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Unusual work for Hk Visuals, but not so unusual for Blackdough. Yes, I used to cover events regularly, but my photography goals and projects have deviated my path away from this type of work. Yes, I used to do photo reports on events such as hip hop battles and music festivals, but it now belongs to the past. So why did I change my mind? Well, as you might already know, the circus is slowly taking an important part in my series "InMotion" and, since I'm a complete stranger to the circus world, I just could not miss one of the world's biggest French circus rendezvous of the year. 4 days during which, tomorrow's uprising talents selected from around the world perform for a medal. The festival "Cirque de demain" is an unmissable competition for young promising aspiring circus artists. I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the entire festival and I must say that this 37th edition was incredible. I, of course, had my camera with me so, without further ado, here are a few pictures of the festival. Please head to the festival's website for further information. Huge thanks to Anyway Management and the festival "Cirque de demain" for this amazing weekend.

Pour les francophones, un sympathique article sur mon travail dans le  Strasbourg.eu  magazine du mois de mars P.34 ! Merci à Thomas Calinon pour cet entretien.

It took me a long time to reprise my blog this year. Since January and my experience at the festival of "le cirque de demain", a lot of things happened but I just couldn't find the time to update my blog. We can easily be caught in things and realize that a few months have passed. Things have been stagnating earlier this year in my career and I needed to go somewhere else. I needed more time to learn and test things, more space to grow, and seek inspiration. I reached a point where fun wasn't part of the process anymore and this is just the opposite of where my photography needs to be. I guess It was time for me to leave. Literally, moving on, away from where it started to let myself expand and grow as an artist. Things happened really fast, as I am writing, the adventure has already started. It's been a week already on the road. I left friends and family, I left my hometown to discover new horizons. My partner and I, Marlène bought a camping car, sold most of our belongings, and hit the road. Things were not easy and still are not. We postponed our departure a few times, and the goodbyes to our past life were hard to swallow. Still, we both felt that it was the right thing to do. With our heads full of projects and ideas, we are now trying to live the life we want and working on a journey where we will let nothing hold us down. Personally, I will continue the projects that I started in Strasbourg. One of them is the series “InMotion” and others which I'm eager to start and to share with you. In order to make it realistic, we decided to only travel Europe for now. We will regularly, as long as we have a decent internet connexion and a bit of power, share our daily life. I will continue to share “behind the scenes“ videos and info on how I work and make my pictures. A vlog is on the way too but will be up on a different channel as it will include lots of non-photography-related stuff. As it is a bit early to share my thoughts on this trip and as I had a couple of photoshoots before the official departure, I will first share (finally) these pictures before revealing what were up to during the next 9 months. So let's go back in February, where we managed to have in, the same place, 4 dancers from the "Opera National du Rhin" and a circus artist. It all happened at the KM0, an old factory in Mulhouse. All these pictures were shot with the available light. We had a smoke machine to play with and a lot of space to get crazy. A fun session that wasn't easy for the dancers as it was freezing cold inside. But again they knew how to make it look easy, and we ended up with a handful of original pictures. I would like to thank Mr Olivier Zeller for welcoming us to this amazing place and also all our talents who accepted to work in these conditions.

I was 3 months away from the road trip when we planned this shoot. Before leaving Strasbourg, I wanted to try one last time to create pictures in iconic places of my city. I still have a long list of special places that I wish to incorporate in my “InMotion” series. Unfortunately, only the Library André Malraux , BNU , Aubette, Eglise St Pierre Le Jeune and the Pavillon Joséphine became a reality... I felt a bit bitter after my first photo shoots in the church St Pierre le Jeune and the Pavillon Joséphine, as I thought we could have done more in these places. I was lucky enough to be welcomed a 2nd time in both places. I was really impressed by Sasha's skills as we were forced to work in really difficult conditions. No flashes/strobes or any kind of artificial lights were allowed. So in order to keep a decent image quality and have acceptable noise in our pictures, we had to prioritize poses that could be held a few seconds! Here are the results of the pictures made with a hand-balancing master: I now have (and you may have noticed if you follow my work) an history with Fanny... Somehow you can see the evolution of my work by just recollecting all the pictures we did together. We were supposed to meet with her twin sister, Noemie, at the Pavillon Josephine in Strasbourg that day but guess what, things turned out differently and she got sick! Fanny and I ended up improvising a solo session, and like always, we ended up making really awesome pictures. Fanny never let me down, I will sure miss our regular meetings in front of my lens. Amongst the place I would have loved to photograph, there is one in my city that I hope I will shoot someday: The Cathedrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg. My fingers are crossed, in hopes that one day this dream comes true.

