To experience and to tell
I discovered the joy of travelling abroad and shooting pictures at the same time – about thirty years ago. I quite quickly became passionate about both hobbies. They fit well my writing ability to serve my ultimate creative goal: to experience and to tell.
To tell well, one need not only to see but to feel and to express those feelings in accordance with a vision. As master photographers often say: the best pictures please the eyes, create emotions and give way to thinking.
Photography can be conceived as a way to see the world or as a way to respond to the world. The first approach reflects a documentary approach, while the second touches upon fine arts.
My pictures aim to be art pieces. Art-making is about creativity. Creativity interpret what you and others see. It is not about what is out there, but what is within you at the moment you craft the picture.
About people, different people
Meeting, understanding and sharing with people moved me in my academic studies and later in my humanitarian commitment. Consequently, I gradually focussed my travel photography and writing on people in their geographical and social environment. This is where I stand now and probably for a long time.
I love not only people but also and foremost different people. Intercultural encounters are often so mutually enriching. They feed you with first-hand insights about other peoples’ culture as they reveal you unveiled facets of your personality.
I am convinced that our globalised world is and will remain strongly multicultural, against the prediction of a sharp and quick decline and homogenisation of cultures. Thus, my travelogue aims also contribute to the resilience of socio-cultural diversity.
About positive cultural matters
The resilience of cultures is indeed not void of intercultural tensions and violence. When embroiled into politics, cultures may become divisional. However, cultural resilience is also very conducive to so many positive intercultural interactions.
My travelogue explores and valorises the positive potential of intercultural matters – too often overlooked or played down by international medias. My posts aim at highlighting the strength and the beauty of our multicultural world. They often sketch the historical roots of the cultures presented and the way they interact mutually.
My travelogue
Enjoying interesting encounters and situations gains its fullest meaning by sharing these experiences. Citizen of a multicultural Switzerland living abroad since two decades, I feel well equipped for this sociological journey.
I initiated my travelogue in 2010. To date, it hosts close to 6,000 pictures of mine, created between 2000 and 2022. Pervaded by a linguistic dilemma, my travelogue started with French (my mother tongue) to continue in English for a more universal outreach.
Hopefully you will enjoy reading my posts as much as I did to produce them.
Last updated 10/05/2022