(Vent, click image for larger version. All images copyright Sophie Thouvenin)

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”
~Aaron Siskind

Photography as a medium has been little represented as a Friday Favorite here at Stainless Steel Droppings. Last week’s journey down the pathways of artist Anne-Julie Aubry‘s website ensured that today would see that grievous error corrected. For it was there that the simple act of pointing and clicking unveiled the photographic art of Sophie Thouvenin.

With her cameras of choice, the “Nikon D80 with her macro lens (105mm for macro and 50mm 1.4 for portrait) and the Polaroid SX-70 used with Time-Zero” (*1) Sophie brings the viewer a more up close and personal view of the world that is right before your eyes.

I sent Sophie Thouvenin an email today requesting her permission to expose you to the same breathless excitement that I experienced last weekend by allowing me to share her photography with you today. To my immense pleasure she gave me freedom to do just that!

(Am I?)

The choice to visit the website of Sophie Thouvenin is one that is fraught with peril–her Macro and Humans links reveal a deceptively small number of arresting images, each of which opens up a cornucopia of stunning images.

(Am I? 2)

The first to catch my eye were these images of dolls. The soft focus and tight composition lead to images that are both innocent and sensual at the same time.

“I’ve always liked to get close to things for, for pleasure of looking at them, of seeing all the details. Seeing the world in this way allows me to dream and create something from nothing. It’s an aestheic world without limits.” (*2)

(Winter, click for a larger version)

There is something disconcertingly real about these images and yet they are not frightening, they are quite lovely.

(In the corner, click for a larger version)

As I present an admittedly small fraction of the boundless talent of Sophie Thouvenin today what you will see is a diversified subject matter with a very unifying theme. In describing her beginnings in the realm of macro lens photography, Sophie says, “…the desire to get closer to my subjects led me to purchase a macro lens. This allowed me to see the world as I did when I was a child, lost in the pleasure of contempation, of colours and of abstraction, in wonder (*2). It is that combination of pleasure and wonder that makes her work so enthralling.

(Blue)

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(Source, click image for a larger version)

The Macro section of Sophie’s website is filled with gallery upon gallery of luscious vegetation. Plants and flowers explode with color, all the while maintaining the softness that mirrors the delicacy of nature’s beauty. These images of leaves take me back to my own childhood rambles through the woods and open the doorway of my imagination to daydreams of being small, tiny, miniscule and traipsing through a larger-than-life jungle.

(Aster, click for a larger version)

In addition to quality camera equipment and a unique artistic eye, Sophie Thouvenin utilizes digital technology to create eye-catching works of art. “I mainly use Photoshop to work on curves, layers, contrast and sometimes the colour balance to show either a warm or cold ambiance. But most of the time Photoshop mainly helps me to give the image the realism of the actual shoot.” (*2)

I loved reading that because with my own extremely limited knowledge of Photoshop I have had that same experience. When your camera is trained on things of beauty, it is a rare thing to have that finite technology translate your vision in the way you are seeing it with the naked eye. Sophie’s creativity enhances and magnifies the beauty of her subject matter and the result is a transcendence of that natural beauty.

(In My Veins, click image for a larger version)

Sophie has photographed flowers, trees, and plants of many colors but I am particularly drawn to these rich reds and oranges, especially as contrasted against other colors.

(Bliss, click image for a larger version)

These organic images take on a surreal beauty and become abstract art pieces full of vibrant energy. Bliss is both an appropriate name for the above image and is an accurate descriptor for the way I feel as I examine her work.

(Friandise)

There is such movement and passion and fire in her floral images. It could not be a more perfect time to embrace this imagery here in the midwest as mild spring temperatures give way to blooms and blossoms wherever you turn.

(Tentures)

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In her Humans section Sophie Thouvenin demonstrates that her eye for beauty is just as sharp when she backs the camera away from her subject as when she is up close. Multitudes of gorgeously composed pictures await your perusal there. I will just give you a sampling here.

The first are from a set of pictures Sophie took by way of inspiration of the poem, Ophelia by Arthur Rimbaud. I chose to share the text with you here, enveloped in a few of the lovely black and white photos from this series (The link opens on to a single image. Run your cursor over the image to reveal the individual pictures that can then be opened and viewed).

(Click image for a larger version)

On the calm black water where the stars are sleeping
White Ophelia floats like a great lily;
Floats very slowly, lying in her long veils…
– In the far-off woods you can hear them sound the mort.

