General

Statement

B&W Infrared Photography

A few years ago when I discovered infrared photography, I was immediately fascinated by the emotion these images communicated to me. Looking at an infrared picture of a landscape make me feel as if I was in direct contact with Nature. Taking infrared photographs is always a magic moment. I have the impression that Nature allows me to reveal its hidden side. This picture taking process is very relaxing. It's very Zen to me. This perception drives me to respect Nature even more. I do not see Nature as source of inexhaustible resources but, as something alive on which we depend.

Infrared photography is not the result of special effects or numerical manipulation carried out by computer. Infrared light exist and my approach is to capture this invisible light on film and not simulating it with computer.

To carry out infrared photographs, modern technology is not very helpful. A manual camera, a film sensitive to the infrared radiations and a filter to block the visible light constitute the basic tools. An exposure meter is useless since the light that we want to photograph is not visible. Moreover, experience, patience and perseverance are required because the results of infrared photography are often unpredictable. At this point, the photographer is of equal to equal with his subject. Setting the scene does not belong to him. He must be at the right place and at the right time; the one chosen by Nature.

My infrared pictures are done using Nikon 35 mm and Mamiya RZ67 Pro medium format. At the beginning I was using Kodak HIE film. However, I quickly moved toward the medium format. The RZ67 equipment is heavy and it forces me to work more slowly. That's great because I need this pace to better feel my subject. For the medium format I am using Maco IR820 film developed into D76 for 9½ minutes. B&W negatives are scanned and printed on fine art paper using Epson R2400 printer.

Macro Photography

I like to photograph hidden subjects that are surrounding us. Must of the pictures presented here were taken in my immediate neighborhood. That's what is very special with macro photography. A wonderful world of colors and shapes is there at our feet. No need for a long trip to Utah National Parks. It is waiting for us to be discovered into our backyard.

Hand colored Photography

Hand colored or hand painted photography is a very old technique. However, it still is a very powerful and effective way to express emotion and magic. Having a lot of overexposed black and white infrared pictures, I decided to use these prints to experiment this old technique. I was very please with the results. My technique is to use pastel crayon on overexposed print made on Fine Art 100% rag matt paper.

Dreamscape Photography

In May 2005, I attempted a workshop given by Freeman Patterson and André Gallant. This workshop did open my mind to "visual design" in photography. The creativity and wisdom of Freeman Patterson and the know-how of Andre Gallant, helped me to start developing and express my own creative vision. Using dreamscape photography or photo montage helps me to go beyond the image to show the emotion and sensibility of our surrounding.

Photographs in the Dreamscape Gallery were made using many different techniques, from simple slide overlay to complex rotation-flipped-multiple-exposures. I hope you will be able to identify those techniques by analyzing each picture.

I have to tell you that there is much more to discover from dreamscape photography. In the near future, I will post a new photograph gallery that will show you the result of my extensive work on the "hidden side" of photo montage.

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