My work will result in a manifesto. I make no claims in terms of talent; you either like it or you don't,
but I want to remain true to my values. ‘The AI photo editing of Google Pixel 9 is impressive and
worrying’ Le Monde, August 2024. This is in line with the pioneering sorcerer's apprentices in the
field, who took the plunge into photo editing and filters (which is AI). This would make Sundar Pichai
the new Joseph Niépce, with his supporters entrusting their creativity to the exploitation of an
algorithm. Is this the talent of tomorrow? Already strongly opposed to photomontage, which is rarely
used by the big names in photography, I remain perplexed. All I see is science fiction. And I get the
impression that everyone has become a big fan of this type of image, soon turning ordinary mortals into
prestigious artists of the new world thanks to the technological advances that are just beginning to
emerge. I say stop. I studied AI in 2000 in a DESS IRR programme, and while this new trend certainly
deserves to exist, let's not call it photography, but rather stochastic parrots. The last crisis dates back to
1946 with the Blum-Byrnes agreements, which endangered French cinema and French culture. They
were so successful that today we no longer really have any great directors in the French tradition, no
more poets like Aragon, and we listen to Jul instead of Léo Férré. Will we have any new ones?
. The last crisis dates back to 1946 with the Blum-Byrnes agreements, which endangered French
cinema and French culture. They were so successful that today we no longer really have any great
directors in the French tradition, no more poets like Aragon, and we listen to Jul instead of Léo Ferré.
Will we ever see another Dieuzaide or Lartigues, to name the lesser-known ones? I owe my salvation to
Guy Jouaville, who was my photography teacher in the 1990s during an introductory workshop. He
explained to us what art photography was, moving away from beautiful travel photos to look at
Mapplethorpe, Giacomelli... And it was with this knowledge that I embarked on my photography
career. To produce this simple example, which is not the most sophisticated of my creations but
remains simple and gentle. I owe the softness of the background to a whitewashed wall and a simple
focus adjustment.
Simple, unpretentious, but far from filters, just depth of field and a choice of setting.
When it comes to creativity, isn't it enough to just think and observe?
The same flower on her whitewashed wall. Taken at sunset with slight underexposure. Did you notice?
There is one shadow too many. In fact, it is the flower next to it, out of frame, that makes this photo
surreal, where even from a distance you could mistake the subject for the shadow.
I studied Descartes' meditations as a good scientist and decided to apply them to photography. Getting
back to basics: framing, exposure, blur, motion blur, geometry, direct JPEG (compression filter
exploiting the chrominance problem) for a very real image... Far from the sophists, in search of truth,
not letting chance decide. I have a friend who buries his film rolls and lets them age to achieve certain
effects. The results are good, but for me it's still a matter of chance, luck comes into play. I know
people who take lots of photos, but I take very few. I've kept the reflex that film used to have a cost,
and it's also a desire to think carefully.
Observe nature, find a mystery in it
Here is a night-time photo. It has rained, the colours are more vivid and there is a slight breeze creating
this motion blur. Exposure time of one second, high ISO, no tripod.
The uninformed public does not take the time to observe the construction of the image and misses it.
Others will think it is a film overlay... Well, no, just the wind. Isn't this a familiar gift of physics
(convection)?
Every photographer is a sinner; sometimes you come home empty-handed. But what's important is to
imagine how it will look on film as you observe. That was the case that night at my bedroom window,
where there was a street lamp in the fog.
You will see the pareidolia of a cat in the bottom left corner. Due to the sodium lamp, the photo is
monochromatic, which is what I would call a true call to science
Let's go back to the basic tools on this fog-free street lamp, motion blur (I shook my camera well).
Without AI
On 24 February 2023 in Anglet (64), the ocean was black. My sister had invited me along on the only
day I was there. She said to me, ‘The ocean is disgusting, you brought your camera for nothing.’ It
turns out she wasn't familiar with Soulages' work and the reflections on black.
Motion blur photography can be very creative, and I want to prove it. Here, a shrub at night is covered
with a blue sheet. The light comes from the outdoor lighting behind me and casts shadows. Notice the
geometric blur on the branch. You can imagine the silhouette of a woman sitting in the background.
To conclude my demonstration, here is a portrait where it is not the head that moves. A cabaret dancer
during her performance at 1/30th of a second. Just one shot, and it is the only photo of a person in my
entire collection. It is not my best, but it departs from the traditional portrait without filters or AI.
I think you will understand the meaning of my approach by showing you some examples of my work,
which I call photography. With a camera developed by science, whose purpose is to reproduce a
faithful image. Even if it drives me mad, I will never stray from this path, even if it means being seen
as a has-been. AI and filters distance us from reality, creating a hazy artistic effect. I therefore propose
that a scientist logically construct a stochastic camera that would eliminate post-processing, if this is
not already the case.