For more than a thousand years sad Ophelia
Has passed, a white phantom, down the long black river.
For more than a thousand years her sweet madness
Has murmured its ballad to the evening breeze.

The wind kisses her breasts and unfolds in a wreath
Her great veils rising and falling with the waters;
The shivering willows weep on her shoulder,
The rushes lean over her wide, dreaming brow.

The ruffled water-lilies are sighing around her;
At times she rouses, in a slumbering alder,
Some nest from which escapes a small rustle of wings;
– A mysterious anthem falls from the golden stars.

(Click image for a larger version)

II

O pale Ophelia! beautiful as snow!
Yes child, you died, carried off by a river!
– It was the winds descending from the great mountains of Norway
That spoke to you in low voices of better freedom.

It was a breath of wind, that, twisting your great hair,
Brought strange rumors to your dreaming mind;
It was your heart listening to the song of Nature
In the groans of the tree and the sighs of the nights;

It was the voice of mad seas, the great roar,
That shattered your child’s heart, too human and too soft;
It was a handsome pale knight, a poor madman
Who one April morning sate mute at your knees!

Heaven! Love! Freedom! What a dream, oh poor crazed Girl!
You melted to him as snow does to a fire;
Your great visions strangled your words
– And fearful Infinity terrified your blue eye!

(Click image for a larger version)

III

– And the poet says that by starlight
You come seeking, in the night, the flowers that you picked
And that he has seen on the water, lying in her long veils
White Ophelia floating, like a great lily.

~Arthur Rimbaud

(Click image for a larger version)

Sophie Thouvenin uses family and friends and professional models in her portraiture. She says, “Most of the time I don’t prepare for my shoots, everything happens spontaneously–it’s what I prefer and it’s what inspires me.” (*2)

The above model is Alyz. There are a number of fabulous images in this series but my favorites are those, like the one above, that have the red of her lips (and occasionally her outfit) juxtaposed against her dark black hair and the blue background.

(Haaa)

I also really love the way Sophie’s portraits often feature the model’s hair as an important part of the composition. Rather than being a perfectly coiffed part of the background, in many images the waves and curves and strands of hair are an integral part of the movement and composition of the piece.

The above image is from this series which also plays a splash of rich red color popping against darker more neutral colors. I especially like the above image for the following television crush reason: her facial features and expression remind me of Janine Turner (as Maggie) from Northern Exposure.

(Nadia 25, click image for a larger version)

The above image is from a series entitled Nadia, from Summer to Christmas. The final images of the series are various pictures with lights. I have always been attracted to the warm glow of Christmas lights, that low but comforting wattage conjures up nostalgic feelings of childhood holidays and family togetherness.

And speaking of light, I am amazed at the quality of light that Sophie Thouvenin achieves in her imagery. There is a real warmth to her images and I am certainly jealously attracted to her talent in recognizing and capturing the various levels of light that imbue her works.

(Dorothee 7, click image for a larger version)

I like the Dorothee series because they have a different hue and contrast than many of the other portrait galleries and yet they still have that special touch that Sophie brings to her work.

(Alyz tale 8, click image for a larger version)

I find the latter pictures in this series, another featuring Alyz, to be alternately fun and melancholy and creepy. There is something a bit eerie about these old dolls. Perhaps their presence in horror films has something to do with clouding my viewpoint on that subject. However considering that I am equally at home with my dark side as with the rest of me, I just admit that these images hold a delicious kind of eeriness that I revel in.

(Alone in the Dark, click image for a larger version)

My melancholy feelings come in to play viewing the above image. My initial reaction, and that of my daughter when I showed it to her, were that the doll was quite creepy. But as I contemplated the title of the image and looked a bit closer I began to see things from the doll’s point of view. There is something intrinsically sad about old, discarded toys and I cannot help but feel sorry for this dolly, left alone in the dark, longing for the warmth and comfort of human love.

On top of all that it is just one damn cool picture.

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“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
~Elliott Erwitt

(New Life, click image for a larger version)

And speaking of sight, not only does Sophie Thouvenin have an eye for creating beautiful photographic works of art, she also has and eye for…eyes! I absolutely adore these images. There is so much in poetry and art and literature about the eyes and what they represent. The window to the soul. Eyes in art have always fascinated me for both their own natural beauty and for their symbolism.

