I am inviting you to look at my current work. These projects are either completed or works in progress. They are very personal and reflect both my state of mind and vision of the world.
Because these projects are highly personal, and of great value to me I decided to use Flash in order to protect my work.
“The Human Face of Science - Part III” - Here are the portraits of the big shots from the PDB40 symposium, commissioned by CSHL and following the same style as my project “The Human Face of Science”.
Thank you to : Stephen K. Burley, Helen Berman, Michael Rossmann, Jane Richardson, David Sealrs, Soichi Wakasuki, Wayne Hendrickson, Mei Hong, Kurt Wüthrich, Janet Thornton, Richard Henderson, Wah Chiu, Ad Bax, Axel Brunger.
“Festival of Lights” - The origins of the festival date from 1643 when Lyon was struck by the plague. The municipal councillors promised to pay tribute to Virgin Mary if the town was spared. Ever since, a solemn procession makes its way to the Basilica of Fourvière on this day to light candles and give offerings in the name of Mary. In 1852, it became a more popular festival when a statue of the Virgin Mary was erected next to the Basilica, overlooking the city.
However, on the morning of the inauguration, a storm struck Lyon. Eventualy the skies cleared and the people of Lyon spontaneously lit up their windows with candels, descended into the streets and lit flares to illuminate the new statue and the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Fourvière, later superseded by the Basilica. This celebration was then repeated annually.
“The Human Face of Science - Part II”. At the beginning of the summer, I was asked to continue my project and photograph scientists visiting Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for the symposium “Metabolism & Disease”.
This symposium attracts top scientists from all over the world and presented me with the unique opportunity to extend the breadth and depth of my project. The challenge was to capture something of the personality of each scientist who came to the studio not knowing me or the history of the project. They came without props and preconceptions. Within 5 minutes I bombarded them with a series of questions about their passions, hobbies, interests… Everything about them except their work! I would like to thank everyone who took part, and those who helped me organize the sessions and the logistics.
Here are the portaits of: Craig Thompson, Angelika Amon, Doug Wallace, Nahum Sonenberg, Junying Yuan, Gregg Semenza, Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Ron Evans, Amy Wagers, Pamela Silver, Joseph Goldstein, Michael Brown, Susanne Mandrup, Richard Morimoto, Dany Reinberg, Cynthia Kenyon, Richard Losick, Sheley Berger, Grahame Hardie, Joan Brugge, Gerard Karsenty, Daniel Kelly, David Botstein, David Sabatini, Tak Mak, Steven McKnight, Karen Vousden, Eileen White, Ulrich Schibler. This collection of portraits is designed for an exhibition and a book
“Gravity: Zero”. Like many people, I like the sensational, the extraordinary… In France I loved watching skateboarders jump again and again, making amazing figures, fighting against gravity and picking themselves up after losing a battle.
In skateparks one can find skateboarders, BMX riders and roller-skaters… to some people they are crazy and insane… To others, they are brave and fearless… To me, they are all this things but primarily they are extremely skillful. As you can see I photographed these young men touching the Icarus dream and I intend to return many times…
“The Human Face of Science”: If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will already know that many of my friends are scientists and I feel very involved in their world. The idea for this project came one day when one of my scientific friends mentioned to a new acquaintance that he was a scientist. Immediately the new friend changed his attitude towards him. By taking black and white portraits of scientists, I’m trying to show their human side and make scientists more accessible and available to the public. I want to change the clichéd image of the “mad scientist”. This collection of portraits is designed for an exhibition and a book.
“Scientific Team”: One project has a way of leading to another. When a scientist who heads up a large research lab saw pictures from “The Human Face of Science” he commissioned to me to photograph his team. I kept the same concept but I didn’t want to repeat myself. I also didn't want to show the standard image of the scientist with the pipette poised over the petri dish. This time I chose to focus on the energy and the sense of humor.
“Men of fire”: I had the opportunity to photograph volunteer firemen in training. Many a child dreams about being a fireman: the image of the fearless hero, brave in a front of a wall of flame, rescuing helpless people. All this is true, but it's not the whole story. Firemen are human first with strengths and weaknesses, hopes and fears. These pictures have made me want to explore in more depth the real lives of firemen… Sometime soon…
