Interview: timescapes
Luc Rabaey
Intro:
In a little over ten years Luc Rabaey has become an accomplished and successful street photographer. He has a substantial body of work, is well-published and widely exhibited. We're very pleased that Luc took time out of his busy schedule (he also uploads a photo a day to his 'timescapes' photoblog at Expressions) to answer our questions and pick out his own favorite photographs.
Madrid, Spain 2006
Interview:
Tell us a little about yourself.
I have been a serious photographer since 1997, when I started photography education at the Academy of Arts in Bruges. I have a wide range of interests: documentary, portraiture on location, urban stills and scapes, etc. I was working on photo essays, reports and conceptual projects such as 'Image³', 'Wonderland' and 'From Now Here To Where Ever'.
I won some awards, such as the Golden Lens at the International Photofestival of Knokke-Heist, Belgium in 2003, the 'Thuis in de Stad' ('At Home in my Town') contest Brugge 2007, and Art&Photo Kortrijk 2007. My work was published in Foto+ magazine and FlakPhoto magazine.
My real passion is street photography - call it public life or moment photography - in which I am, in a subtle way, searching to reframe everyday reality into touching, humourous, absurd or surrealist. I have worked in Paris, London, Brussels, Rome, Madrid, San Sebastian, Chicago, Honolulu, Berlin, and Istanbul. I'm planning some new series in Blackpool in Great Britain, Las Vegas, and L.A. this year.
I'm working on 'Survey on Movement & Distance', and preparing a show 'Wonderworld 2' in Bruges and Ghent, Belgium. I'm also preparing a book coming out at the end of 2008.
The 'Street Moments' show is running till end of May at De Piek, Vlissingen, The Netherlands. The series 'Street Drama' is shown in Photo View 2008 travelling group exhibition from March 2008, until the end of June in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. Some portrait work is shown at the 'FACE ON Exhibition' in the Museum of Photography, Antwerp, Belgium.
I'm 55 years old and live in Bruges, Belgium.
Madrid, Spain 2006
Why do you have a photoblog?
Photoblogging and other appearances on the internet is a way to express yourself and to learn. A photoblog is sort of a method to think about the way to go in photography and to communicate. As an ambitious man I must say that it is also part of my PR presentation.
Bilbao, Spain 2006
How do you describe your photography?
I am a passionate lover of the snapshot because, of all photographic images, it comes closest to the truth. The pictures have an apparent disorder and imperfection which is exactly their appeal and their style. It is about playing with ordinary reality, using unposed actors who are oblivious to the drama I’ve placed them in.
In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality. On the other hand, spontanious everyday streetlife can have such a quality of real that it looks like staged. I'‘m registering moments that have a subtle comedy or tragedy to them, a touching or absurd feeling. Moments when strangers come together for a split second and are rendered inseparable through a photograph. So, it is also about creating order out of chaos by composing the elements and using different layers.
I believe in the future transmutation of two seemingly contradictory states, dream and reality, into a sort of absolute reality, of surreality, so to speak. Into a bizarre street drama.
Honolulu, USA 2007
How you organize and fill your Expressions photoblog?
One photo a day and always trying to connect the images into series.
What sort of cameras, lenses, and films do you favor?
Two years ago I went digital. It makes working more comfortable for me. I was working with a Nikon D50 until recently, then I purchased the new Nikon D300. Once in a while I use my analogue Nikon F4. My lenses: Nikor 28-100 mm/1:3.5-5.6 and Nikor 50 mm/1:1.8
Breda, The Netherlands 2007
What's the best photography, or art, exhibition you've ever seen?
The exhibitions of James Nachtway, Ed Van Der Elsken, and Roger Ballen were extremely amazing and touching.
Istanbul, Turkey 2007
Which photographers do you most admire?
Trent Parke, Joel Meyerowitz, Martin Parr, William Eggleston, Garry Winogrand, Bernard Plossu, Ralph Gibson, Michael Ackerman, Carl De Keyzer, Markus Hartel. And some unknown photographers as Juan Buhler, Igor Moukhin, Aleksander Nowak, Beau Brashares, Shen Wei. In fact my list of favourites is very long, so I certainly forgot some important ones.
Istanbul, Turkey 2007
If you could travel anywhere and photograph anything for a magazine, where would you go?
As I want to become a documentary photojournalist, I have different places where I could show the unknown. Let's say at this moment I could go to China, Eastern Europe, and Congo (because of the connections with Belgium). I'm looking forward to my trip to the U.S. and England of course.
Istanbul, Turkey 2007
Have you anything else to add?
I learned a lot from many photograhers. So, I wanted to share some interesting quotes.
'I go straight in very close to people and I do that because it's the only way you can get the picture. You go right up to them. Even now, I don't find it easy. I don't announce it. I pretend to be focusing elsewhere. If you take someone 's photograph it is very difficult not to look at them just after. But it's the one thing that gives the game away. I don't try and hide what I'm doing - that would be folly.' [Martin Parr]
'Photographs sometimes are too subtle and maybe a little too clever, when they need explaining. If a photograph needs explaining then it arguably doesn’t work.' [David Gibson]
'I don’t believe in photography as art or a job or anything. I think of photography as a language and I think a language should be used to speak, to say what you have to say. So the only things I have to say about my life and what I know about the world, is the way I see it. So, it’s not about photography… I think people should just use photography to say things and not just photography for the sake of photography… The world is full of talented photographers. The problem is just so many of them just don’t know what to say, they think life is one thing and photography is another but they don’t realise that photography is just a way to reflect what you are.' [Antoine d' Agata]
'I think about photographs as being full, or empty. You picture something in a frame and it 's got lots of accounting going on in it - stones and buildings and trees and air - but that 's not what fills up a frame. You fill up the frame with feelings, energy, discovery, and risk, and leave room enough for someone else to get in there.' [Joel Meyerowitz]
Berlin, Germany 2007
Wrap:
We always enjoy Luc Rabaey's photos, and in working with him on this interview we have immensely enjoyed learning about him. Now we're waiting to see his book in a few months.
Gent, Belgium 2007
timescapes / Luc Rabaey Photography (at Expressions)
TIMESCAPES (at Blogger)