NikonGear'23
Images => Themes, Portfolio Series, PaW, or PaM => Topic started by: Olivier on January 27, 2017, 22:53:38
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I agreed when my employer offered to transfer me to the Parisian area 16 years ago, as a way to come back to France after a prolonged and enjoyable stay in New Jersey, USA. The secret plan was to rapidly find another job, somewhere else in the country. But life would be boring if everything worked as expected... And so everything looked suddendly very enjoyable around the capital when Cupid caught me off-guard!
We've spent many wonderful years here with our childen, but my wife and I actually share the same desire to live a new adventure under different skies.
I was appointed by a competitor to take a new position in Singapore, and will move some time in May. While we expect this to be only for a few years, it is a big change as we are selling the house and many of our belongings. We've been very busy lately deciding what to do and how to organize it, there was not much time or envy for me to work on photography. This has to change now, and I've decided to start a project with a loose theme: I will document the transition with at least one picture a week. It could be pictures of people or places I will leave here and maybe miss, or, later, scenes or faces that we encounter in our new life.
Week 1: Winter in Mery
We've experienced cold temperatures recently, something I will definitely miss in the upcoming years. But more than winter, I will miss the changing sceneries in the gardens of the Chateau de Méry sur Oise, close enough to our house to be considered our own gardens... I've spent many hours looking for different perspectives, and mostly in infrared.
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Hope the move goes well, Olivier.
I look forward to following the photo project.
The first image is a great start!
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Good luck with the move Olivier.
My daughter lived in Singapore for several years and I really did enjoy my visits there. They have some wonderful parks, gardens, and bird exhibits.
Only six hours to Australia - your next destination after Singapore? He he.
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Olivier, I wish you a good luck with your new job, people and place!
I'm looking forward to the development of this promising thread!
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Beautiful tonality in this shot. I will follow your thread with interest.
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".... but my wife and I actually share the same desire to live a new adventure under different skies."
All the best with your new adventure :)
I've spent much more time In Paris than Singapore. Very different cities and cultures, cool. After almost 20 years in India I am thinking of another move but where ... ;) > Not sure my wife actually shares the desire to move. The idea of selling most of my worldly possessions is appealing. Fresh start. I have been a foreigner most of my life .
I really like the framing and tones of your image. Fun project and I look forward to your next few months of images.
Cheers
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Great shot, and a great step Olivier. Good luck !
Looking forward about the further results of your project.
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Excellent choice, Olivier!
Every sixth person in Singapore is a millionaire, so your odds are great. Have a few more kids and voilà :)
I will be enjoying this thread a lot, and I can hardly wait for a Singapore one.
Good luck and best wishes!
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God luck for your new life with your family, Olivier !
I guess it wasn't an easy decision.
This thread will be very interesting. I am going to follow it, for sure.
Thanks for sharing.
Francis.
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Thanks everyone. It will be an adventure...
Hugh: yes, Australia would be a fantastic follow up. My wife did spend some time there and raves about it!
Jakov: Every sixth person... So for once I'll be in the majority. Or we just have to define which currency we're counting in.
Francis: it wasn't easy from a professional standpoint, but we really are looking forward to changing schools. The international system in Singapore will give a chance to my chidren to becoming easily bilingual. And they need to be challenged a bit more. My son asked his teacher to give him more work this week, and the answer was "no, you need to remain close to the average level of the class so wait for the other ones". This drives me crazy.
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My son asked his teacher to give him more work this week, and the answer was "no, you need to remain close to the average level of the class so wait for the other ones". This drives me crazy.
I share your feelings. Let's hope the things will change after some mains elective consultations soon... ::)
About Singapore, I only know Changhi airport when I was on my way to Australia, few years ago. But I was really impressed : carpet everywhere (thousands of square meters) pristine toilets evreywere, food shops everywhere, plus many duty free shops
Really impressive airport !
I flew with Singapore airline : very very good airline company. ;)
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About everyone in Singapore under the age of 85 yo seems to have a good grasp of English. In fact many of the locals only speak English.
I am sure that your son will get pushed hard by his teachers once he gets to school over there - if anything, Asians take education even more seriously than do the Scots, and Singapore is probably the leader of the pack.
I will ask my daughter for the names of some of the better schools there and PM you.
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Thank you very much, Hugh. It is quite difficult and seemingly not desirable to send the children to local schools (not that they are not good enough, they are excellent but they push competition to an extreme). We will look for international schools as the company will pay for this. The Canadian, amongst others, has a good reputation (and so does the French buth this is for later).
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My son asked his teacher to give him more work this week, and the answer was "no, you need to remain close to the average level of the class so wait for the other ones". This drives me crazy.
That's not good to hear. The teacher sound like the average teacher of Japanese average schools. They don't know how to develop the talent of each individual students. :o :o :o
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I always loved and adored your contributions here. Always a tad of magic and emotion on top of solid craftsmanship. The internet will keep us connected wherever you may roam. Good luck with your transition to Asia. To a very different city. Singapore. Fascinating!!!
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Good luck and lots of fun in your new adventure.