Feat. the Broncolor Siros L This should have been the beginning of the tour... But it was not. Bordeaux was supposed to be my first stop but for many reasons and a lack of realism, I guess I had to go there by train. The plan was simple, a mix of ballet and pole dance shoots during my 6-day stay. I had there the opportunity to test things, and actually have a sense of what it would be like to work on the road. So we brought the minimum in gear, a 5d mark III, a laptop, a few drives, a tripod, and one strobe... and not any strobe: The new SIROS L by Broncolor. I've worked with a few different kits for the past 2 years and the Move 1200L. and My favorite light shaper, the para 88 was one of them. I've worked with this combo for a year, and it was awesome, apart from a small detail... It is not small actually, and a bit heavy. I managed to work with it alone but It was better with an assistant. The problem was that you quickly get used to the power of this unit and the unique look of the para. But with time, if you need to work fast and travel a lot it might not be the ideal combo. That's when the SIROS L comes in, and this quick trip to Bordeaux was an opportunity for me to test the beast. No more cables, it comes all in one piece, so you have to keep in mind that all the weight is in the “head”. To make it small, I brought with me the Beauty box 65. A nice foldable modifier that acts as a beauty dish. I won't go into a detailed 1st thought of the SIROS, I will just share a short selection of the work done during my 6 days in Bordeaux. Some of the pictures below were shot in Natural Light : Once again I would like to thank the city of Bordeaux for letting me officially create in their city (Jardin Public, Jardin Botanique, Base sous-marine). I also want to thank all the people that run a place called DARWIN. It will be hard for me to describe how unique and amazing this place is, so I invite you to check them out right now: darwin.camp . I rarely have had the possibility of having that many locations all in one place. Will not thank enough all these amazing performers (in order of appearance) Sara Renda, Claire Teisseyre, Nicole Muratov from the ballet de Bordeaux and Pinar, Lutine, Allegra, Davann, Sylvie, and Jenny, the pole fam' from Sport dance complex . Of course, I cannot forget the Broncolor crew for letting me test the Broncolor SIROS L in the real world. More is coming up soon as I'm taking this crazy tool and his perfect twin on the road! More coming up ahead, stay connected.

