PALAIS

I love that place. I like it for the weirdness of the space, the light getting in, the insane exhibits of contemporary art, the fantastic books/magazines store. Just like many people, I often find myself thinking "do I understand this?" while standing in front of a piece of contemporary art. And sometimes I do let myself think, "is there anything to understand?". But these questions are pointless, because what matters, I think, is the experience; feeling puzzled, or unconcerned, or upset ("I could have done that myself" -yes, but you did not) are experiences. And the (weird, special, unique) context matters. Contemporary art might sometimes "only" be a space for uniqueness and pointlessness, and so what? When I ask myself, would the world be better off without it? -the answer is obvious.

LOUISE

TOURNAGE

I've been taking pictures on a film set yesterday night and early this morning. There is a lot of work involved in a photoshoot, but making a movie is just insane... so much to do and think about, anticipate, coordinate, try (again), and imagine. Freezing actress, traveling shots on a scooter, curious tourists on the avenue Montaigne, pissed off cops on the bridge, and bags flying away, we had a great time -thanks guys, and good luck for this!

LOUISE

After trying several times, I finally had a moment to photograph Louise again -last time was in november I think. These are digital, but I took a film camera with me, and the "main" pictures are on film; I will go grab it at the lab tonight. It's kind of new for me but this time I really wanted to see how she would look on film, and how I would move around her with a film camera. It's still very easy for me to photograph her; and it's good not to see her too often in a way -distance helps. Also I have no idea why I tend to shoot on film more lately, but it's one of the things I appreciate with photography: I get to act first, and to discover the reasons/causes afterwards.

BEAUBOURG

I wonder if there are Parisians that really do not like Beaubourg... maybe some of those who knew the city without it, and couldn't get used to it. To me it's always been this huge and comforting presence in the middle of everything; the insane architecture between Haussmannian buildings like an ironic smile, and of course, modern art inside, the coolest bookshop, cinemas, and a library. And from the rooftop, one of the nicest views of Paris. Thanks Pompidou.

WORK HARD, PLAY HARDER

Some of the photographs I took last week-end, with the L'Oréal kids. I think Starck really had a great idea when he decided to put these masks in every room... I hated costumes and to disguise myself as a kid (like it wasn't hard enough to be myself, I had to pretend I was someone else!), but we had fun with these. Hope you are all doing good!

THOMAS

I "found" Thomas in the metro, Bastille station. It's been a while since last time I spotted someone in the street and asked for a photoshoot -I missed it. We only spent one hour together, because he had to see the members of his band (he plays the guitar) and go sign a contract afterwards. We shared quite a lot in this short amount of time. The images do not show the laughter and the smiles, even if they happened; I guess Thomas maturity and his elegance when thinking are what struck me the most. Believe it or not, he is only 16... Thanks Thomas.

HOTEL

I have been working for L'Oréal 12 hours a day for the last 3 days. I lived in a nice hotel of the 20eme arrondissement, designed by Philippe Starck, spent time with a group of very creative kids, and worked a lot. It was the first time I was shooting for such a big company; basically documenting an event (a creative contest) they organized. The images here are part of what I gave them in the end. During these 3 days I understood something: it would be impossible for me to photograph something/someone only because I was asked to. I need to need it too, inside. So, I never used a flash even though I almost always shot in super low light conditions -because I think flashes make ugly images, and that photographers with big flashes bother people. I only shot what I felt like shooting, what I needed to photograph; I refused to insist when people were not comfortable; I refused to photograph things that were not interesting to me -to my eyes. I refused to produce "clean" images, refused to let go of blurred, darker images. I was given quite a lot of freedom and if sometimes it wasn't enough, I took the space I needed to work. In the end I understood something very important: I started photography to change my life, and giving up my own vision in the very context of photography would be worse than anything for me. Like the absolute renunciation... So thank you Cédric for letting me express myself, and for trusting me.