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Benjamin Faure

@benjifre

Landscape photographer based in France

My name is Benjamin Faure, I am 22 years old and live in the southwest of France, on the Landes coast. The southwest has incredibly varied landscapes – on one side we have the Atlantic Ocean, with the Landes coast and the Basque country, and on the other, the Pyrenees. Within one hour drive, we have access to all these spaces, one more beautiful than each other. I’m very lucky to live here; this is my playground.

"Through my photos, I try to share with people these landscapes that are dear to me."
"I’ve had the privilege to grow up in a family that loves traveling. We regularly went on holiday abroad, and thanks to that, I could visit numerous European countries."

All of these trips were imprinted on me and as I grew older, the desire to travel only grew. To me, travel is the most beautiful way to open your mindset. It allows you to learn about yourself and about others, it develops curiosity and makes that you can really live in the present moment. I think that travel can be compared to life; it encompasses moments of joy and challenge, but in an unusual environment and that is what makes us grow so quick when traveling I believe. In July, I will make a trip around Europe by bike. I am going to venture into the unknown to meet new cultures, new landscapes and myself. I strongly believe that, beyond our comfort zone, something incredible is hidden. My travels brought me inner wealth and experiences that I can’t buy with money.

"Tomorrow, I can end up ruined and in the street, but all these memories, all these moments spent, all the experience acquired will never be taken from me."
"Photography is a more recent passion for me. Since a few years, I regularly go hiking in the Pyrenees."

I was taking photos with my phone to immortalize these memories in the mountains, but there was nothing artistic behind. They were just souvenirs. However, one day, I discovered photographers such as Yann Bervas (@Yann_b), Jon Sanchez (@Platoux) ou encore Nicolas Laffaille (@monsieur.laffaille) thanks to social media. They deeply inspired me. I found their work really great and I simply thought by myself, why not try it myself? So I bought my first camera just one year ago, a few weeks before my travel to Iceland. I learned everything by myself – YouTube became my best friend. Photography allows me now to share with my friends unique moments, captured forever with my lens.

"Iceland, without any doubts, had a huge impact on my passion for photography."

Going to Iceland had been my dream for several years and as said, I just got a proper camera before going there and I hardly knew how to use it. In spite, I directly started looking at the landscapes differently, with a new perspective, which helped me to create surprising photos. In the end, within two weeks exploring Iceland, I have surely learned what normally would take some months to learn. Iceland has been my best teacher and it was this trip that provoked my love for photography.

"Today, photography is omnipresent in my life. My camera goes where I go."

Photography means connection with the present moment, something that has become essential to me. I like to go alone to the Basque or Landes coast to admire the sunset and take the time to appreciate each minute and each second facing the endless magnificent landscapes. What is fascinating is that you can go 10 times to the same place but the light and colors will always be different depending on the weather – I think this feeling is shared by most landscape photographers. In a year of doing photography, I really learned to look – I no longer see the world in the same way. I see colors differently. The grass is no longer green but it comes in different shades of green and yellow. I can see colors that I didn’t pay attention to. I am also much more curious.

Benjamin Faure
"My eye is drawn to details that a year ago would not have caught my attention. In the end, my camera became my third eye."
Meet Benjamin Faure

It allows me to see the world from different angles and in a way it helps to change my outlook on life. However, in a perpetual quest for THE beautiful photo, beginners (including myself) tend to take lots of photos and forget to look with their eyes. This is a problem that I have, and that I am trying to rectify little by little. We must never forget that the best camera we have, is our eyes.

"I have no real preference between landscapes; although I love living nearby the sea, the mountains offer me something I truly enjoy as well, especially because of the diversity of landscapes."

When I go to sleep in the mountains, I like the physical but also mental challenge of climbing. After having suffered long hours to reach the summit, the sunset is always a spectacle, which is well-deserved. It’s like a gift. The mountains impose humility on us and remind us that we are actually not much in this world. I feel very small and at the same time so strong and privileged, simply alive. I don’t find these emotions by the seaside as much. However, the ocean brings a certain calm. I could sit for hours watching the waves and the sun disappearing on the horizon. What I love about the ocean is the living side of it. Depending on the weather, the ocean changes mood and gives you totally different emotions.

"In my photos I try to convey these emotions or feelings - when I'm in the mountains, I try to show all the power and the greatness of this environment and when I am by the sea, I try to transcribe this serenity, this calm."
"What I particularly appreciate in landscape photography is the contact with nature."

I intensely appreciate finding myself alone in front of magnificent landscapes, taking the time to observe them, to savor every moment. This contact with nature is essential for my well-being. Far from the madness of cities, the great outdoors give you an immense feeling of freedom. It is a return to the basics which is, from my point of view, vital. My goal is to try to make people travel through my photos, and this aspect took on a whole new dimension with the confinement as a result of the COVID-19. While everyone was locked-down at home, I tried to allow people to escape, to dream of vast landscapes.

"I was confined in Contis, a small town by the Atlantic Ocean, on the Landes coast. It is an area that is still quite untouched and a perfect place for photography."

In the evenings I went for a walk in the surroundings nearby to take some photos and each time, it was a challenge. I needed to innovate and find new subjects and compositions to photograph in a place that I know so well. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and stimulated my creativity. For many people, this confinement was a horrible ordeal to go through, but for me personally, it was a great opportunity. There are important lessons to take away from each difficult situation. You can make the difference by how you look at it and what you do with it. A positive mindset brings you so much further and allows you to take away something from every obstacle or hardship.