Behind the scenes video feat. Priscilla Del Canto Last year I had the chance to try a few different things and diversify my work. A short crossfit experience with fitness box Strasbourg with a huge souvenir outside their “box”. And of course my first attempts at a fitness photoshoot with fitness bikini athlete Priscilla del canto on an “off” season session outdoors. After that very first session, I knew that I wanted to meet her again during competition season, but this time indoors and with a more advanced lighting setup. Just as a reminder, here is our first collaboration: First fitness photoshoot. Almost a year after we were back together for a photoshoot at Fitness box. Since I've worked before, there was no space left for bad surprises. We only had 2 hours to make a variety of shots at work, and we were only allowed to use a small portion of the “box” as they call it. I brought with me 2 SIROS L to help me shape the light a bit better, to make her stand out, and help those muscles “pop” a bit more. It was my first time using 2 SIROS L and I was a little bit stressed and afraid that it might take some time to set things up for each shot. I wasn't alone in this session, my partner Marlène was there to speed things up, and she never used the SIROS before. Setting up the 2 strobes + a beauty box 65 and a 100x60 softbox took us less than 10 minutes for our 1st scene. After a couple of test shots, we were ready to work. Here are 2 lighting setups to help you understand how I achieved that look: Canon 5D mark III Broncolor Siros L (60x100 modifier) camera left Broncolor Siros L (Beauty box 65) modifier camera right Update! This blog post was originally 2 separate articles, that I decided to merge into one. Now you have almost all the diagrams for the images from this session in one place. Canon 5D mark III Broncolor Siros L (60x100 modifier) camera left Broncolor Siros L (Beauty box 65) modifier camera right Canon 5D mark III Broncolor Siros L (60x100 modifier) camera left Broncolor Siros L (Beauty box 65) modifier camera right Canon 5D mark III Broncolor Siros L (60x100 modifier) camera left Broncolor Siros L (Beauty box 65) modifier camera right Canon 5D mark III Broncolor Siros L (Beauty box 65) camera left Broncolor Siros L (60x100 modifier) modifier camera right Canon 5D mark III Broncolor Siros L (Beauty box 65) camera left Broncolor Siros L (60x100 modifier) modifier camera right Working with these independent strobes is really a plus. With the help of an assistant, we managed to wrap up this shoot in less than 2 hours without rushing. No cables in the way, and a system that even a 2-year-old can use, what more can we ask? Quality? Judge by yourself, with the results down below. No heavy editing, constant high-quality light in each burst, It was my first time working with the 2... And I was really impressed... so far so good! I didn't use the Broncolor App this time but I will sure try it on my next session. We will then see how the SIROS behaves in the long run!

This is a quick post! Sometimes unexpected things happen... Last Monday I received a quick call from my friend Raphael Bloch who needed a photographer for the premiere of his musical BABEL l'héritage. I was thrilled to come back to my home city for this project. Took the first train and left Lyon right away for Strasbourg. It all happened at the Palais de la musique et des congrés Wednesday and Thursday night. Here is a short selection summarizing the night, you will find information, story, casting, and full gallery soon on their website: www.babelheritage.fr Huge thanks to the entire BABEL team for trusting me for their pictures!

Back home from my 2nd trip to Bordeaux ( check out the first) , I came with a lot of pictures. I won't be able to show them all but, I will show you a selection of what I feel are the best and most representative of the work I'm building now. This first part will be dedicated to 4 Pole dance performers I had the pleasure to work in a unique location in Bordeaux: Darwin. For this particular shoot, that had to be done in less than a day, I brought a Siros L 800 and a beauty box 65 light modifier with me. This one wasn't easy as we had a lot of setups to make like assembling the pole, hanging the silk, etc... This was also the first time I had 4 performers for a single session! The location really helped me make this possible. The place is huge and offers a variety of scenes and moods, all in one place. This helped us save a lot of time. I was assisted for this one by my all-time partner Marlène. Her presence also allowed me to work a bit faster than usual. I was able to move the Siros L and make light tests and adjustments really quickly. Since it was my real first experience with the Siros L, I made the decision to work with only one Strobe to make things easy. I regretted this a little bit this decision because the use of this tool was not really a no-brainer. 800W was just enough power to work outside and compete against the sun. I had to balance my shot and make my performers stand out on the first ones we made outside: Nothing crazy here (The picture above features Allegra Bird and below Injy Pina), the Flash was positioned camera left at a 90 degrees angle. It rained a few days before our shoot so we had a few puddles left that didn't dry out. We wanted a completely different mood for the rest of our shoot so we went from the colorful graffitis to a refurbished factory. We made a couple of pictures without the pole and played a little bit with the light. Instead of, systematically lighting the subject from the front, we lighted our talent from the back or from the side to make a split (The picture below features Lutine). Sometimes, I didn't have the possibility to use the Bronco, so we made a few shots with the available light (The picture below features Allegra Bird). Shooting Pole dancers can be tricky. Timing and a basic understanding of the discipline are key. I often ask my performers to be precise. I show them how I would like to frame, where I want them positioned, and the type of lines and forms I would like to see. The artists then suggest a couple of moves or poses and we decide together what to work with. I am not a Pole dance specialist, but I love shooting pole artists, and this session helped me understand a bit more about this sport and enriched my experience. I really hope I will be able to work with other great performers. Huge thanks to the people of DARWIN that welcomed us during this very long morning. Thank you ladies for this amazing morning, Injy Pina, Allegra Bird, Lutine, and Jenny, and I hope to work with you guys again someday. This was possible thanks to Sports Dance complex. Shout-outs to the Broncolor Team, thanks for The SIROS L, it's an amazing tool. Last but not least, I would like to thank my partner Marlène for her help during this shoot.

