…has it been so long?!?

YIKES!  Well, yes, I’ve been pretty busy the past few months, thinking of so (way too) many things besides shooting pictures (unfortunately!) -and sadly even less about blogging and sharing images and stories…

But, hey, it’s January 31st, 2013, so I still have until today (at least it’s common practice here in Western Europe) to say: Happy New Year!!!  Yes, let’s be a bit silly -it’s fun -try it!
And Tomorrow? Oh, Well, Whatever ;)))

airport lounge: drinks in hand, and NYC’s on my mind…

At a cosy bar in the airport lounge, drinks in hand, jazzy music in the background…  I’m waiting for my flight to the old Europe, and I’ve got New York City on my mind…

out of the grey, back to the light!

Yes, I’m hoping on a flight in a few hours, this time it’s gonna be a bit further West than the last two times (Iceland & Ireland) -and, no it’s not to another country starting with the letter ‘I’ (sic!). no, I’m actually on my way to beloved NYC!!

Been a bit overwhelming the last few months, especially because of that strange new world that is Paris…  Not the easiest place to get accustomed to, but anyways, I’m on my way out of the grey, back to the light!

so I’m off to Ireland…

Yeah, so I haven’t found “where it’s at” (nobody seem to know in this town) but I know how to reconnect with some real creative energy: get the f¤#k out of the place!

So I’m flying to Ireland (as a friend pinted out, it’s the closest EU country to the states -Ha! ;)) I’ll drive around, trek a bit, maybe do some surfing, relax, have a few pints of guiness (or more ;) and just shoot when I’ll feel like it.

Nothing like what I did the last 5 hurrendous weeks in the Southern USA, but more like the way I did it in Iceland: enjoying the experience and then enjoy the photography -I hope you can do that, and even better!  So happy trails!

Trying to find “where it’s at”…

Damn boys & girls, contrary to popular belief, Paris isn’t for the lovebirds, and it’s sure as hell not the easiest place to find your creative mojo!! Especially when you’re still looking for a flat to empty out all your stuff from a container arriving from NYC…

Oh well, seems like I’ll be trying to find “where it’s at” for some more time.

…Or I’ll just keep staring into these eyes, like that Shakespeare guy, right?

next stop: Iceland!

I dont know if it already exists but, for the songwriters out there, here’s what’s playing in my head today: Leaving New York City is a heartbreaker…

So I chose Iceland (which I haven’t seen in 6 years!) to ease the pain ;)))

sweet home nyc, but -alas- not for long…

Been back for a few days now, and it felt so -so- good to be back in NYC after that long solo 3-part trip through the Deep South and then to South West!… So I’m back to the Beat… Back to the New York Groove! (yep, you’re thinking of that song too ;)). 

City o’ lights, desert, water… and R&R!

Ahhhh Vegas! Always enjoyed the city, even if I never really played poker, black jack or slot machines…  I know what the city stands for, what it represents, why people come here, and why it’ll never be the center of the universe (sic!).  But i always liked the fact that its surrounding mountains, deserts and forests are among the most beautiful part of the US of’A!  And after a trip shooting around Southern California’s deserts and its ‘sea’, then in Arizona’s mountains and plains, it’s a blast to put the gear down, relax, enjoy great food and lounge around -before or after the jacuzzi!
No outside lights&music entertainment needed for this photog, just some R&R before flying back East to my hometown, lovely NYC… 

Leonard and God, Friends in Slab City…

After a few days under a harsh sun -it was happily boiling my brain while I tried to shoot around the Salton Sea (yes, temperature rose to 116°F  – 47°C in the shade!), I decided to stop searching for people to do some portraits (they were all in their houses under their air-conditioning!). I had to do something else for a short while, something different and -if possible- in the shade!  So I went to meet a few hard-core residents of the “Slabs” that are still up in the scorching hot desert while summer is upon us and already frying this landscape.  I wanted to say hi to Leonard, talk about his astonishing work (28 years painting ’his’ mountain), and talk about Love and God, but he was gone… So I hung out with some cool ‘Slabbers’ and learned quite a few great things about this lively community!

