I am a self-learned photographer from a very small village in Cantal, France. I began photography four years ago when I was 44. I left my job and came to the mountain of the « massif Central ».
I photograph landscapes when weather conditions are bad (fog, snow, rain) and I try to express the strength of the nature and the beauty of those moments. I like to photograph elements of landscape like trees or fences. Recently I have obtained some awards in photographic competitions (Paris Photo Prize 2018, Tokyo International Foto Awards 2017, Fine Art Photography Award 2017-2018, Monochrome Photography Awards 2017, Neutral Density Photography Awards 2017, … ). The photo series documents the ever-changing beautiful volcanic landscapes of the Cantal. It is part of a french mountain area where the winters are harsh. Cantal is rural and sparsely populated, this is one of the reasons it is little known (even in France). You can still see the burons, small mountain homes where the farmers of days gone by used to make their cheeses and milk the cows, but unfortunately a times as changed these have fallen to rack and ruin. If you were to close yours eyes and imagine yourself being lost in northern Norway or Iceland, only to reopen them and find yourself in the beautiful picturesque region of the cantal once again. I want to show how this country is beautiful even if the conditions are harsh. This series respond to a poem of the french poet, Louise Ackerman (Poésie philosophiques 1871). [Official Website]
Here is an extract of her poem : « Nuages » (Clouds) « … Ainsi, jamais d’arrêt. L’immortelle matière Un seul instant encor n’a pu se reposer. La Nature ne fait, patiente ouvrière, Que dissoudre et recomposer. Tout se métamorphose entre ses mains actives ; Partout le mouvement incessant et divers, Dans le cercle éternel des formes fugitives, Agitant l’immense univers. »
