THE SIMULACRA, photo series, 2011-22.
The Simulacra consist of exceptional skies which, thanks to atypical photographic processes, simulate a storm at sea, the planet Jupiter, a brush fire, the rise of jellyfish, an avalanche, a sunrise on Venus, a waterfall , etc. My goal: to create double images in which the real and the imaginary overlap and merge; add imagination to reality to make it amazing.
Simulacrums are photos taken during the day, at the beginning of the golden hour, when the sun is still quite high in the sky. In other words, these are false nights or false sunsets: it is the combination of the backlight and the very closed diaphragm which obscures the sky. Reality is also transformed by various techniques (telephoto, tight framing, image rotation, colored white balance, lens filters, pre-adjustment of the aspect of the image on the camera, etc.) .
Caution: photographing the sun, when it is bright and high in the sky, is dangerous for your eyesight and for your camera s sensor.
Title: Red satellite.
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2021
Size: 20 x 30 to 100 x 150 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed this diurnal sky so as to represent a planet or a satellite. I thought and composed this photo in such a way as to be able to understand it as follows: 1- simple colorized landscape; 2- giant planet; 3- satellite too close to its planet (imminent threat: percussion or Roche limit).
To shape the silhouette of this planet, I attached a lens that was too small to the camera. I then did a yellow white balance. I placed myself against the light. Then, I closed the diaphragm to darken the too bright sky. I composed the photo: tilt to the right, 3/4 sky, 1/4 shade of trees and buildings. Finally, I did a red white balance in Photoshop.
Title: Sea storm under the Moon
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2015
Size: 20 x 30 to 50 x 75 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed this sky on a sunny day so as to embody a storm in the open sea on a full moon night. As always, the most difficult thing was to find the right clouds and the right light: it is very long but essential for the subterfuge to work. Then, my technical choices made it possible to reveal my idea: closed diaphragm to simulate a night, tight framing allowing to evacuate the unnecessary, polarizing filter to saturate the colors, bluish white balance to transform the yellows into white and densify the blues , subtle overexposures to add whiteness, etc.
Titre : Yellow gas giant
Series : The simulacra
Year: 2022
Size: 20 x 30 à 40 x 60 cm
Technique : photographie
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed this diurnal sky to depict a gas giant planet, like our Jupiter.
Lens Diaphragm closing, yellow white balance and black circular cut-out transform this sunny and cloudy sky in a gas giant.
Title: Waterfall (at sunset)
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2013
Size: 20 x 30 to 50 x 75 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed this daytime sky so as to evoke a waterfall, overhung by a few strata of clouds.
To evoke water, I chose a cirrus sky whose filamentous mass seems to flow. To evoke the body of water where the waterfall flows, I closed the diaphragm: thus the dark clouds are transformed into a black mass, like deep water.
Title: Nocturnal avalanche
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2019
Size: 20 x 30 to 50 x 75 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed this cirrostratus sky so as to simulate an avalanche on a snowy slope, on a full moon night. You can also see the violent flow of a waterfall.
The oblique composition and tight framing focus attention on the imaginary subject (the avalanche). Closing the diaphragm creates a night effect. The desaturation of the colors reduces the immediate identification of the sky. The bird gives the impression of gaining height to escape the avalanche. The whole disturbs the recognition of the real subject and reveals the imaginary subject.
The bird is also an indicator making it possible to find the real subject: it makes it possible to identify its format and orientation.
Title: Bushfire
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2015
Size: 20 x 30 to 50 x 75 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed this daytime sky so as to embody a fire spreading in the thickets. To evoke the smoke, I chose small cumulus clouds (clouds) bordering a few larger cumulus clouds. For the fire, I chose the bright glow of the sun. To reflect the undulating movement of the fire, I tilted the camera obliquely. For the color of the brazier, I set the camera to maximum contrast and saturation; and on yellow white balance. I also mounted a polarizing filter on the lens to saturate the colors, and close the diaphragm to darken the image. To remove unnecessary elements, I used a telephoto lens (a big zoom).
Title: View of the Earth, in low orbit.
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2019
Size: 20 x 30 to 50 x 75 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
This cloudy sky is photographed to evoke a view of the Earth, from a low orbit (like that of space stations).
