 2009.

Nothing

Too tired.

Bayonne, France - 1998.

Some Colors

Sometime Colors are fine.

Montalivet, France - 2009

Ideas, Tastes, Preferences and the rest

Boum - You got a Photo idea in Mind -  not sharp for now but so clear.
Then, you look for it, direct the Model's pose, tests, adjusts the lights, become crazy about details and finally you make it! Great.
Now, rest.
But then, few days after, you look back on it and you don't understand any - You Love it for sure but why, why?
It has just happened to me with this one - Now, I just feel between stupid and crazy...
And you? what this you see here?

Tomari, Japan - 2009.

Studio "ON"

During the past week, our Studio (Thank you Tomoko) has been quite active. Fashion/Portrait with Shikako, Product shots for and with Gabriel (Ceramic Artist) and finally, today, NUDE with Anne!
Nothing special but already some new understanding about lights.

Studio, Tomari, Japan - 2009.

Hut@Home

There is at least one place where I will go all my life long.
A place where I feel good as soon I reach it.
- Montalivet - CHM -
Nudist village with grand parents, parents, sister and friends, time will pass, some will not come back but I will, up to my end.
The sea, the beach, the dune, the pine forest - Home.

Montalivet, France - 2009.

Back light with Digital

Back light has always attracted me - It seems to be more difficult with Digital than Film, where the saturated part will be a perfect sequence of "max value", with film you always have a little structure somewhere, noise from the acetate base, noise from the sensitive layer, noise from the scanner...
Anyway, I start to be happy enough with the results to post one... (out of 5Dm2)

Montalivet, France - 2009.

Bon Vent PAPA!

My Father just started a navigation across Atlantic ocean, a 77' sailing boat, 6 persons, between 15-18 days of sea before reaching the Caribbean.

Only Wind, Water and Sky - Real life!

Next time Anne&I will be onboard.

Father, ALOLICRIS III, France - 2009

Maybe he will see some Mermaids...

Anne, ALOLICRIS III, Spain - 2009

UP to the WALL

The preparation of this book drives me crazy, running into wall?
Every time a mockup is ready, a new flow of questions arises and submerges me...
Anyway - I am on schedule, so far.

Elwenne, Paris, France - 2008.

Tattoos

Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of body Art or mods but I really like some Tattoos - they can add so great contrast on the body that it is a gift for a photographer. I have a coming plan to shoot a Model with nice inks - Asian style tattoos on a Japanese girl - could be so sexy! maybe as much as a tongue piercing - will see.

SaraMiro, Madrid, Spain - 2009.

Leonids night

Going to bed now.
Tomorrow morning (21h UT) will be the peak of the Leonids Meteo Shower!
The plan is to go the beach near by and catch some. Bad part: the forecast predicts some snow.
Anyway, my alarm is set.

Rokkasho, Japan - 2008.

InDesign WE

I spent my full WE on InDesign, working on my book mockup (hopefully we got a Party at home SatNite).
Now, I have printed all the pages (about 190!), I need to finalize the Photos positions - better and faster with paper... old way.
I have written few pages of text - motivation & content of the book - but every time I read it back, I change it. Hope to converge soon. Seems that my mind is "evolutive".

Rokkasho, Japan - 2009.

Chip Willis Prints

Today, I received 3 Prints I have ordered to the photographer Chip Willis.
They are really Great - so much better than the monitor view - I like the real contact with the paper!

Rokkasho, Japan - 2009.

Party@Home

Tonight - Party@Home!
so busy... and happy...

Emily d'Angelo - Paris, 2009.

Old time - Polaroid Polapan

I even have hard time to remember the name of this film...
35mm - Very Fragile - manual machine for development - and lot of surprises!

Santa Fe, USA - 2000.

Cyclo

Your cyclo is now completed. The first tests are very encouraging - few adjustments still needed...

SaraMiro, Madrid - 2009.

Bed time!

Book project LAUNCHED!

That's it! Today, my book project (waiting since January) is started.
I had already the overall mockup, the quote from the Chinese printing company, all the tools required, the budget but I was waiting for a complete Work Program defining all the steps, the activities, and so on.
After reading a wonderful ebook about all this, my WP is today defined and this Project really starts!
Say Merde to me - it may help...

Hop, I open inDesign and start to dream again. I will keep u informed.

Saint Brice Courcelles, France - 2007.

Happy BD

Happy BD to the Adorable Kyla!

Kyla Cole - Montalivet, France - 2008.

Our Own Studio

Thanks to Tomoko-san and her mother, Jérôme & I have a permanent 80m2 space available as Studio.
We have worked on it for the last few months and now it is close to be good. Few hours more to finish the assembly of the cyclo and ready to Rock&Shoot! Just can not wait...

Studio Test Shoot - 2009.

Set of Prints finished....

After many tries printing the following Photo, I succeed to have what I was looking for!
It always surprised me how some images get printed just fine and some others require tons of testing and adjustments.
This set is finished - I am very proud to be part of the Don Sanders collection - This kind of support pushes me to progress and produce the "best".

