laurent_jaussi

I am now searching for an aminal that live near a road, it has 5 toes and very hard claws...

texture and drawing...why did you have to tell us it's a pavement where I tought it was a cavern with ancient drawings...

yes, the blues in the shadow is irresistible for me (strangely I don't know why, maybe a metaphor of the sky outside the frame above the roof)...

for me poverty means poverty, not necessarily something else....in my life I have seen and have discussed with poor people that are still happy (not happy being poor) and have a decent life...and some that were desperate...the same with people having cancer where some stayed positive and some deseperate, or other life problems....

 

In my opinion Birte, your Indian photograph are OK and even very good from a technical standpoint (colors , compo and the rest I am no one to judge that)...the problem is that I don't see the story and at the end to me it looks like shots from a tourist that made a tour to the poor area...

 

You are clear with your intention and I give you credit for that point ...you want to show poverty to us all...it's not a bad thing and it can be very positive...

 

The problem I see as a simple viewer of your numerous photo, is that you don't show the people simply being what they are...you show poor people in a way for the viewer to be forced into pathos...in some sense it seems to me you make your photo speak (instead of the people) the way you want them to speak...

 

Show the people, their life, how they live, what they do for lïving, their struggle, their positives points, show context, show a story and I would be the first one to applaud...

 

For example, like Mc Curry does, like Jonas Bendiksen does in http://www.theplaceswelive.com/....these photographers show us all side of the story, the sad one, the middle one and some possible positive issues...

 

Instead I have the impression of watching a tourist tour in the poor area....most photos seems to be tailored to make the viewer cry...ok I will cry with you...what's next ?

 

Photojournalism (for me) if it's that what you want to do is not about making people/viewer cry, it's about presenting facts from all sides of the story...and let the people express themselves rather than doing it for them....

 

In my humble opinion it seems you would like to be their voice where the only thing you could do reasonably is be their microphone...sadly in the process, pushing too much you loose credibility....because the subject is a very serious one I think it is very sad...yes I think some subject require professionalism and a careful approach......

I have this strong impression that life has already gone much too complicated for lots of people (be it on the business side, society, laws, responsability, etc...)...so yes on my spare time I tend to favor the most simple things without sophistication...

it's interesting and amusing how the tilted elements seem to talk to each other...the human brain is so fond of associations like this....I like the color mix very much...the sign on the door is so ironic "antique & old stuff"....well I did not expect to find the latest ipud, ipod, ipad, ipid stuff anyway...

a very special image...a bit frightening for sure...I already told you what I think about religion and proselytism in some other image of your series about religious messages...but religion, patriotism and proselytism...well it seems for some people too much is never too much...this is really a powerful image showing cleary that the drift can be confrontational anytime...

I like the expression of smooth self confidence...by smooth I mean non arrogant but not shy either...it's the natural that strike me most...a pleasure to look at...

a difficult subject and a respectful image...maybe it's the right distance to make me feel that but I get an impression of respect that contrasts with the intrusive nature of photography in this context...not easy to get an image like that with the right feel...

simplicity and subtility is what come to my mind...it strikes me how the subtle light tones suggest elegance and intimacy...

the BW pair looks really nice...I enjoy that one is looking toward us while the other seems absorbed in looking at something captivating (like us dogs have their own kind of personailities that appear in images)...a wonderful double portrait...

thanks David for your comments and support...

even cars know it: the sky is blue, the show must go on....

its a bit embarrassing for them that you were there to record...what I like most here is the use of a large angle which make them appear on a small portion of the frame which makes their quarrel look even smaller and rididiculous...a zoomed version would be more serious and this angle makes it burlesque and ridiculous...hope it got calmed down soon after....

proud....the "free" rebel dog on the back is a terrific addition...

layered life, like ours...

for me this image is also about the distance between people...only the girl right seem to engage with it's peer, all others are together but seems in their own mind...not to mention the computer guy who is in another planet at the moment...

the energy and life about this picture is something stricking...she seems both casual and concerned....and the guy wearing the mask add to the "worried" part of mood...

 

As I saw you restructured your portofolio it gave me a sense of urgency and I went to the last ones to revisit from there...it's so interesting to revisit and find new gems (well new for me)...

thanks Carlos for your supportive words...I am glad if you find this little serie worth and fun looking at...

thanks Carlos for your kind words....the images in this folder have all been taken within walking distance from my home, strolling around with my kids or alone....just to see where it would lead me photographically speaking...a kind of medium to long term project documenting the neighborhood for the fun of it...

thanks Jeff and Pnina...a little walk in the frozen neighborhood...

I had to look at the dictionary to see if I did not use "milestone" heedlessly...so thank for helping me exercise my neurons, something I do much too rarely these days...by the way I felt just like you a strange place for a milstone...I guess it was an ancient way that is not used anymore....

low light and snow...just irresistible the atmosphere it creates and how the colors whisper...the fence add both visual dynamism and a tension of separation (we are on the other side seems to indicate to us the fence)...

the colors in low light are really superb Jeff...it creates such a quiet mood and invites to meditation...I particularly like how the foreground colors cooperate with the background ones...

like we say in Switzerland...snow in november, Xmas in december...:-)