I spend some time there in the summer2015 and I´m looking forward to your view of the place.
Lorsque tu mettras le cap sur Ithaque,
fais de sorte que ton voyage soit long,
plein d'aventures et d'expériences.
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Thank you again!
Akira: the school is pretty good, I am afraid the whole system is flawed and designed to produce uniformous profiles. Time to try something else.
Frank and Paco: it is going to be an adventure, hopefully not and odysseus! And I am going with my Penelope, definitely.
Week 2: Last cold birthday party before long
My daughter Julie is turning 12 today. She has lived all her life in the same house so far (for sale now!), but shows no fear of leaving it. She is rather excited. Leaving her friends is another story...
Here is C., she came for the birthday party and is sleeping over. Like Julie, she has developed a remarkable talent for piano, and she is surprisingly mature enough to understand that further progress will come through discipline and hard work. How reassuring for a father to see that his daughter chooses her friends so well! C. oscillates between exuberance and moments where she pauses and retracts from her surroundings. These moments can be interesting as they transform her eye's expression: she is not fully controlling her image anymore. It is a challenge to capture this transient look, I almost succeeded here.
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Great capture, Olivier !! Impressive and natural look.
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Very beautiful portrait 😊
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What a beautiful couple of images, specially the portrait
Best of luck in your new adventure , I spent a month in Singapore and had a really good and interesting time
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This portrait really touches and moves me. What more can one say about a photo? it is technically and emotionally brilliant. What less can we expect from you? We have seen so many astounding perspectives from your production. Continue to impress us, we wait in Awe!
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Thank you very much for the nice words!
Week 3: Getting real
Today was a milestone in Julie's agenda: she got her passport, the last official paper we needed to get all the paperwork processed by the Singaporean authorities. The previous one expired a while ago, and the picture showed a 6 months old baby...
We are now overwhelemed by requests from different people at the relocation company.
Should the new appartment building have a swimming pool? Ask the kids!
Dou you expect to move with animals? No! With alcohol? You bet!
Will the children go to school? Don't ask them, especially if the answer is yes to the first question...
And so on.
We are not used to be taken care of so well, we always handled everything by ourselves up to now. It is somewhat reassuring, and on the other hand we are not fully in control of our destiny. Very strange feeling!
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Olivier, the image of your daughter is priceless!!
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Thank you Jakov!
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The children gradually realize how much their life is going to change. We have been talking about this opportunity for months now but up to recently it was only a distant possibility. Now that it is materializing, they understand that they will go to a fully English speaking school, and they can't express themselves in English right now... One more good reason to go actually. They are very fast learners and we have absolutely no doubt they will succeed but it is always disturbing to understand that soon you will feel naked and outside your comfort zone.
So until we go, almost all movies they will watch will be in English, with or without subtitles.
We went to our very nice local cinema to see "la la land", a very charming story with good music. This is when the kids were informed it was not the French-dubbed version, but the real thing. They loved it in the end!
Week 4: la la land, wtf?
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Their expression says it all :)
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I'm enjoying the narrative , thanks for posting it Olivier
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English is widely spoken in Singapore - even amongst the locals. Your children will soon become bilingual (or multilingual).
That said, I would be quite surprised if there is not a French speaking community somewhere in Singapore.
(Besides, Vanuatu, Tahiti, and the Mauritius Islands are only relatively short plane rides away - all are very desirable spots for a holiday!)
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What a lovely portrait of C. Oliver! calm and full of expression! Same with the next two great contact! Thanks ;)
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Thanks.
There is a quite large French community in Singapore indeed, more than 15000 people. Some appartment buildings are heavily populated with French families, near the very good French school. We expect the children to join this school probably after 2 years in an international school, when their English level is strong enough. This will facilitate the trip back whenever it happens.
When I was living in the US and working for a French company the gregarious tendency of of French community was very obvious and a bit annoying. Every conversation was about comparing the two countries and people were so convinced that everything was so much better back home that I ended up leaving the group. While I can understand that people miss some aspects (food!!) of the life they have left for a while, I think they should embrace the novelty of their situation rather than lament in groups.
Hugh: there are so many desirable holidays spots easily reachable from Singapore that we won't have enough time for everything. Definitely, Cambodia, Indonesia and Australia will come before the rest!
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Yes indeed - that is the great benefit of where Singapore is located.
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..................there are so many desirable holidays spots easily reachable from Singapore that we won't have enough time for everything. Definitely, Cambodia, Indonesia and Australia will come before the rest!
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Olivier, this thread will surely be a precious record of this period of time of your family history.
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Thanks Akira, and we'll do all we can to turn this period in a positive experience!
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My youngest children belong to an art school (music and drama) which has tight links with a similar school based in Italy, near Firenze. They exchange students and musical groups on a regular basis, and people are housed by the local families. This helps keep the costs down and favors the built of strong personal relationships.
We were lucky to have Patrizia with us for nearly a week. She is a chemistry teacher and a jazz singer. A very open, energetic and enjoyable person who started the week as a stranger and ended it as another family member. After three days we were already invited to spend our next vacation at her place in Tuscany. Well, as much as we like the idea, it may not happen this year...