"This period also allowed me to immerse myself in old photos that I had taken some months ago and to rediscover what had not inspired me at the time I took them."

By looking at them again being in a different situation, I suddenly got the inspiration and edited them differently from what I used to do. For some people who don’t know much about photography or don’t do it themselves, editing a photo means cheating, faking. For me, editing a photo is as important as light or composition. This is the phase where we can give a special style to the photo – my preferred phase in photography. I can express myself freely, test new things. I didn’t manage to find my own style, that is, a totally unique and particular style – I rarely edit all of my photos the same way. I go photo by photo, treat each of them individually and I try to transcribe an emotion that I felt when taking the photo.

"Sometimes it's very close to reality, sometimes not. Sometimes I even try to transcribe what I would have liked to see."
"I am still at the beginning of my learning, but I feel proud of the progression I’ve made especially with my editing."

I continue to keep learning, also by looking at the work of other photographers – they are a real source of inspiration for me. I would love to meet with some of them to learn from them in the field, it is not a secret that we have to practise in order to progress. And we simply have to accept that failure is part of that, we can’t give up and we certainly shouldn’t tell ourselves that we will never get to the point of creating as beautiful photos as whoever else, because beauty is subjective. We should use others to learn from and improve, not to pull ourselves down. Keeping trying is the only way to find ourselves, to find out what we love shooting most and what editing style fits us. Photography is an art and like every form of art, people are differently attracted and sensitive to whatever we are creating. At the moment we do what we love and accept ourselves, criticism of others becomes just a detail. When it is genuine and constructive, I do something with it. If not, I try to let it go. To me it makes sense; why should I let myself be negatively influenced by someone who doesn’t even take the time to provide me with honest and constructive feedback that can help me grow, instead of pulling me down?

"Of course, sometimes it happens that, by being ourselves, we disappoint or bother others. But by that means, we also stay away from people who don’t belong to our side and attract people that should be there instead."
"There is a form of paradox in my approach to photography."

On the one hand, I practice this hobby alone and I often need to be alone with nature in order to deeply connect with the natural world and myself. It is often in those moments that I take the most beautiful photos. On the other hand, the photos that have the most value to me are often the ones I took at moments shared with other people, those people that I love to have by my side. When I went to Iceland, it was the first time for me to do a road trip with two of my best friends and my ex-girlfriend, driving through Iceland with them was simply great. Each kilometer was a travel itself as the landscapes change so rapidly. We were continuously amazed. Beyond the landscapes, what I remember most are the shared moments. The laughter but also the headaches. A travel is a human adventure too – it is not just the physical activity, but it is also a mental process of growth.

"Sharing that with my best friends made the connection between us even stronger and more profound. We keep those memories forever and for me that is the most important."
"One moment that I remember in particular would be seeing the imposing glaciers appearing in front of us."

We had been driving for a few hours already in the direction of Höfn, in the south-east of Iceland, not far from the Vatnajökull glacier. From the car, we could see ice tongues meandering between the mountains. At one point we decided to stop at the edge of the road and we left on foot to follow a small path in the middle of the vegetation typical of northern countries. We were heading to a cold tongue that we had spotted from the road. The path we took ended at the foot of a black volcanic sand dune. Arrived at the top of the dune, the splendor of the Icelandic glaciers was revealed in front of us. It was the first time I saw it and we overlooked it all, which made the landscape incredible. I still have chills just thinking about it.

Once again, the sensation of feeling very small in front of nature took on its full meaning – the nature so powerful and so vulnerable at the same time. I can hardly imagine that these landscapes could disappear within 150 years if we do not change our way of life. It saddens me. We must preserve this nature which accepts us on its soil, otherwise we will pay a high price for it. 

"Nature will always have the last word."
YOU CAN NOW SUPPORT BENJAMIN'S CAREER!
@benjifre, Stokksnes, Iceland

Stokksnes, Iceland

€40.00 – €70.00

Year: 2020  Artist: Benjamin Faure

– Open Edition Gallery Quality Photography
– Certificate of Authenticity
– Printed on Gallery Premium Art Paper

SKU: PT-BF01 Category:

Description

About “Stokksnes, Iceland” and Benjamin Faure

“Today, photography is omnipresent in my life – it allows me to see the world from different angles and in a way it helps to change my outlook on life. I see colors differently. The grass is no longer green but it comes in different shades of green and yellow… I am also much more curious as my eye is drawn to details that a year ago would not have caught my attention. In the end, my camera became my third eye.”

Printing

Photos are printed on high quality paper at an art gallery that is specialized in printing, having their own equipment.

Eco-friendly

Paper used for the prints is ecological and 100% recycled.

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Each order is unique and will be printed on request. That means that it takes some time to process the order. Once your product has been sent, you will receive a confirmation email.

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You should receive your order within 2-10 business days.

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For all international orders, import taxes, duties and tariffs (if any) should be paid according to your country’s governing laws in order to clear customs.

Additional information

Weight0.5 kg
Dimensions10 × 10 × 60 cm
size

15×20 cm, 20×30 cm, 30×40 cm, 40×50 cm, 60×40 cm

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