Tight framing, barrel distortion (linked to the lens), cropping (lower part and right part cropped to reduce barrel distortion) image rotation (180 °), white balance bluish color and closing the diaphragm gives a sunny, cloudy sky the appearance of a view of Earth, in low orbit.
Title: Gas planet with black cutout.
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2022
Size: 20 x 30 to 40 x 60 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed this diurnal sky to depict a gas giant planet, like our Jupiter.
Lens Diaphragm closing, yellow white balance and black circular cut-out transform this sunny and cloudy sky in a gas giant.
Title: The Rise of the Jellyfish
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2016
Size: 20 x 30 to 50 x 75 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed this sky of clouds in good weather because it reminds me of a cloud of jellyfish rising to the surface, attracted by the light of the full moon. To transcribe this idea, I chose to photograph upside down (180 ° rotation); with a tight framing (to focus attention on the small cumulus clouds); with a bottom-up point of view (to translate an ascent); a blue white balance to evoke water; a closed diaphragm to transform day into night; and overexposure (= too bright area) to give the sun the whiteness of the moon.
Title: Red gas giant.
Series: the simulacra
Year: 2016
Size: 20 x 30 to 50 x 75 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed a sunset like a gas giant. To shape the silhouette of this planet, I screwed 3 filters on the lens: these filters amputate the left and right edges of the image. To saturate and modify the colors, I used a polarizing filter, an orange gradient filter, a purple gradient filter and I closed the diaphragm. Strata-shaped clouds bear some similarities to the gas clouds that saturate the atmospheres of certain gas giants.
Title: Ripple on the sand
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2014
Size: 20 x 30 to 50 x 75 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed a daytime sky in such a way as to simulate sea water rippling over the sand at sunset.
Balance of yellow whites, very closed diaphragm, rotation of the camera at 180 degrees, sky of stratocirrus, oblique composition, framing evacuating parasitic elements.
Title: Sunrise on Venus 2.
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2021
Size: 20 x 30 to 100 x 150 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed this daytime sky so as to represent a planet similar to Venus.
To draw the outline of the planet, I attached a lens that was too small to the camera. The result is a shadow: that of the lens. For the atmosphere, I chose a sky formed, for the most part, of slightly nebulous cirrostratus. For the sulfur color of the atmosphere, I opted for a yellow white balance. I then closed the diaphragm (of the lens) to darken this very bright sky. Finally, in Photoshop, I added a glow on the left, to add volume to the photo.
Title: The waterfall 2
Series: The simulacra
Year 2013
Dimensions : 20 x 30 to 50 x 75 cm
Technique: photography
Edition limited to: 20 copies
I photographed this daytime sky so as to evoke a waterfall, overhung by a few clouds. To evoke water, I chose a cirrus sky whose filamentous mass seems to flow.
Title: Sunrise on Venus 2.
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2021
Dimensions : 20 x 30 to 100 x 150 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed this daytime sky so as to represent a planet similar to Venus.
To draw the outline of the planet, I attached a lens that was too small to the camera. The result is a shadow: that of the lens. For the atmosphere, I chose a sky formed, for the most part, of slightly nebulous cirrostratus. For the sulfur color of the atmosphere, I opted for a yellow white balance. I then closed the diaphragm (of the lens) to darken this very bright sky. Finally, in Photoshop, I added a glow on the left, to add volume to the photo.
Title: Column of smoke
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2016
Dimensions : 20 x 30 to 50 x 75 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed this cirrus sky so as to simulate the thick smoke of a fire.
Title: Jupiter, the giantess.
Series: The simulacra
Year: 2016
Dimensions : 20 x 30 to 50 x 75 cm
Technique: photography
Limited edition: 20 copies
I photographed a sunset like the planet Jupiter. To shape the silhouette of a planet, I screwed 3 filters on the lens: these filters cut off the left and right edges of the image. For the general aspect of Jupiter, I chose a wobbly framing, a summer setting sun and a particular cloud cover (mostly cirrostratus). To saturate and change the colors, I used a polarizing filter, an orange filter, and closed the diaphragm. Finally, in order to allow a triple reading of the photo, I integrated the treetops. Thus, this photo can be read in 3 ways: 1- sunset; 2- planet Jupiter; 3- planet too close to Earth (imminent threat).