Thursday, September 25, 2008

Rodolphe Simeon in Spotlight Seven (Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff...)

Inferno

This week in Spotlight Seven, guest curator kelco selected the amazing Rodolphe Simeon, aka Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff..., for the Spotlight Seven exhibit. I'm going to crib from his testimonials, because my words cannot do Rodolphe justice.

JenniPenni says:
"Words fail to express how brilliant this guy is. I guess the only way to realize it yourself is to take a look at his photostream...it is one of the best I've ever seen! Bizarre, unconventional, unique and filled with imagination from the first picture to the very last. When I was just a Flickr virgin a few years ago I remember having seen his photostream back then...and now, three four years later I came to the conclusion that his work is something you simply won't forget.
Perhaps one of my favorite photographers here!"


Having photographed people in 12 different countries, Rodolphe has taken his move from Paris to Vancouver in stride. Equally at home shooting in the street or the studio, Rodolphe shows a dedication to his work that most of us can't even aspire to. I know that sounds like an exaggeration, but I think this excerpt from the interview will convince every last one of you.

6) What camera/lenses/computer/software/workflow do you prefer and how much time do you spend processing your images?

I'm a Canon/Mac guy, like perhaps 80% of people in the business. Nothing spectacular. I have a Canon because all the people I know use Canon and it's more easy to exchange lenses or cameras. I have a 5D - it's an amazing camera. I can count on it all the time. My lenses are a 50mm f1.4 and a 17-40mm f4L. I have a Mac computer because Macs are 200% reliable. I use Lightroom to transform RAW files to PSD. I don't do any processing with Lightroom (not even the White balance). I do the entire post-processing in Photoshop.

I usually edit 300 pictures down to only like one photo. I spend, on average, 40 hours in post-processing on the one photo I really like. I'm pretty slow. Especially because I take a lot of time to think about what I'm doing. Technique is not really a problem. Sometimes I could probably do a better technical job, but meaning is more important. Meaning is everything, so I spend more time on research - looking through painting books, reading things, thinking, etc...


Well, that should sell you on the rest of the interview. Every week when I put this together I am truly taken aback by the depth of the interviews in Spotlight 7 and the quality of the photos. Please visit Spotlight 7, and join the group so you never miss a show. Oh, you can see more of Rodolphe Simeon's photos at his website. Enjoy these masterpieces on Flickr & beyond. And a big thanks to kelcon & Rodolphe for this week's exhibit.

Getting old : everybody is invited The genius by Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff....

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