This is part 2, my 2nd selection of the work I've done in Bordeaux. I will, like in the first part , explain how I built some of the shots we made. If you haven't read the first part please do! This time we are leaving pole dance behind and we will concentrate on 3 dancers from the Opera National de Bordeaux! It was my first time and I have to admit, it was an honor for me to work with all 3 of them. We worked at Darwin again with Etoile Sara Renda and soloist Claire Teisseire. We had access to another playground for Nicole Muratov and made a couple of pictures inside “la base sous-marine”. I just couldn't be in Bordeaux again and not shoot with ballerinas... It has now become an important part of my work. Adapt, improvise and think quickly, this is how I work now! It can be scary and stressful, but it's also very exciting as you may create things you would have never thought of otherwise. This is what happened with this shot, I only had one strobe and there was a window just in front of the piano. I decided to use the incoming light from that window as a 2nd light source and placed my SIROS L as a backlight. Here is the result: A beautiful Piano was waiting for us there... how can I not use it! The lighting here is basic with a placement at a 90 degrees angle camera left. I love this kind of picture! The environment plays an important role here. I needed a lot of power to light Claire and to not have the flash in the way. The 800w was necessary here to overpower the ambient light. When I walked into this abandoned building, I knew that I had to make a few shots inside! The trick was to hide the flash somewhere! Here, Sara is posing in front of an opened door with the flash next to her simulating the sun sneaking in. And here, the strobe is underneath the stairs just in Front of Sara! Bordeaux is almost a 2nd home now! Thanks to the city, we gained access to another original location, far from the regular studio pictures dancers usually make. “La Base sous-marine” was perfect for us. I was supposed to visit the place a few days before to prepare for my shoot, but unfortunately, we couldn't sync our schedules. I ended up visiting the building 30 minutes before the session! This is actually the 3rd picture we made there, and it was an easy one to make. The light wasn't coming in as I needed and her face was underlit once laying on the floor. I really wanted the rail in my composition because I wanted to use it as a leading line. The solution was simple, we used the beauty box 65 and a Siros L 800W (camera right) placed perpendicularly to the handrail. I purposely slightly underexposed the environment for that dark dramatic look. Again, using the location to hide my flash. To help Nicole "Stand out" in the center. During these 3 different sessions, the Siros L was the perfect companion. Compact, with no cables/wires dangling around, we were able to move, and work fast without compromising on the quality of the results. Down below is a selection of my favorite images from these sessions: I must thank all the amazing performers for sharing their craft with me. Huge shout out to la ville de Bordeaux. Thank you DARWIN and “la base sous-marine” for welcoming us. Thanks to my lovely partner Marlène for her help and support. We are on tour as I'm writing this article! New amazing stuff is coming up...

