Mathēo
@matheo_jbt
Best of the week 40 at #nomadict 2020
My home is where the French Alps are. It is where I grew up, where I had walks in nature and hikes in the mountains as a kid, and it’s where my love for the outdoors derives from. Travel abroad for me was a means to discover new landscapes, distinct mountains and a way to be even more in nature. The desire to travel became stronger with each trip, as well as my desire to capture these places I visited by camera.
"So, what started as a tool to bring home memories, transformed into a passion over time."
It hasn’t been an easy process, considering that I am colorblind, so my color vision is different from most people. At first I had trouble editing my photos; my colors were wrong, exaggerated or unreal because they were too modified. I was actually trying to reproduce a style that was not mine by imitating other photographers. Later I understood that my distinct color vision could be a strength in my editing. I think of it now as an advantage that I have been able to use in my creative process.
"I think I managed to create my style, simple images but colorful and impactful. I try to create uncomplicated but strong images, identifiable at first sight."
I love creating minimalist and graphic imagery, sometimes thanks to colors, with the help of a subject, using an object, the light… If I had to sum up my photos in one word I would say “graphic”. I aim for creative visuals to stand out from the cliches. On Instagram for example, we scroll through hundreds of photos a day in our news feed, we like a lot of reflex photos but I actually think very few of them really grab our attention. What I want is for my photos to immediately catch the eye of anyone scrolling by so they actually stop and gaze for a few seconds at the photo. In the hasty and digital world we live in nowadays, I think that is a great achievement.
Of course I cannot see or know how many people are actually taking the time to look at my photos on IG, but having won the Nomadict Best of the Week contest is a good signal. The winning photo is that of the “Phare de La Vieille” in Brittany. This lighthouse is located at the tip of Raz. This year I had planned many trips around the world but because of the current situation I had to cancel everything, which allowed me to visit my beautiful country, France.
WINNING PHOTOGRAPH
BEST OF THE WEEK 40
I left with the idea in mind to photograph Breton lighthouses and the use of the drone allowed me to approach the most inaccessible from the coast. I wanted to take a natural photo on a stormy day or with big waves, unfortunately at this time of year storms are rare. To bring out the power of the ocean I took a long exposure to properly capture the movement of the waves, I think that’s what makes this photo so strong. I edited the photo very little; I just accentuated the white of the foam slightly to make the waves stand out even more.
I’m very glad I got the photo I had in mind. Actually, I am very happy I have a drone that allows me to capture these kinds of shots. The day that I bought a drone significantly impacted my vision of photography. All my years as a young boy I had been dreaming of being able to fly – so interestingly enough, aerial photography has become my favorite thing to do. I can get a view from a different angle, give my pictures something special and be even more creative.
The way your perspective and perception of what you see changes when doing photography is fascinating. I think photography makes me double impressed by, for example, the Icelandic landscapes and the flora and fauna of this beautiful country that I can observe for hours. Or by the scenery of Japan, a world in between the two extremes of modernity and tradition. And a world that, from Tokyo Tower to Mount Fuji, can be characterized with “serenity.”
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