Montalivet, France - 2006.

Watashi wa o-onsen totemo suki desu!

Humm - some very basic Japanese to say I love the Onsen.
And I am living close to the best ones in Japan - few in the Hakkoda mountain, few on the Shimokita peninsula.
Since the end of WW2, the Japanese Onsens are not mix anymore - shame.
Hopefully few very old and traditional ones still have common baths.
No light, fully humid, quite hot but a wonderful "atmosphere".

Yashi Onsen, Japan - 2009.

Le Maitre des Points

Master of the Dots

LauraAnna - Bergamo, Italy - 2008.

"Livres de Nus" by A. Bertolotti

Sometimes after reading a book, you feel much better, more cleaver. It just happened to me with "Livres de Nus" written by A. Bertolotti (in French). I guess I will come back few times to this in the coming weeks but, to start, let's focus on the preface and the overall content.

--- As you guess if u follow this Blog, English is not my native language so drop me an email if it is unintelligible ----

In the preface by J.C. Lemagny, there is a so clear and well written essay about the duality (Esthetic & Erotism) existing in every Nude Photography - even if it shouldn't, that it just clean a window in my mind. The Erotism is not an Esthetic value. The beauty of a volume, of a line curve, the quality of the light, have an Esthetic value but not Sexual ones. The touch, skin contact, odors, the warmth are Sexual but not Esthetic. But, even if they are radically different in thought,  they are completely mixed in reality. To evaluate an esthetic value, we have to put some distance, to observe, to witness. The erotic feelings are more in the possession, the fusion making an extreme link between the "observer" and the subject. These two aspects are incompatible but inextricable. This relation found surely its reason of existence in the depth of the human mind.

The content of this book is a door open to follow the evolution of this "relation" along the history of Nude publications. How the social pressure affects this along the past century gives indications.
Another way could be to discuss more with Nude Models. Some come to me with compliments about the "distance" existing between the observer and the nude subject, the quality (!) of the contrast.... and some others want to pose for me but feels uncomfortable due to the Erotic aspect of my work! In the PF of the later ones, you can see they prefer to shoot in front of a white cotton sheet with a flower in the hair, a greek column close by and harp in hands! Don't get me wrong - it is perfectly fine and some times very interesting but it shows how the mind is mixing all this.

The book is all about this.

Anne - ALOLICRIS II - 2006.

WE!

Exhausted! going to sleep well - Have a good WE

The 5PM break - Tokyo, Japan, 2009

Routine?

I don't believe that "repetition creates routine". "Routine" seems to be more a question of point-of-view, a mentality. After more than 10 years photographing Anne, with a mean of once a week at least, I always feel the same tension, fear, submerged by emotions and with some stomach pain - want to extract something from the instant, catch it to more play with it.

Of course, I get bored by the location - shooting at the same place piss me of quickly but I just continue doing it, trying to improve, i.e. understand more about my myself my feelings.
Funny thing is shooting some other models (quite rare in comparison) could be so relaxing - Routine then...

Anne - St Brice Courcelles, France - 2007.

Tokyo - FTC

Japan (especially Tokyo of course) has the reputation to be a Fashion Test Center (FTC?). People can go on the street with incredible outfits and just feel happy to look different without taking care much about the present "mode" or "codes", perfect for experiments. So let's shoot some. Fashion photo required high technicals skills and, I believe, could be a nice way to learn about lighting and such - That was my plan!

I ended up shooting in Tokyo, 35°C, behind a temporary shop (with a guy screaming loud for hours), an Indian model (very nice & energetic by the way), with no strobes, no nothing; and it was great! Next morning I woke up the Tokyo-Paris flight and asked myself when will be the next Fashion week there.

 

Tanya, Tokyo - 2009.

First Snow

Snow is here! All white this morning - 12°C less than few days ago...

This was one week ago - same place but warm (sort of "été indien").

Anne - Rokkasho, Japan.

Long Lasting Favorite

There are always Photos you Love without understanding why and how - it's like that.

Of course, this session was more than great - unforgettable time at least but then, more than one year after, boum! This one gathers every souvenir, every feelings...

How every detail corresponds so well to my memories? I guess my brain is just evolving every second to new situations, new stimulus, taking what I see now as what it was. A recent study shown that the souvenirs are strongly deformed versus time, so much influenced by all the running time...

That's cool - Photos made during nice sessions will all be my Favorites!

Kyla Cole - Montalivet, France - 2008

By the way, if u care, the blur is using a Canon TS lens and it is sort of BTS shoot.

The Essentials

Always back to Fundamentals:
- Women
- Photons
- Water
with x-tras: blur, tilt, flash, close-up.... anything... optional!

Anne - Rokkasho, Japan - 2009

CLIC!

So here I am, starting a PhotoBlog.
it feels like a toy in my hands - expectations? - so/so, one Prints a day to start with...

If I should born again - back to this one - first Love first All!

She Is - I just look... and breathe again.

Anne - Talence, France - 1998