Fès, Maroco.
The other face of Guadeloupe
1 Comments Published by Sébastien on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 at 10:28 PM.
August 2006, Pointe-à-Pitre suburbs.In 2006, over 200,000 families live in slums, without water and electricity in French overseas regions.
The need for social housing is considerable, because of high rates of unemployment (30 % in average, over 60% in "ZUS" districts) and poverty (high number of recipients of welfare incomes, e.g.10 % of the national total) and the fast demographic growth in this area (which requires an important offer of new housing), because there are much more unsanitary and decrepit housing than in the Hexagon (the French “continent”), because of important natural risks (tropical storms, earthquakes, floods...), because of a GDP per capita three times lower than the national average.
That's what you get when you push a digital cam (check the noise in full view)
Shot from Meknes, Maroco.
Just a nice sunset in Paris....no other word needed....
It's always a delight to see the crowd and to hear this strange noise in front of Sacre Coeur...
New Feature: Post categories!
3 Comments Published by Pierre M on Monday, November 13, 2006 at 1:34 AM.
Hey everyone!
There is a new feature on Photocontacts: a "Post Categories" list on the sidebar. Choose your subject and browse Photocontacts content more easily.
The header photo contest is still running but I have not received any submission yet. Go ahead, send me your best "Photocontacts" pic!
A few of you have mentioned how difficult it is to approach people you are photographing, so maybe we could discuss that here.If you are concentrating on a particular group of people, then it's a good idea to spend some time getting to know them before you actually start taking photos. Walk around with your camera so they get used to seeing you with it but forget the photography for a few days. Meet people, get talking to them and tell them what your interested in doing. Carry some of your photos around with you to show them. Get to know the important figures in the community - people who the others respect or look up to. For an example of this, have a look at Jan Grarup's podcast of his work on the Roma community in Slovakia. If there are NGOs or charities working in the area, get in touch and try to get involved in what they're doing. I'm thinking particularly of Sebastien and Sarah's situation here.
You can use telephoto or big zoom lenses to get closer, but these are often more conspicuous and feel more "threatening" to the people you're photographing. The first photo was taken with a small (90mm) telephoto which is a good compromise. With a wide-angle lens you have to get up-close; so close that people in the foreground probably won't even realize that they're in the picture. The second photo was taken with a 35mm lens in a minibus. In situations where focussing is difficult, you can always preset the lens by using the depth of field ( dof ) settings marked on it. Choose a small aperture which will give you a good dof covering the appropriate distance then all you have to do is click at the right moment. The third photo was taken with a 28mm lens which I had preset to hyperfocal distance.
A website about photographyThere are millions of pictures there, it is easy to get lost for hours. Personally, I don't mind! One way to discover it is to have a look at the "popular galleries", over different periods (7 days, 90 days, all time) .
I would invite you to have a look at these galleries, they are really worth it. But I am sure the cold and rainy/snowy days of the next few months will be a good reason to stay in front of your computer screen.
PS for those who left ENPC some year(s) ago (...Pierre?): there is now in "our magnificent school" an "official" newspaper, Le Canard des Chaussées. I would like to create/add a heading dedicated to photography (photographers, exhibitions, sites, etc...). It would be an interesting complement to "cinema", "cook" and "sudoku"...
This is my first post here...so I would like to share with you a photo taken last year in Italy, this country I'll never forget. B&W, some grain, enough to get an "old times" atmosphere...Rome, the Et
ernal City.About me: some of you already know me, some don't. Some have forgotten me, some will...
I am a student from ENPC, currently in internship ("stage long") for one year in Guadeloupe (urban restoration of Pointe-à-Pitre). I will post some pictures here (different ones, different styles...because I don't have MY style). Two subjects: Italy (gallery) and Guadeloupe (reportage on living conditions...work currently in process!) Two hopes: making you discover some parts of our world and getting advices/critics/comments (and why not improve my English!)...Thanks! And thanks for this site, it is a great idea indeed!
As you may have noticed, Photocontacts is undergoing major changes. As I learn more and more about CSS and coding tricks, I'm able to implement better graphic interface.
I need your opinion on everything: What do you think of the colors? What about the expandable menus? .. etc. Please post your comments, observations, ideas, griefs ... This blog is yours! I design the blog for Firefox, please let me know if you experience some troubles with your prefered browser.
I also need a better header. So, I'm throwing a little game: submit your best pictures related to "Photocontacts". The best one will proudly stand as our official logo and title.The only requirements is that it fit (cropped or not) in the header template.
Good luck! And I'm waiting for your comments and your work!
A quick post about the not-so-new craze on Google Maps mash-ups.
Some says that Google is frantically trying to own the world. I would rather point the fact that before them, nobody had ever managed to unleash the ever-renewable power of the "community". Google Maps mash-ups are just the next step in community-driven web apps, with a truly simple concept: embedding all kinds of information on a map in a graphical fashion.
Now, imagine you can browse photographs according to their geographical location .... Stop dreaming! Earth Album is now a reality.
Built as a bond between Google Map and Flickr - the well known web photo-community - the new version of Earth Album allows you to browse Youtube video too!
Simply unmissable!
You are interesting by Google Map mash-ups? Have a look at Google Map Mania
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