*Peace and Quiet*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Fuji Velvia 50
At the heart of Lyon’s Hôtel Dieu is what I’m assuming used to be a cloister. It’s now a very quiet and quite lovely park with lounge chairs for passers-bu. I tried to capture the width and quiet of it with the XPAN.
*Ganagobie Abbey*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford Pan F
Ganagobie abbey is an old monastery and abbey located in upper Provence. It’s lost in the middle of the dry, sparse forest characteristic of that region. I’m not sure it was all olive trees and lavender, but that’s what the legend would probably say anyway. I was quite taken by the alleyway leading to the majestic entrance, and I wanted to give it the XPAN treatment, so there you go.
*The White Lion*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford Pan F
I can’t remember exactly where I shot this (apart from obviously, it was in London). It may have been on Euston road this summer. I quite like the tones of the Ilford Pan F when it works (I’m told it’s a fickle film…)
*Oxford in the Sun*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford Pan F
Last summer I did a bit of mad traveling going from Bordeaux to Paris to Mâcon to Paris again, to Vienna to Lyon to Marseille to Bordeaux to London/Oxford and back to Bordeaux, most of it for work and in the space of two weeks. It was too much. When I arrived in Oxford it was brutally hot, very unusually so for Britain, but very clear as well. Just outside the train station, I saw this row of beautiful old British houses, took out the camera, and voila.
*Anonymous Lounging*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Fuji Velvia 50
Lyon’s Hôtel Dieu is an ancient hospital that has been decommissioned and rehabilitated as a series of indoor parks, hotels and shops. Its classical architecture is both monumental and sparse. I took a few shots in there, taking advantage of the great light. Despite my chronic underexposure of the Fuji Velvia, some of them came out really nice, like this picture of a friend lounging anonymously on a deck chair in a courtyard.
*Pestacle de Guignol*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Fuji Velvia 50
Lyon is the birthplace of Guignol, the French panto version of Punch and Judy. As I was walking the streets of the old Lyon in a brutal, brutal heat I saw this shop window with a Guignol dummy (at least I think it was a dummy), kids and on the side a guy working on a building. It was my first ever roll of Velvia 50 and I suspect I underexposed it some, but I quite like the warmth in the final photo nonetheless.
*Flower Hair*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Agfa Scala 200
Model : Virgile
I mostly focused on shooting leaves of various shapes on my texture shots. But I did shoot a few flowers. They came out lighter (because they were white or yellow) and that makes for interesting double-exposure. I am wondering though if I might not do a colour roll next time with only flowers and see how that comes out.
*Leaf Disease*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford Pan F
Model : Daniel
It’s quite clear that the short and loosely defined plant textures lead to creepier pictures than the larger, better defined leaves. On this photo the shadows on Daniel’s face concentrate the mass of tiny leaves, conveying the impression of a nasty skin disease…
*Profile in Leaves*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Agfa Scala 200
Model : Olivier
The more I look at the Scala shots, the more I like them. Sure the blowing of the background didn’t work, but it’s still contrasty, and it feels to me a bit like those old portrait shots. I’m not comparing myself to Irving in any way, but these shots feel a bit to me like they are from the same era. I’ll definitely be exploring these double exposures further, and possibly writing an article about the process. Let me know if that is of interest.
*Eaten by Leaves*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford Pan F
Model : Gabriel
The Ilford Pan F photos from that session are a lot more contrasty than the Agfa Scala, and so the effect is starkly different. The plant texture in the shadow on this portrait of Gabriel looks like a strange and slightly creepy plant extrusion…
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