This isn’t part of the story on the Salton Sea but a great place and some good friends I’d like to come back to someday… lots to say.  I’ll try to talk more about it later ;))

Any editors out there up for a real and truthful portrait/story about this community, I’m your man! ;))

LIVE: Back shooting the Salton Sea…

(too) quick stint through Alabama…

Fishing Louisiana’s Gulf swamps

On the road way South on Louisiana’s swamps, spending a little time with the people living and fishing in this area…

LIVE: Driving along the Gulf of Mexico…

This is what it looks like… Driving, shooting, searching for images… 

LIVE: to the Gulf!

…the Gulf Coast, that is!  I’m in Galveston, Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico, about to start a roadtrip that will take me along the Gulf’s shores, all the way to Mobile, Alabama!  I’m still working on different projects I started a couple of years ago, and I’ll start making more portraits of the people I meet along the way…

For the time being, here’s two images shot from the car…

Gotta go!  And -as they say ’round here: “Howdy Ya’ll”

off to Texas…

Crazy crazy crazy times here in NYC last month!!!  Much to say but no time for now.

Busy, busy, busy but all crazy…  Now I’m now off to Texas, then to Louisiana, and Alabama. I’ll then fly to Vegas, then head to California, a bit of Arizona and back to NYC at the end of the month… Yikes!

Lotsa work ahead…!  But I’ll try to keep you posted as best I can ;))

fighting in nyc streets… with pillows!

Ah, yes, something fun!  …Pillow-fighting the peeps around you -what a riot! And also a good way to make friends in the sun (or bash your enemy’s head in without risking jail-time), while celebrating spring’s arrival and the fun to be outside and having a good time!

…Just like when we were kids!

FRANCAIS : Comme c’est désormais la coutume à NYC, la fameuse bataille d’oreillers a permis à de nombreux new-yorkais et touristes de se lacher en tapant avec énergie et entrain sur son voisin… Tout en rigolant un bon coup avec des inconnus !  Ah… les plaisirs de l’enfance !

Gone skateboarding…

F%£k that s#!t, says I!  Need a break from all this editing of my last trip (those new essays will have to wait -though I’m getting close to put out some brand new stuff!)…  I’ve been cramped up behind this desk while the weather outside was just stunningly beautiful here in NYC (22°C / 70F yesterday!), so I’m off.  Gone fishing skateboarding!

FRANCAIS : Et puis m£%@e! Je n’en peux plus, il a fait trop beau et chaud depuis quelques jours à NYC et je les ai passés derrière mon écran à travailler une partie des images de mon récent trip californien -et y’en a marre… Ces nouvelles séries photo attendront! Je suis parti pêcher skater ;))

(updated) Photographer William Daniels tells of escape from Syria

Good news from Syria are rare -to say the least!- so it was a true relief to see photog & friend William Daniels return safely to Paris with wounded journalist Edith Bouvier (especially after days without news from them since their video asking for her evacuation to safety).

Today, days only after escaping Syria, William is talking about their ordeal -and it is harrowing!  After escaping from the bomb blast which killed Remi Ochlik and Marie Colvin and seriously wounded Edith, William spent days hiding in apartments and cellars in Homs -under constant shelling by Al Assad’s army forces. While trying to find ways to escape and get Edith to a hospital, the Syrian rebels did all they could to help them.  They tried to evacuate Edith on a stretcher through a tunnel but found themselves cut-off by the Syrian army’s bombing. The civilians and the rebels fled to safety and the two journalists were left totally alone in the dark tunnel, without any way to escape (Edith couldn’t be moved by a single man). Luckily, a Syrian rebel came back to their rescue with a scooter and they barely made it out. It was back to square one, but they just couldn’t wait anymore, so they chose the most dangerous way to escape Homs and the country: they headed for the border by car, at night, hoping to avoid the Syrian army’s lines!  William describes the awfulness of daily life in Homs (with the bombing, the snipers and the lack of food and water), and pays tribute to the Syrian people, which he calls heroes, and for whom the nightmare continues… While the Western world politics watches on, doing shit.

Update (March 9) : While William’s photographs made the cover of Time Magazine (!) as they published his first images -which can be seen on Time’s website-, NPR radio also interviewed him (in english!).

