Jet Lagged

24 February 2015: Street food vendor, Mandalay, Myanmar/Burma

Evolution

2001: My first flight ever to Southeast Asia is booked and a wave of panic is hitting me, hard, as I am realizing I am about to leave my confort zone. “What am I gonna do if I fall sick, can’t communicate with people or simply don’t feel comfortable, so far from home?"

24 February 2015: U Bein bridge, next to Mandalay, Myanmar/Burma

2015: I'm reading at the back of a taxi driving to Bangkok center. My body is relaxing while my mind is getting increasingly excited about the idea of going to my favorite Japanese restaurant in town. While I look outside, checking if the driver is taking the right road, I start thinking of the different places I like in Bangkok and would like to go back to in the coming days. Once again, being here suddenly feels like Home.

20 February 2015: Mr. Aye Kyaw Htay, vendor in Zegyo Market, Mandalay, Myanmar/Burma

And while my heartbeat keeps dropping, I wonder how I would have reacted, back then, in 2001, if someone had predicted 2015 to me. A punch in his face, maybe. Or, more certainly, a stronger panic attack... ;-)

Redefining Priorities

After more than a year in the field with a technically limited camera (poor or no AF, limited ISO, poor ergonomic), I bought last Summer a Fuji X-T1 with two lenses. It is not the first time that I'm trying to have a smaller camera, easier to carry than my usual Canon 5D and lenses (filing a backpack on their own). I bought a few compact cameras in the past but never really felt confortable with them and finally always preferred to work with my Canon. However, 18 months ago, the security situation in the places where I was working and the difficulty to travel with that heavy backpack forced me to change my plans and to use for some time a camera, limited to max 800 or 1600 ISO, with a pathetic AF system but great picture quality.While it restricted the number or kind of shots I could take (e.g. low light portrait), it surprisingly also improved my way of shooting. It forced me to better prepare my shoots, to care less about sharpness and more about content. And because I did not have enough shutter speed at low light, I was then forced to improve my slow shutter speed skills, learning something new.Since I bought a Fuji X-T1, I received several times the same questions "Is it better than Canon?" "Don't you miss a full frame sensor"? No, it is not as good as Canon (slower auto-focus, less ergonomic). But I can carry it with me more easily and adapt my pictures to its limitation. Like too many before me, I certainly wasted way too much time in the past focusing on equipment or picture's sharpness, rather than trying to improve my pictures and my eye.I had the pleasure to talk lately with another enthusiastic photographer about camera, photography in general and how photography coule make us become more attentive of things around us. A particular light, some expressions or any small details, making our life a bit different. And that's certainly what matters to me. Photographing those instants, those details that I like; or capturing some faces or moments I would like to keep for me.Maybe my camera can not shoot all the things another one could (e.g. challenging sport shots). But at least, I can have it with me in any bag and take the kind of shots I really like.

21 November 2014: A bread vendor during a buzkashi match in Mazar-e-Sharif, Northern Afghanistan

Uzbek Break

Quick visit to Uzbekistan, for the weekend of Eid. It is always very surprising to find tourists, bars, women laughing in the streets and perfectly restored ruins, only a few hours north of Afghanistan. Even more when some vendors address you first in French and then in English...

04 October 2014: Uzbek vendor and artist in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

05 October 2014: Mir-i Arab madrasa, Po-i-Kalyan complex, Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Step by Step

After a long long week waiting, I finally got the authorization needed to continue my projet. There is a lot of work ahead, but it's a good step. May the coming days be as productive ...03 October 2011: Mohamed Ishad, 27 years old. He left his village in Jebel Marra and his studies of the Holy Coran to come to Abu Shouk IDP camp. He now has his own shop, where he sells shoes. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

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A Tight Spot [To the Victor - The Spoils!] by Flashman (with Fred Deakin, member of Lemon Jelly)27 September 2011: Vendor in Abu Shouk IDP camp, North Darfur. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].

Ha Long Bay

15 November 2010: Ha Long Bay in North Vietnam. About 500 boats cruise in the bay, leading to an high concentration of boats around the most touristic areas (e.g. amazing cave). [Click on the picture to enlarge it].14 November 2010: Vietnamese vendors waiting for tourists to leave their embarkation. Tour operators tend to overprice the drinks on board their boats and local vendors use that opportunity to sell cheaper products to tourists while they embark/disembark. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].15 November 2010: Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and welcomes millions of tourists every year. Finding a quiet spot is not always an easy task but the view is breathtaking. [Click on the picture to enlarge it].