Interview with Rodolphe Simeon

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Normally we like to start an interview by giving an introduction of the artist. When it came to Rodolphe, we can not top the following words, as said by the artist himself -

I give less and less details about myself because I’m such a normal person. I’m a white guy in an occidental country. I’m European and I’m living now in Canada.

Having done with the formalities, we will now dive into the interview, hope you enjoy it.

CM: Who or what influenced you to start taking photographs?

RS: I was always involved in the arts field. Only for myself, as a hobby. Never as a full time job.

In Oct 2005, I saw the documentary movie “War Photographer” about James Nachtwey. I was so in shock after it, that I immediately decided to go to the store to buy my first camera. I don’t know exactly why. It was like a door had suddenly opened.

I started to shoot everything. Hundreds and hundreds of photos. Trying and trying. Learning different techniques. Learning how to see. Learning to say something that could make sense for myself and perhaps for others. And one day I shot 2 photos. One was of a homeless and the other of a friend acting like a star in front of my camera. I was at the very beginning of my 2 majors series: The Street series and the M-people (for Makeup-people) series.

CM: Looking through your photos, one gets a feeling that you have not only captured a photo but also parts of the character and personality of the subject. Shooting on street where you would meet many different people of different types how do you managed to capture such emotion in your photos and how do you approach the subject?

RS: In studio or in the street, I really try to disappear in front of my subject. I try to act like a ghost. I gently push people towards themselves at 200% and I really try not to interfere with that process. During a photo shoot, I see things in people. In a way, I look beyond the closed doors. And then I open them one by one. I’m not afraid of people’s deep emotions. Therefore, I can follow a situation with my camera – whatever the consequence! Even in front of tears or anger, I can keep my focus on taking pictures. This way of being is not being cold. It’s more like being out of the situation. When people talk to me in front of my camera, they don’t really talk to me in a way. I’m not really there. The same goes when I have models in my studio. People are alone with their own emotions.

I don’t really know why I can be outside of a situation like that. But I can. And it’s very very useful when taking pictures. The entire space is for the model – not for the photographer.

If you have the chance to watch “War Photographer”, you will see that James Nachtwey is very good at that. I think that I have been inspired by him.

CM: You must have come across some interesting situations when approaching people in the streets to shoot their portraits, any memorable events any memorable people you met who have had an impact on you?

RS: I remember all the people I’ve met in the street. Each of them is an entire story. Most of the time it’s a very sad story. I think about all of these people a great deal. I think about the fact that at least half of them would need to be in a mental institute because they really really need that kind of help. It’s very sad that governments don’t take their responsibilities. I understand that putting money to help these people is not a very popular demand, but it is nevertheless human.

CM: You do both studio, and street photography, what do you prefer most and why?

RS: In fact, it’s 2 faces of the same coin. It’s all about identity.
CM: You have a set of photos titled as ‘The M- People Project’. What is this all about, what is the project and what are you working on in this?

RS: M-People means “Makeup-People”. It’s a series about identity. That’s the most important subject of it. I use a lot of violence in my photography in order to maintain the identity of people. People can fight without any mercy. There’s some sexual references as well because being a male or a female is a strong identity question. It is perhaps THE first questions. This series is like a lecture of our occidental modern world. In today’s world, I see humanity completely lost. Perhaps it’s just my feeling. Perhaps humanity has always been lost. But what I see is that everything is changing so fast each day, that it’s difficult to fix yourself in a particular identity. For example, through Myspace, Facebook, Flickr, etc… people invent an identity for themselves everyday. If you look at photos on Facebook, it’s funny and sad at the same time: people post photos about their “life”. You can see thousands and thousands of happy-go-lucky people. Everybody is happy on Facebook, smiling in front of camera with a flash. It’s an identity “built” from scratch.

In addition, we are surrounded by commercials and brands everywhere we go. They also try to impose people a certain identity. You have to be like they want you to be. It’s a trap because they only want your money. But people fall into the trap and really try to “look like it”. It’s a very violent process. And it’s generating sadness and frustration.

M-people is all about that.

CM: M-People has got images which are really out there, are different, shocking and cause people to sit up and really look at them. What is the inspiration behind them, how do you get the ideas for the shoots?

RS: I don’t really have a process to create photos. Sometimes I see photos with a “message” here and there. And the message is so cheesy because it’s too obvious! I prefer to not think too much in order to let my intuition and feelings lead the process. I don’t know why I can put so much general or sexual violence in pictures. I just do it. I cannot really explain the meaning of my pictures.

When I do it, I just try to feel things that are strong enough. When I can feel that strength in me, I know that I have touched something deeply in me. I say to myself: “It’s time to push the button.” The same goes when I post-process pictures. The idea is also to feel that strength in the picture. When I can feel it, I know the picture will join the M-People series.

It’s not really a clear process as you can see…

CM: Since M-People has got images which are really different, how do models behave when presented with a less than normal situation to pose in? Have you had any models which needed a little bit of encouragement or direction to pose as you required or were they generally all ok?