William, I’m glad you made it out ok, and that you found enough strength to help your colleagues and are now able to tell the truth about what’s going on inside Syria. Be safe and don’t forget what we talked about in NYC ;)  A few months ago, William was in NYC to meet clients and check out the city, so we got some time to chat about his work, especially Haiti and Libya, and about how he felt -which is rare- covering those conflict zones…

FRANCAIS : Vous le savez, William Daniels est rentré à Paris avec Edith Bouvier, la journaliste blessée à Homs, en Syrie. Après l’explosion d’un obus qui a tué deux autres journalistes, Marie Colvin et Rémi Ochlik, le retour de William et d’Edith est enfin une bonne nouvelle au milieu de ce cauchemar.  Et aujourd’hui, en attendant que les politiciens occidentaux retrouvent enfin leurs ‘cojones’ et oublient ces pathétiques querelles de parti pour s’occuper réellement de cette atroce situation, William a expliqué ce qui s’est passé à Homs et ce que c’est de vivre sous les bombes.

February 29th: good day to start tweentin’

Shooting Tanguy is a tweetin’ little photog, as of today (seemed like a good day to start ;))

So you can follow here @ShootingTanguy

Shooting Tanguy caught shooting the Pacific

…Just because it’s cool to have someone else to ride with, and to take a few pictures of how you work ;)  If you guys like this, I’ll post more images like this!FRANCAIS : Une photo pour le plaisir d’avoir un regard ‘behind the scenes’ sur le travail d’un photographe sur la route (cette fois sur la cote californienne)…

On the road: relaxing in Joshua Tree

After some shooting South of LA -and just before heading back on the road after a few days of skiing (hell yes, I need to ride in the Sierras :)), it’s time for some relaxing around the rocks of Joshua tree national park…

On the road: Around the Salton Sea

What a crazy place! It used to be a thriving touristic area  in the fifties and sixties but today, without any fresh water pouring into the ‘lake’ and with too much agriculture pollutants, it’s full of dead fish, dying birds and, if nothing is done, it will have the same fate of the Aral Sea…
FRANCAIS : Salton Sea, au sud de LA, était un lieu touristique en plein essor dans les 50s et 60s, mais sans aucun apport d’eau fraîche dans le «lac» et avec trop de polluants agricoles, les poissons et les oiseaux meurent, et les humains abandonnent l’endroit, ce qui risque de devenir une répétition du sort de la mer d’Aral.

On my way to LA…

Los Angeles…  Whenever I get there, I always end up singing my own version of “L-A-L.A., L L-A L.A.!”…  And I think to myself “What the hell am I doing drinking in L.A.? L.A yeah-eah” (sorry for the Bran Van 3000 fans out there, I like to put my own twist on lyrics ;) 

This time around I’ll be a few days in the city and plan on ’road-tripping’ in SoCal & AZ, and maybe some skiing in Lake Tahoe…  Stay tuned!

FRANCAIS : Je suis en route pour Los Angeles avant d’entamer un road-trip dans le sud de la Californie et de l’Arizona, avant de remonter vers le Nevada et les montagnes enneigées du Lac Tahoe… Si la route et l’aventure n’en décident pas autrement! ;)) 

Mais je tenterai de vous tenir au courant d’ici mon retour à NYC !

A look back at ‘ShootingTanguy’ in 2011

A Tibetan zen master, in a grotto way up in the Himalayan mountains, once told me that “one can only walk towards his future with strong feet and a light heart if he knows the path of his past”…  Or was it a proverb I read on one of those disgusting Chinese cookies?…  Oh well, my memory’s frying up but the point is that I always find it interesting to look back at the year before. You often realize how many things you did and forgot about (especially in my case), but it’s also a way to try to have a better year (not totally sure it always works out, but hey, I’m a bit of a nostalgic ;))  Then again, there’s still heaps of stuff missing from this, especially images about new projects and ideas and a few trips and assignments I keep for this new year…

So, on this 12th day of 2012, here goes 2011!  [slideshow below]

FRANCAIS : Un maître zen tibétain, du fond de sa grotte dans les montagnes de l’Himalaya, m’a dit un jour que “l’on ne peut que marcher vers son avenir avec des pieds solides et un cœur léger lorsqu’on connait le chemin parcouru par le passé”… Bon, ok, c’est possible qu’il s’agisse d’un proverbe que j’ai lu dans un de ces dégoûtants biscuits chinois… Quoi qu’il en soit, je trouve toujours intéressant de revenir sur l’année précédente -on y réalise souvent combien on oublie de choses (surtout dans mon cas)-, mais c’est aussi un moyen pour tenter d’améliorer l’année à venir… Evidemment, il manque beaucoup d’images de l’an passé, notamment sur divers projets et idées, mais il en sera question cette année…