(Street)

If you look closely at the above image you can discern the reason for its name.

(Autumn)

Autumn is a self-portrait of our dear artist herself. More to be revealed later. But first…

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I mentioned earlier that one of Sophie’s cameras is a Polaroid. Sophie explains her passion:

“I like to hold it, I like the sounds it makes, and I love the photos I get with it. For me, Polaroid brings back the best of the things in life that have fallen into disuse. Everything seems more fragile in Polaroid. Nostalgia, simplicity of things.” (*1)

I think it is fabulous the way she incorporates more than just the image itself by putting the date on the border in this fashion. That act as much as the effort Sophie puts into the composition makes it stand out to me as a piece of art. I get the same thrill looking at these as I do looking at found art pieces.

In comparing these two very different methods of photography, Sophie says, “With the digital camera, you experiment, work, try to impart things precisely. With the Polaroid, you try to describe the soul of things, without tricks, without special effects… life such as it is, and nothing other.” (*1)

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Every time I think I am settled on what images I want to show you I find more stuff that is just so incredible that I cannot help but include it. I know….I just know…that you are all going to go spend some quality time at Sophie Thouvenin’s website this weekend, but I’ve just got to keep tempting you. The image above and below are from this recent series that Sophie did featuring various kinds of money.

I hardly know what to say anymore. I am so in awe of her creativity. I have always firmly believed that photography is an art form. It is not just pointing and clicking. Sophie Thouvenin embodies that belief and her work shouts loudly “This is art”.

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(Escaped)

And as promised, the artist herself. She was born in Switzerland, raised in Strasbourg, and now lives in France. (*1). Depending on which article one chooses to believe, she either began photography at the age of 16 (*1) or 17 (*2) when her father gave her his old camera. Either way it was a gift that certainly became a life changer for this young talent.

(Self shout, click image for a larger version)

Despite my heavy handed paragraphs waxing eloquent, Sophie Thouvenin’s work truly speaks for itself. She is an incredibly gifted artist whose work certainly strikes deep emotional cords with me. I didn’t just spend the weekend thinking ‘oooo, pretty pictures’. I was blown away when I came upon her site. Her works are captivating. They arrest your attention and make you want to come back and look again and again. She is inspiring both in the quality of her craft but also in her apparent willingness to try new things and look at things in a new and interesting way. At the same time her work maintains touches that connect it all together and proclaim that it is hers.

“All I can say about my work is that it brings me pleasure, and maybe that’s the most important thing when you practice any art.” ~Sophie Thouvenin (*1)

(Lips Tryptik Mini, click for a larger version)

The above image is really fun. This is also a self portrait of the artist. I love it.

And although it doesn’t necessarily fit anywhere, I want to allow myself to say that this is the second Friday in a row that I have had the privilege of featuring an artist who not only lives in France BUT is inspired by and influenced by the works of film maker Jean-Pierre Jeunet. I could not be more thrilled!!!

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It is with great reluctance that I bring this post to a close. Reluctance for purely selfish reasons in part because I just want to keep looking at Sophie’s photographs. But also reluctance because there is just no way to do justice to her work with words and yet the feeling her images aroused in me would not allow me to share silently.

And so to close I present a few images from the myst series.

(Flower)

These images contain many of the elements present in her other series and make a nice book end to the beginning images of this post.

(Kiss, click image for a larger version)

They are gorgeous, aren’t they? Like the doll images they project an innocent sensuality.

(Fragile, click image for a larger version)

The soft curves of woman and flower, outlined by the soft focus and the mist, create an overall image of unmatched beauty.

Sophie Thouvenin, like many of the artists I feature on my site, has works for sale. Unfortunately my command of French is exactly what it used to be–nonexistant, and so I have emailed her to instruct me how folks can access her pricing and ordering information. I will post links when I have it.

In the meantime, take whatever opportunities you have this weekend to allow the photographic art of Sophie Thouvenin to inspire you and excite you. My hope is that this beautiful imagery will ever so slightly adjust your eyes so that you see the world a bit differently, that you will notice all the beauty around you and that you will take a moment to enjoy it.

Information for this article, when noted, was obtained through two of the few English language articles I could find on Sophie Thouvenin. Those marked (*1) are credited to this article by Equivoque at Deviantart dot com. Quotes marked (*2) are credited to this article by Digital Photographer. I highly recommend reading them both as you will discover much more about this lovely, wonderful artist.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!