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Mélanie Mauroux
@inouie_melanie
Photographer based in France
Now being a young French woman of 30 years old, I have been passionate about photography and travel since my childhood. My father is French, my mother Portuguese. So when I was little, we would spend one summer in France and the next summer in Portugal to visit the family of my parents.
Our summers in France were split into two, first spending time in the southwest where we stayed at a family house in Dordogne, after which we would go to the north, to another family house in Brittany. For that trip, we would leave all together in several cars. And when we went to Portugal, my dad would drive hours and hours to get to our destination. I have memories of those French, Spanish and Portuguese landscapes passing by, with the radio playing in the background. These landscapes amazed me.
"Then, whether in France or Portugal, we walked a lot with the family to discover landscapes, cultural heritages, small towns..."
These summers were paradise for me. My dad has six brothers and two sisters, so you can imagine the numerous grandchildren in those summer gatherings! One of my uncles was a photographer and he organized some kind of photo contest in Bretagne, always around specific themes. We all had a disposable camera to take our photos. After summer, a jury formed by my grandparents and other family members organized the awards.
I am sure that’s how I developed my curiosity and creativity. It enabled me to develop a sense of observation and a sensibility for all that surrounds me, and especially for the beauty of nature. With my disposable camera, I walked around and photographed everything that caught my attention.
"Still today, I love venturing out, even with a disposable camera, shooting everything that provokes an emotion within me."
I precisely remember a moment in Portugal; I was 15 and had a travel guide about Portugal in my hands. I said to my father: “That must be a great job, traveling, discovering cultures and landscapes, tasting good food, photographing and sharing all that with others to plan their own holiday… I would love to do that one day!” And I kept my word. After taking my bachelor’s degree in Literature, I asked myself:
"What do you really like to do? What gives you well-being and pleasure?"
I then entered a photography school in Paris, which allowed me to work with my creativity and develop my technical skills. I graduated and after two years of studying photography, I decided to travel because I had a great thirst for discovery; I then went to Australia for six months. This trip brought me a lot because I was in a state of daily discovery; these memories are still a source of intense happiness when thinking back on it.
Some time before the end of my trip, my mind began to worry about what was next. Stay in Australia or come back to France? Try to make photography my profession, or study Literature? I chose to return to France to study Literature, mainly because the profession of a photographer is not easy. It is difficult to break through and above all I did not want to destroy my passion because of the pressure I thought I’d feel when it would be my job.
"I am happy to have preserved it, like a secret garden."
But right now I’m still juggling the two, just to have some real stability. So although photography is not my main source of income, it is the source of many dreams and projects. It allows me to escape, to let go of stress, to express myself, to discover the world but also to discover myself. Above all, I see photography as my pillar: it has always been there and I know it will always be there. It’s with me every day in one way or another. During difficult times, it also plays a therapeutic role as it helps me through and overcome adversity.
"Photography therefore occupies a significant place in my life - It is part of me."
Sylvain Tesson, a French writer and traveler wrote, “La plus grande aventure de l’existence, c’est de trouver là où l’on est bien”, which means that the great adventure of our existence is to find a place in which we feel right. Finding where you feel good is determining what makes you happy and finding serenity with yourself, and photography and travel have helped me with this. These passions bring me happiness through dreams, escape, discovery. They make me vibrate and therefore contribute to my well-being and my balance because they push me upwards.
"These passions also give me self-esteem."
As Charlie Chaplin said, “The day I truly loved myself, I realized that under all circumstances, I was at the right spot, in the right place. And so, I was able to relax. Today I know it’s called… Self-Esteem.” Photography allows me to be at the right spot, in the right place, in peace with myself. Photography is a bit the adventure of my life, for me it represents a journey in itself because it is a kind of quest for identity. Day after day, photography makes me discover more about myself; my strengths, my weaknesses, my personality traits… But at the same time, it also determines parts of my personality, of my identity.
I refer to myself as “Inouïe Mélanie”. In my opinion, beauty can be found everywhere, even in the tiniest details. It is important to let yourself be amazed by what surrounds you, to perceive the world as if it’s too incredible to be true.
"Inouïe. Incredible."
My desire to explore the beauty of the world, of the smallest details and to be amazed is linked to my philosophy of life which is to live every day like if it were the last. Life is short and precious; it’s destined to be enjoyed and contemplated. Each moment lived is unique and we should be champions in relishing these moments. Photography preserves these memories and can make us relive an emotion. It therefore makes an ephemeral instant immortal.
We only have one life to be attentive to what surrounds us. The details of beauty can be found there where one wants to find them; there are no rules to follow other than letting yourself be carried away by what you observe in the absence of judgement and thoughts. We all have our sensitivity and our perception of the world, but we all have this capacity to find beauty around us and to transmit it – in any way.
"The world offers us multiple opportunities to see it, but we also create beauty by our way of perceiving the world."
The most impressive and surprising moment I experienced during an outdoor shoot was while staying in Isère, France. I had the opportunity to be able to admire a sea of clouds in the mountains. It was the first time in my life that I had seen this; from the first moment I found it absolutely magical and enchanting. I found the feeling of being above the clouds amazing; I felt like I was living a daydream. It was winter, the lights were magnificent. I felt the immensity of nature and I was in awe of the spectacle it offered us.
"I stood in front of this sea of clouds for hours, until the sun went down so I wouldn't miss a second."
Inouïe Mélanie is my way of transmitting this beauty, of showing how to be amazed as often as possible by what is life. Personally, I find this splendor mostly in the natural world: the sun and the moon, the lights and colors, the reflections, the oceans and the mountains, the flora and fauna, the animals, the humans… Nature is an inexhaustible resource of poetic wonders. To discover them, I simply let myself be guided by my eyes and my heart. For others, the beauty may be found elsewhere, but no matter what, anyone can access it and marvel at it.
"In order to convey my perception of beauty and share my vision, the editing of my photographs is very important."
I try to highlight details, achieve minimalist and pure images, both through composition and editing. As best as I can I try to transmit serenity, gentleness. It took some time to find my style, which is highly inspired by numerous photographers. Color plays a decisive role in my work, I’ve worked on it a lot and still continue to fine tune it. There is so much progress ahead of me! But with anything I try or do, I always intend to stay true to reality and to not denaturalize my photographs.
"That is also one of the reasons I love film photography."
Using that technique, you don’t have much allowance for error – you have to be focused and really pay attention to what you want and how you are going to do it. I like to feel this element of surprise when I discover the photographs taken in film. I’m not making any edits to these, they’re raw and I like that dimension too. In film, photographic identity depends in part on the choice of film; my favorites are the Kodak Portra.
"Trying out different photography techniques is part of my continuous development, just like my family is part of this development process - above all my parents."
In everything I have done, my parents have always guided, supported and encouraged me. Who I am and where I am now, is very much because of them and I will always be very grateful for their support, as well as the support and encouragement of my friends. They will always be there for me, just as I will always be there for them. But also teachers, work colleagues, meetings on Instagram, fortuitous encounters outdoors…
All the people I have met so far have in one way or another contributed to who I am today, just as both positive and challenging situations push my personal and professional development.
"They lead me to choices I make, experiences I live, emotions I feel and how I express all of these, marking my personal journey."
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