Pas totalement sûr que cela fonctionne toujours, mais bon, je suis un peu nostalgique ;))  Alors, en ce 12ème jour de 2012, voilà un p’tit coup dans le rétro pour revoir 2011 et saluer l’arrivée de la nouvelle année !  [diaporama ci-dessus]

ShootingTanguy wishes you a Very Happy Shootin’ New Year!

Here’s to you!

Shortest day… Blackest night

Surprise visit to Southern France…

My chauffeur last night…

Last party in David Alan Harvey’s NYC loft…

Early last month (yes I know, I know, it’s been a while!), David Alan Harvey invited his friends, colleagues and Burn magazine fans to celebrate what he called his ‘last’ slideshow-party in his New York loft.  On two occasions, we all went to the ‘Kibbutz’ building in Brooklyn, to watch and listen to Bruce Gilden, Chris Anderson, Bruce Davidson and the host himself talk about their work!  I was lucky enough to have been a part of a few of those gatherings the last four years in NYC, and it was pretty special to be there -especially because David said it was his last show! 

I got to chat with some great photographers, make new friends, listen to stories, talk shop, and mingle with new peeps (and even had the chance to continue chatting with a few guys I met at Magnum’s annual bash in Paris…)!  Though I rarely take photos at such events, I shot a few times during the slideshows to remember it all… Then also on the rooftop afterwards for more drinks (look Ma’, no tripod ;)  All in all, it ended up being two pretty cool nights!  Thanks again DAH…

FRANCAIS : Il y a bientôt deux mois (oui, je sais, ça fait un bout de temps ;), le photographe David Alan Harvey a invité ses amis, collègues et fans du magazine ‘Burn’ à écouter les présentations du travail respectif de Bruce Gilden, Chris Anderson et Bruce Davidson (ainsi que le sien)! C’était plutôt sympa d’être parmi les invités -surtout parce qu’il s’agissait, selon David, de son dernier party dans son loft à NYC…

J’ai donc pu assister aux diaporamas de ces grands photographes, ainsi que parler avec eux par la suite -notamment Bruce et Chris que j’avais rencontré la dernière fois à Paris lors d’une soirée de Magnum. C’était cool de discuter avec tant de gens passionnés, de boire un verre avec des collègues et des nouveaux amis, et j’en ai même profité pour faire quelques photos des soirées, ainsi que de “l’after” sur le toît du loft. Rien de bien formidable en images mais… Fallait y être! ;))   Merci encore David!

Lonely or nostalgic?

She’s alone, sitting under a gazebo as the sun drips below the horizon…  She’s in her own little world, unaware of my presence, and gazing at the lake’s water in Central park.  And I wonder: what or who is she thinking about, and just how she feels…  Guess we all have our own story about such a picture…  Yours?

FRANCAIS : Je ne sais absolument rien d’elle et pourtant je me demande quelle est son histoire…  J’aimerais savoir à quoi elle pense ainsi, seule sur son banc, le regard perdu dans les reflets d’un lac de central park… Et vous, qu’en pensez-vous ? Se sent-elle seule ou nostalgique ?

11-11-11…

So it’s today, the big 11.11.11…  Don’t be scared!

Forget the prophecies, the Mayas, the Aztecs, the acient Chinese, Atlantis, etc…  For one day, also forget about our economic doom, the banksters and the politics.  Just Enjoy Today!  Go out, play, have fun, and go shoot images you like!!

FRANCAIS : Alors comme ça, c’est bien aujourd’hui… Le fameux 11/11/11. Ouais, et bien moi je vous dis d’oublier les prophéties, les fins du monde et les cataclysmes… Aujourd’hui, faites comme moi et allez jouer! Pour une journée, f..k la politique et les banquiers, la rigueur et le déclin, la peur et la folie du monde… Revenez au ’1′, revenez à la simplicité, à l’essentiel. Faites-vous plaisir !!