RS: As I said before, I just try to open doors. I gently push people in their own tracks. People really love to mimic violence and murder. it’s not something I invented. It’s something people invented in front of me. I know somebody who wants to model for me here in Vancouver. He’s a banker. He said to me recently: “you’ll see I have no limit.” I’m sure that this person will be happy to show things that he’s never showed to anybody – even to the most intimate people in his life. He wants to come to a photo shoot for himself. Again, I will act like a ghost. I will not interact that much. I will try to be present and absent all at the same time…

CM: How easy is it go get the model to understand your vision behind the shot, how easy is it to get the model in the right mindset and mood for the photo, has it ever been that it was relatively quite difficult?
RS: In fact, it’s more difficult for me to understand what people could do and want to do. Models don’t have to come into my mind. I have to come into theirs. To push them and to follow them. The vision is their vision in fact. Half of the models come and ask to do their own make-up or to choose their own clothes. I always let them.
CM: Everybody has high points and low points in their careers, what have been the high point and the low points for you?

RS: I think that the high point is now because things are still growing. I’m becoming more popular and I feel very creative. I have a lot of new projects coming.

The low point was really when I was trying to take my first good picture, just after i had bought my camera. It was 3 months of intense struggle.
CM: Where do you want to go with your photography and how has the internet helped spread your work

RS: I don’t see myself as a real photographer. I can do “real” photography (fashion photos for example, or beautiful commercial pictures). But what I do in my “artistic” photography is closer to painting than to photography. I would love to mix photography with other forms of art. And I most probably will.

The internet is a fantastic way to meet people, to present my work, and to make connections.

But what the internet does not do is to put people in the art business. A lot of people make that mistake; they think that being popular on the web will help them become successful with their art. From my point of view, it doesn’t work that way. Art professionals never go on Flickr or DeviantArt. They consider these types of websites like sites for wannabee people.

So the internet is a nice tool, but it’s definitely not enough if you want to make a career in photography.

CM: Who has been your biggest influence in your photography work and where do you look for inspiration for your work?

RS: I’m really influenced by classical paintings (from Renaissance to the 19th century) and all what I’m doing is connected to that. That’s my real inspiration. My favourite painters are Da Vinci, Jacques-Louis David, Wermer, Rembrandt, Carabaggio, etc. In classical painting, the light is really the BIG thing. And I try to give that type of ambiance in my pictures. I know how to draw in the classical style and it helps me when i try to understand light or manipulating it.

I like the way classical paintings deal with reality. Most people think that classical paintings are “realistic” but that is definitely not true. Classical painting pretends to reproduce reality. Can we believe that the portrait of the French King Louis XIV (by Hyacinthe Rigaud) shows the King in his “reality”? No, It merely shows the idea of the King. The decorations, symbols, and personality depicted in the painting is a pretend game. As a conclusion, the “realistic” portrait is a major twist of reality. And I really do the same thing with photography.

What I also like is that sometimes, as people of the 21st century, we cannot really understand all the true meanings of these paintings because the messages are connected to the culture of that time. But we can still feel the heaviness of symbolism. I absolutely love that mystery. I love to feel things when I don’t really understand them.

OK…. I’ll stop here because otherwise I’ll talk about it for hours!

Otherwise, in photography almost all my favourite photographers are documentary photographers: Nachtwey, Salgado, Curtis, Burrows, etc… First reason being that they really “paint with reality”. Which means that they can go anywhere and know how to compose paintings with what they have in front of them. Secondly, I like the idea of being an artist travelling all around the world. It’s perhaps because I would have loved to do so myself.

CM: Tools of the trade, what are yours, and what is the single most important piece of equipment that you own and use.
RS: I’m a Canon/Mac guy. Like perhaps 80% of people in the business. Nothing spectacular. I have a Canon because all the people I know use Canon and it’s more easy to exchange lenses or cameras. I have a 5D. It’s an amazing camera. I can count on it all the time. My lenses are a 50mm-1.4 and a 17-40mm-4L. I have a Mac computer because Macs are 200% reliable. I use Lightroom to transform RAW files to PSD. I don’t do any processing with Lightroom (not even the White balance). I do the entire post-processing in Photoshop.

CM: What are your preferred post processing methods that really help you in achieving your signature distinct end look in your photos, any tips for our readers?

RS: My post-processing is not guided by a technique, but more by the vision I have in my head. When working on a picture, I always think about classical paintings. That guides the process in terms of lighting and colour. I know a lot about processing pictures but technique is my freedom – not my master.
CM: Where do you want to go from here, any future projects lined up?

RS: I have many projects at this point. It’s too soon for me to talk about them. What I am sure about is that I will keep going with the M-people series and with The Street series. I will really work on promoting myself. I have a new agent that will definitely help me with that.

For someone who really started taking photos only three years ago, Rod’s work has come a long way. His work really brings out the emotions, the moods and the character of the subject. Something few people manage to do so early in their careers. I have really enjoyed looking at these amazing photos, but what I have enjoyed even more is reading what goes behind in creation of these photos. I am not sure if I will ever be able to hang one of his works in my living room, perhaps a bit too strong for some of my guests. But then isn’t this what good art is supposed to do, it is mean to move you, it is meant to bring you to life, bring colour to the dull grey monotonous daily grind we call lives?

You may agree with me or not, however one thing we can be sure about is the fact that this is simply amazing work. I can certainly see that the future holds good things for Rodolphe and his work, his work will surely be remembered for a long time to come, and Colours Magazine is glad to play a small part in preserving such wonderful work of art. Good luck.