In the end, it can hurt to make new friends when you are so close to a complete life change.
She asked for a portrait, I would never answer no to this request!
Week 5: The Jazz Singer, and some blues
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Very well framed with the Subtle BG,,, a little dark but perfectly 'acceptable' for enhanced mood effect ;)
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Thanks Erik. In most cases I end up darkening the backgroud...
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Week 6: The English teacher
J. is our 9 years old neighbour, a complex and rich blend of Indian, English and French bloads. He speaks French and English indifferently and likes to play with our son Robin. He is most often on the calm side and has already built an impressive culture in many domains but he can easily become very energetic and his laughter is extremely funny and communicative. I gave him the mission to forget everything about French when he is around our house. This drives my son crazy as he is more interested in playing than being taught another lesson when they are together, but J. will not give up and repeats "you are probably speaking French and I can't understand a word". It is actually working as Robin is now making efforts to use whatever words he knows and what he picks up from J.
Here he is, proud to be a successful English teacher, just like his mother.
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Love his curious eyes which show his intelligence!
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fantastic portrait
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thanks!
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Beautiful, Olivier !
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Endearing portrait of a young happy fellow with wise eyes. It totally matches your description.
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John, Paco, thank you very much.
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Oh man, I am so late on this...
time flies and we spend our time and energy preparing everything for the departure. And the week ends are devoted to friends and family that we won't se as much for a while.
So there is not much time for photography.
Let us not count weeks anymore in this project as I can't keep up with the expected pace.
Picture 7: the wine poet
For more than 10 years now I've gone to the same covered market on Sunday mornings to get the food essentials (high quality cheese, poulty from the farm, vegetables from the grower...) and have developed a casual friendly relationship with many retailers there.
I had never stopped by Sebastien's booth until two weeks ago, and seriously regret it now.
He used to be a sports photographer, specialized in the French football national team and following the players wherever the went. Over the years he grew tired of this life and felt a strong desire to live of his passion, wine.
I needed a good white wine for a lunch at a Japanese's friend, and my usual answer is "fruity yet not too sweet Alsace wine" like a Pinot Gris for instance, since Alsace is the place I come from. But I was out of my usual stuff and needed something immediately so I stopped and asked for his advice. He suggested a rather rare option, a remarkably complex and quite woody white from the Languedoc region. I was convinced after my friends and I enjoyed our great lunch.
Sebastien specializes in small producers, with limited productions and sometimes variable quality. He speaks with a mix of technicality and poetry, and has a good ability to integrate one's needs. So far he has not disappointed me and we now talk about developing a small set of bottles that I could take with me to Singapore, since wine is so expensive there. And I guess over there it will be easier to find good bootles from Australia or New Zeeland, maybe less from France...
So here he is, patiently posing for me while I was cursing my 50 AF Nikkor because it is not easy to MF, even with my X-T1's lovely EVF... The background is too busy and contrasty, but I had to deal with what was available.
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Thomas is a friend's and ex-colleague's son, born 17 years ago, just when I move from New Jersey back to France. My stay in Paris was not supposed to last long and every time I see him I remind him that he should definitely not be that old...
He is one more successful product of multiculturalism as his mother is originated from the ex East Germany, I met her while finishing my Ph.D in Strasbourg and his father is Welsh and we spent a few years working for the same company. They all live happily near Paris now. Thomas speaks German, English and French indifferently, he is highly committed to his sports (triathlon and basketball!) and plays the accordillion quite well. He is a lively, humorous, smart boy.
He heard we were leaving and insisted on seeing us before. That happened today, in the gardens of the Chateau de Versailles. The castle is visible in the background.
Picture 8: the time marker
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The stories really complement the portraits
Thank you for taking the time to do the write ups vs only sharing the images
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Thanks for the continuation of the story. No need to rush. The series is well worth waiting.
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Yes - I agree.
In Singapore, and at a price that is, you can get just about anything including wine. I will be interested to hear how you assess the Australian and New Zealand offerings. However you should still be able to track down the mainstream French & other European wines OK.
Nice story about your friend's son Thomas. What did you study in Strasbourg?
Thanks for the continuation of the story. No need to rush. The series is well worth waiting.
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Thanks Armando, Akira and Hugh.
Hugh: I studied physical chemistry and did my Ph.D in polymers science. Now I work for a fragrance house... life is full of surprises!
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I did physics in what was a somewhat dourly run presbyterian university in NZ. All of the serious beer & wine drinkers were masters and doctoral chemistry research students and the universitiy's student alcohol controller was also a chemistry professor - something akin I believe to putting a Vampire in charge of a blood bank. Needless to say he applied minimum alcohol controls to events that the chemistry research students ran (well he sometimes even stood in as the barman), so needless to say I aligned myself with the chemists in respect of such social functions. ;D
-Thanks Armando, Akira and Hugh.
Hugh: I studied physical chemistry and did my Ph.D in polymers science. Now I work for a fragrance house... life is full of surprises!