A sense of humour and self-mockery is recommended.
Biography
A gesture for a destiny
Born in 1953 to a Lorraine mother and a Provençal father, he’s a real madeleine with olive oil.
He discovered his first photographic emotion at the age of 15, the day
when the family camera was taken away from him,
on the pretext that “he was going to break it. “
His passion for photography never left him…
A passionate self-taught artist, he makes mistakes, he fails, he learns,
he perseveres.
He bought his first black “Nikon F”, second-hand, more yellow than black because
It was more yellow than black because of the patina of its previous owner’s use.
He started out as a press photographer, working for the daily newspaper La Marseillaise.
This was his first foray into the socially committed press.
He also works for a number of national magazines as a correspondent.
Luck sometimes places him in the right place at the right time…
He was awarded the national press card, which gave him professional recognition.
He took up a new challenge and became a photographer for the research and studies department of Lafarge cement works.
(studio shots and factories reports).
To return to the roots of his origins, he settled in Saint Rémy de Provence.
He works for the municipality and the library of Saint Rémy de Provence, for which he is the official photographer.
He will be presenting his “black and white landscapes” and a retrospective entitled
“400 days of press photography”.
He produced and exhibited a report on “exclusion” based on
based on children living in council housing estates.
He went through a period during which he moved away from press photography to devote himself to more personal photography, but always in the spirit of visual witness.
During this period, he was introduced to panoramic photography using a 1900 Kodak Panoram in a sorry state.
He developed this technique using more contemporary equipment, the Noblex.
He travels and discovers:
– Jordan, where he was struck by the “stone faces” of the Wadi Rum desert.
– New York, after the WTC bombings.
– Reunion, the France of the Indian Ocean.
– Madagascar, the multi-faceted island.
– Mauritius, between luxury and misery.
He spent three years on the island of La Réunion, where he discovered another colourful world. A land where people of different origins and religions live side by side in total tolerance.
He uses his knowledge of panoramic photography to create 360° x 180° virtual tours of commercial sites.
He produced a social report on the village of Cilaos.
This story was to become a travelling exhibition.
Curious, he became an “iPhone-tographer” and developed his smartphone photography.
This approach led him to rediscover the landscapes of Provence, with a deliberately backward-looking treatment imbued with a false sense of nostalgia.
He revisited Paris in bright, dynamic colours.
He moved to Belgium
after discovering
“his muse”.
He devoted himself to more intimate photography, mainly in the studio.
True to his taste for reporting, he covers historical, traditional and folkloric events in the Hainaut region, which is rich in cultures typical of this country.
He spent several months in the Aisne department, attracted by its vast expanses, accompanied by his muse.
A time for sharing
A regular contributor to a number of photography websites, he decided to share his knowledge in a more practical way and became a trainer at the JCL workshops in Mons, Belgium.
(The basics of photography, studio lighting, post-processing in Lightroom).
He packed his bags for good.
As he got older, he longed for peace and quiet and family life.
A new path.
A lifelong user of Nikon photographic equipment and Leica M when he had the chance, his curiosity led him one day to dismantle a defective Nikon F3.
It was then that he turned his hand to a new passion. He looked for documentation, took advice from professionals and discovered what photographers don’t see: micro-mechanics.
Since then …
His experience has made him an assiduous repairer, and has led to the creation of the Facebook group and YouTube channel “repargentique”, on which he regularly publishes his repairs and rescues.
His website “repargentique.com” presents his work and numerous repair techniques.
He is nicknamed “the magician”, because as well as repairing, he likes to bring back to life appliances… Destined for the dustbin.
Publishing / Printing
“New York City” Digigraphy
Edition of limited and numbered original prints.
Participations :
“Costumes in the Arles region
( Edition Librairie Contemporaine ).
“Photographing with your phone
( Edition Eyrolles et VM )
“What remains of our memories?
Video projection of photos taken with a mobile phone, as part of the artistic performances on the nights of the full moon, in Saint Paul de La Réunion.
Exhibitions
“Landscapes in black and white “
Galerie Gérard Pongy in Saint Rémy de Provence.
“400 days of press photography “
Saint Rémy de Provence municipal library.
“Exclusion ” – Children from low-income housing estates.
Saint Rémy de Provence municipal library.
“Operation Arc en ciel “
Travelling exhibition devoted to the inhabitants of the village of Cilaos on Reunion Island.
“Isabelle – Portraits and stagings”.
La Source Ô Couleurs” gallery – Belgium.
“Portraits “
La Poterie Gallery – Belgium
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