Two days in Montreal…

Sorry If I didn’t call anyone in advance, I’m in Montreal for a “special day”, but only for the shortest week-end…  Shhhh, it’s a surprise!

(The Guy in this 2006 photo shoot has something to do with this trip…).

Qaddafi is alive… and parading in NYC!

Yes, it is true: the propaganda news of Qaddafi’s death, Lybia’s former dictator, are bogus!  It’s all fake, the reporters conspiracy theorists were right. Yeah, I’m telling you, I saw him last Monday night parading down Sixth avenue, in New York City – and I even shot his portrait!

 

 

 

FRANCAIS : Voici enfin la vérité sur Kadhafi, dont la presse mondiale a clamé la mort il y a quelques jours en Libye : tout cela est faux! L’ex dictateur libyen est bel et bien vivant et se balade (en habits d’apparat, qui plus est!) dans les rues de Manhattan. La preuve en est avec ce portrait que j’ai fait de lui ce lundi dernier!

Snowin’ in nyc, out with a pola…

 
I was with friends in one of my favorite West Village restaurant last saturday when it started snowing outside…

Though October is still early for snow in NYC…  It is quite fun to be out on a ‘snow day’!  No reason not to enjoy it all once outside, so I shot a couple images on my way back home (any guesses on which camera I used for those two?).

 

 

 

 

 

FRANCAIS : Avec des amis dans un de mes restaurants préférés de West Village, quand il commencé à neiger… Bien qu’octobre soit encore bien trop tôt pour la neige à New York… Il est assez amusant de profiter d’une telle “journée de neige”! J’ai donc fait quelques images sur le chemin (Devinez quelle caméra j’ai utilisé ?).

Tim & Chris, 6 months and 6 days…

I was on my way to Miami when I heard the latest news in Lybia: the execution of Qaddafi in Syrte, his boyhood-town, by the rebels of Misrata.  I then thought of Chris Hondros and Tim Hetherington, who both died in Misrata, exactly six months earlier, while they were with the rebels who caught the tyrant…

I wonder what they would’ve said today, as the war in the country finally ended…

Shooting in SoBe, Miami

I’ve been away from NYC for a few days now, shooting down here in South Beach, Miami (and, yep, enjoying the beach and the waves! ;)FRANCAIS : Voilà quelques jours que j’ai quitté l’air frais de New York pour l’océan et les plages du “Sud”, à South Beach, Miami! Je sais, y’a pire comme endroit mais rassurez-vous je reviens vite vers le nord ;)

Along the Puget sound, near Seattle…

Back to the Pacific Northwest!

After my flight to Seattle last August [here], I spent a shitty night in a motel so I got out of my room before sunrise. Without any ideas in mind, I headed west towards the Puget Sound and just wandered around.  I stumbled upon a few guys fishing from apier and spent the morning there…

Then, after passing through suburbia near the Seatac airport I drove North, from Seattle towards Vancouver, Canada!… (next episode!)  

FRANCAIS : De retour dans l’état de Washington, au mois d’août! Après mon vol de NYC à Seattle [ici] et une nuit pourrie, j’ai quitté ma chambre pour rallier le ‘Puget Sound’ et passer du temps avec des pêcheurs du coin…

Ca c’était avant la remontée de Seattle à Vancouver, au Canada! (La suite au prochain épisode ;)

New blog look…

Yep, this blog’s entire look has changed!  So, what do you think?  Better or worse?

FRANCAIS : Vous le voyez, le look de ‘Shooting Tanguy’ a changé! Qu’en pensez-vous?…

shooting a famous photographer at work…

It’s always fun and interesting to see how other photographers work…  Henri Cartier-Bresson was saying that he could tell a lot about a photog to his way of working a scene…  So you can imagine my great (but way too short)  pleasure when I was asked to take a few images of the great David Burnett at work in the NYC crowd on September 11, 2011…

These are outtakes from that day.

FRANCAIS : J’aime bien voir comment d’autres photographes travaillent et évoluent dans une situation donnée, que ce soit dans une foule ou autour d’un sujet. Henri Cartier-Bresson disait qu’il pouvait dire beaucoup d’un photographe à sa façon de se déplacer…  Ce fut donc un grand (mais trop court) plaisir de photographier le grand David Burnett lors de la cérémonie des 10 ans du 11 septembre 2001!