The very first episode of my VLOG ! I will blog less in the future and Vlog more... Really sorry for not giving any news for so long, but this new life and adventure changed everything in my life these last (almost ) 90 days! Here are a few links in addition to this video: 1/ The pictures we made in Bordeaux part 1 2/ And the part 2 of course! And the crazy event who got the flower never made it to my blog but has its own gallery on Facebook: WGTF 2016 It was kind of heartbreaking to leave my city but as you might guess, awesome things are coming up. Don't be shy, ask your questions! If you want to see something in particular in future episodes or know anything (photography-related or not) about me, us, this whole adventure please leave a message in the comment section below! Huge thanks to my parents, Martial and Marilyne for their help before our departure. Thanks to all our friends that helped us leave our apartment in 48hours. Rendez-vous in Episode 2 next week !

In 4 days we will be celebrating our 100th day on the road ! More than 3 months now that we are exploring France and Europe on this first tour. I don't really like the word “tour” because it does not describe accurately the project. To summarize, we left our past lives behind to start a brand new adventure... live on the road! I say we because I couldn't leave my wife behind. She decided to follow me on this crazy journey. It all started May 1st when we officially left our apartment in Strasbourg and sold most of our belongings. Marlène took a sabbatical (just in case) and left X-rays and MRIs for a DSLR... In a way, not a dramatic change, she's still making images! From now on, we will post 60 seconds Behind The Scenes videos of some of our shoots on our Instagram: For those who don't have Instagram, a full-length video will be uploaded on my youtube channel as well . Stuttgart was our very first stop, and we met a dancer who is not new to the series “InMotion”: Miriam Kacerova. Principal at the Stuttgart Ballet, she was this time accompanied by Robert Robinson, another dancer from the company. It's always a pleasure to work with Miriam. For those who haven't known my work for long, here are our first pictures together made inside the Stadtbibliothek: Behind the scenes, Stadtbibliothek photoshoot This time, we worked at the Europaviertel (not far from the Stadtbibliothek). I wanted to try a few pictures before sunset. We worked with a single Siros L (800w) strobe equipped with the Beautybox 65. At the time, I already had a little experience with the tool as I had the privilege to work with the Siros L for a few weeks before the official start of this road trip. In this 2 part article, you can see some of my early works made in Bordeaux a few weeks ago: 1/ Bordeaux (part 1) 2/ Bordeaux (part2) I really love the simplicity of the tool. The 800 watts are just enough power for daytime outdoor shoots and adapt well in any other application. I will test the Broncolor app shortly and give my first impressions on the twin strobes that I have after 2 months of use on the road. Is the Siros L the perfect companion for on-location shooters like me? Wait and see. As I'm writing, I and my partner are exploring the south of France. The next blog posts will be on our trip to Switzerland. We stay connected!

Stop number 3 ! Not our first time in Zürich, but the first time we go there to shoot dancers from de Zürich Ballet. We had a fantastic time there but didn't stay long. We hope to come back there next year for a visit, and for new amazing projects. As I promised (in the video), here are a few explanations, to help you understand how we made 2 pictures of these sessions. This is the very first picture we took at the Opernhaus Zürich. My assistant Marlène was placed camera right and is my key light. The hard-hitting sun is behind the 2 dancers and acts as a backlight. OpernHaus Zürich - Galina Mihaylova & Eric Von Christison You need a powerful flash to compete against the sun. For this type of situation, the 800w Broncolor Siros L is the perfect tool. I used it with a small light modifier, the beauty box 65. For this 2nd picture, the setup is a little different. The sun was quickly vanishing behind the buildings behind me (over my left shoulder) so we had to work fast. Getting the position right wasn't easy for Elizabeth and Eric but we managed to nail it before the sun disappeared. Kreuzkirche Zürich-Hottingen - Elizabeth Wisenberg & Jesse Fraser The Siros L Was positioned as a backlight this time to help me separate the dancers from the steps. I had just enough light from the sun to have a decent exposition. I won't thank enough these amazing performers. So blessed to be the one capturing these unique moments. Huge thanks goes also to the OpernHaus and the Kreuzkirche Zürich-Hottingen for welcoming us and letting us shoot these amazing pictures. Shoutouts to the Broncolor Family, Episode 4 is on its way...