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Marian Malaquin
@marianmalaquin
Photographer based in France
I would not know exactly when my passion for travel started – all I know is that it started a long time ago! As a kid I was attracted to open spaces and distant lands, whether that was through stories, photographs, documentaries or even music. While growing up, the internet became an opportunity to nourish my thirst to learn about places and countries which I began dreaming about visiting.
As soon as I had the age to travel by myself, I seized every opportunity I had to venture out on discovery of other countries and cultures. Asia was calling me especially, but thanks to my professional experiences in the sport domain I was able to visit other continents too. During these travels, I always put myself in the role of the observer. On the one hand to show respect to the new environment I’m discovering, but also because observation is what teaches me the most.
"It’s intriguing, enjoyable, stimulating, something that opens my mind and deeply passionates me."
"The moment that marked my photography in the beginning of my journey happened in 2009."
That year, I traveled to Indonesia with my friend who is passionate about photography too. When returning to France, I would have a stopover in Mumbai, India, for three days – a country I dreamt of visiting for long. As I wasn’t taking photos at that time yet, my friend lent me his camera for this short trip. I was extremely moved by this gesture and in addition to trusting me with his gear he gave me a quick course to cover the basics of photography. Next, I was off to Mumbai.
During those three days, I’ve definitely sacrificed most of my time to photograph local life, trying to learn the techniques of photography. This experience was a revelation for me, an experience that added so much sense to my passion for travel and gave depth to the act of observation that I enjoy so much.
"A sort of improvised photojournalism."
From there, photography has come in naturally – and logically. It’s a means of expressing and translating visually what I was observing and feeling while being outside. The tipping point was also reached thanks to two friends of mine who photograph too and definitely convinced me to just go for it. But first and foremost, the first step toward photography was taken because of my wife, who gave me my first camera in 2011.
Later, the development of social networks and the flood of images that we are now drenched in allowed me to discover astrophotography. This genre got me instantly obsessed, thanks to the beauty of the sky full of stars that gives a whole other dimension to the landscapes that are already stunning during the day, but also because the night scene has a particular ambiance – mystic.
I am very lucky to have my friend Anthony Lopez who lives in the same area and who is a great astrophotographer. It’s good to have someone to share these night explorations with.
The images that can be taken are often surprising and original since the sensor of a digital camera will capture more information than the human eye can do in the dark. It’s a universe that stimulates my creativity. But beyond the photos as such, it is also the nocturnal exploration that attracts me: to evolve in a landscape that takes on a completely different face once the night has fallen, to find beautiful points of view and pretty compositions. Most of the time, the places that can be very busy during the day are found deserted at night and allow a real reconnection with nature. For me, this practice creates this link between photography and exploration. And finally, I would say that the practice of nightscape photography is a perfect opportunity to contemplate the incredible spectacle of the celestial vault which crosses the night sky.
"A show that reminds us of how huge the universe is, how gorgeous it is and how urgent it is to protect this fragile environment."
"Every time I have the opportunity to go out and shoot, I see the opportunity to explore or re-explore a place and to connect with nature."
The main goal is to spend time observing things around me, the environment in which I am, but also to simply and freely enjoy the time that passes. Obviously, there is also the search to take the photo that will highlight and represent the place where I am and the atmosphere of the moment. I equally appreciate the process of shooting and the end result – and to share these moments with my beloved ones.
I am fortunate to live in a region of France where nature is magnificent and where there is no shortage of places to discover. Exploring landscapes by taking photographs means discovering them with a different perspective, slower, more immersive and probably more qualitative. I have lived for 26 years near the sea, which has had a great influence on my photography. I have always been very close to water, I feel comfortable in this environment and am drawn to it. I am fortunate to be close to magnificent landscapes, especially those offered by the Estérel massif and its red rocks that plunge into the blue of the Mediterranean Sea. This contrast is very aesthetic and spectacular. It’s a fantastic playground when you’re a photographer.
"The opening to the horizon given by the sea is a daily breath of fresh air: a sacred dose of freedom, space, serenity."
More generally, the region in which I live is a paradise for nature lovers. Within a radius of 150 km, you can find the sea, amazing beaches, coves, islands, spectacular canyons, rocky massifs, high snow-capped mountains with peaks over 3000m…What more do you want? You can imagine that the influence of my place of life logically led me to orient myself towards landscape and nature photography. At the same time, however, I remain interested in other styles of photography such as street scenes and cityscape.
Different photographers and styles inspire me and for example the work of Alyn Wallace, Olli Sorvari, Ghislain Favé, Thomas Gallopin, Jonathan Bertin, Joffrey Maluski, Aurore Alifanti and Vianney Rudent immediately makes me want to be able to dive into the scenes they photographed! Like most photographers, I process my shots too and when I do this, I mainly try to transcribe the scene as I observed it and as I experienced it. I try to make sure that the result is truthful to what I have seen and also that it remains realistic. The workflow is often quite simple and does not need extremely advanced expertise. In the case of scenes with very strong contrasts (sunrise, sunset for example) and for photos of nightscapes, I notice that the process is then longer and requires more work, but the end goal is basically the same for all photos.
All experiences, encounters and situations are axes of personal and artistic development, and those are different for everyone. Among all the trips I have been able to take, there is one experience that has marked me more than the others and that is the Philippines. This is the first country I have been to in Asia and have been there several times since. This country, in which I have chosen to go to get away from the most famous tourist trails, is magnificent. Obviously, life is not always easy and its inhabitants face a multitude of issues. However, I met people with a kindness and simplicity that I have rarely seen elsewhere. I witnessed landscapes and nature that took my breath away. And I met one of my best friends.
"A second trip that marked my life was the 3-weeks trip to Sri Lanka in February 2006 where I helped with the construction of a small school."
This was one of the activities of an association that was created after the devastating tsunami of December 2004. During this stay, I put all my time and goodwill into the work that had already started. I met some exceptional people there. The end of this trip was marked by the inauguration of the school and the meeting with the children who would then be able to use it, those who hadn’t had a school for many months. Those were three weeks full of precious and confronting moments that deeply impacted me!
I believe that travels are an invaluable manner to learn and understand the world around us. Each trip made me wonder if my open mindedness was enough to try to apprehend our planet and all that is happening and shown on its surface and beyond. I believe that each trip, each meeting, is one more step in the continuous development of our skills in listening, humility, sharing, and benevolence.
The practice of photography allows me to find a ground on which my thirst for observation, exploration and construction converge. At a time when the challenges of preserving our environment have become crucial, I hope that the visual translation of my explorations through my photos can fuel, however modestly, positive and necessary dynamics in favor of our planet.
It is kind of cliché to say that a picture is worth a thousand words. For my part, I have always been attracted to image and writing and I am still looking today for a way to combine these two aspects of communication in an original and understandable format.
I try to evolve and thrive on the road traveled and on the one to come. Achieving a goal is very rewarding, but ultimately – the best memories are often the ones you build along the way. This is something I have learned in sports, and continue to pursue in my photographic explorations!
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