Excuse my late response. Been pulled away from what I love most, which is photography, and I can say, deeply, I love the look and feeling I got from looking at your images. It became clear early on that you have a deep feeling and empathy for these people, shown not only in what and when you chose, or rather, impulsively I’d hasin to guess, but also by the attitude these people had with you. Acceptance.

Going to check out your web site I think now.

Love that wide mid tone..

Very nice work Rijasolo.

I really like your books.

peace

Congratulations on your appearance here.

I love your overall theme here, the sense of place, and displacement. I think, within limits, you have achieved what you have set out to do, but perhaps not as strongly as you would like. Much of what is here is likely very personal, but does not really resonate with me. I do get a general sense of what is going on, but it doesn’t get much past that.

I do have some tech concerns. Like some of the other commenters, I feel your post processing is very heavy handed and over-done. You are beating me over the head with the high contrast, major edge-burn. I’m afraid you are falling into the trap of if a little is good, more must be better. I suggest you just let your imagry speak. Colour would be good to consider.

I actually did not make it through my first viewing, and had to come back later, when I was feeling more patient. This is not usual for me.

I love some of the images on this series, and see a lot of great work on your site. I look forward to seeing more.

I really enjoyed this essay. I guess enjoyed is not quite the right word. The music and the images touched me. The sense of despair and moments of happiness. Maybe that’s what I am feeling at the moment so it fit my mood perfectly. An another day maybe I would have been critical of the technique/post processing. But on second thought I don’t think so. Overall it really worked for me and I am feeling you. I guess that is my own personal barometer of an essay, can I feel the artist at work, can I feel myself in the work, do I feel anything? That is the only thing that matters to me at the end of the day. Each of us would have photographed the place differently but I sensed a personal story coming through and that is important. Authorship over technique. Without authorship the best technique is empty and lack of technique becomes painfully obvious.

Congratulations and all the best,

Frank

I really thank you all for all your comments and constructive criticism ! It’s very a pleasure to read such different point of view.

first, I would apologize for my broken english ! ;-)

It’s true that the postprocessing on Miverina seems to be “excessive” but it really was for me a aesthetic choice to be coherent with my personal vision of Madagascar : a mix between the joy of the return (burning light) and a strange feeling of not being in my place (darkness)… I don’t know if this is the best way to translate this kind of emotion. I don’t know if photographic medium is the best way to show it…But, at the present time, I feel satisfied with theses pictures.
“Miverina” is a project I began since 2004, and as I said in my bio, this work was yet shown but with another editing which was completely different. Today I can say that this first editing didn’t really touch what I would express : too much photojournalistic (because of my main job ?), too much looking-like photo travel, etc… With this present editing, it was important for me to actually focus on myself and not to be a reporter or a tourist, but just a guy who just wants to make sense of his presence in Madagascar. “Miverina” is a sentimental road movie.
I wish this will answer to doubts of Mimi Mollica who wonders if my vision of Madagascar is ‘death and despair’. I’d like to reassure you, Mimi : there’s no dead in this essay ;-). The despair is not in the malagasy way of life but in my impossibility to become a “real Malagasy” one day. The reasons would be the cultural difference or an identity which didn’t grow up in Madagascar…
A sociologist says “Double Absence” (or dual absence ?) to describe feelings of migrant who are living in a foreign country : their host country is not their country; and their native country is really no more their country…

Anyway, as Eric Espinosa said, Madagascar is a beautiful Island (for me the most beautiful country in the world ! ;-), where color, time, emotion, etc. has no equivalent with the rest of the world. All his different, not better, but different. The simplicity of malagasy way of life is just amazing. In Madagascar we say “mora, mora” (slowly, slowly) which would means “All is possible, but we just must accept to have time.” ;-) But I’m not partisan of thoses saying “oh ! they are so poor, but always happy”, I hate this kind of mindset ! I think it’s not the same thing.
The success of development of Madagascar (one of the poorest country in the world) is not in reproducing a western democratic or economic model, or something like that, but in its ability to find solution in its own culture… heu…but this is another story ;-)

@ Bob Black : You wrote “It is true that there is lots of ‘influences’ at work here visually (d’agata, paolo, frank, peterson, ackerman, etc)”… ok it suits me ! I take it all ! Some of these photographers you mention gave me the desire to photograph. I love the way they show us their pathetic world…

“death and despair”… hum… maybe…the world is not just on TV…

Thank you all again for your comments.

Wish you the best !

Rija

P.S: Sorry again for my english ! bye

Congratulations for your publication. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching your essay… First, Madagascar has a very special place in my heart and, even if Bob is right that this was not an exploration of Madagascar per say, it was great to be transported back there through your eyes and emotions. I have really fallen in love with this country many years ago after spending one month traveling there and I wished it could have lasted much longer. This land is magical, an incredible festival of colors with the “green” of the rice fields, the deep red color of the ground… the people in Madagascar are also incredibly kind, simple and generous with their time. As a young photographer this was the very first project I worked on during that month period and somehow, I was really inspired by this place…. my work at the time ended up being selected for the OFF festival in Perpignan… nothing special really but this was the very first time I actually exposed my photographs so only great memories… I keep thinking that I should go back and spend some longer period of time there….

Now, while I worked in colors, I loved seeing your different vision, the deep B&W inages. I was also touched overall by your emotions, the mood you have been able to create with your imagery. There are some really georgeous images in your work and all in all, I thought this was a terrific essay.

Well done Rijasolo and thanks for sharing your work with us.

Eric

but… I felt trapped and would have preferred to have looked through the images at my own pace and would have liked narrative in place of music.

That’s just me.

Still, it gave me a feel for a place and people very different than here.

Yes, this essay hits very much my own personal taste and maybe it works so well because it fits so well to the mood I am in right now. In this case I don’t ask for a coherent story or a story at all. On another day I might have prefered to learn more about Madagaskar, but not today. Today I simply enjoy these images!
So, I don’t mind the post processing at all. Yes, this is a dark essay, but there is light and brightness as well!!!

Madagaskar to me is one of the dream places I somehow hope to see one day. My intrest for this “Grande Ile” was ignited by the work of Gian Paolo Barbieri.

Cathy, no surprise you like this work as well! This is just the right stuff for us and fits perfectly in the post India blues ;-) These images make me want to start editing – right now!

Rijasolo, thank you for these fine images!

Reimar

I like it. A lot.

The first essay I’ve enjoyed here in a long time. I think the reason it speaks to me is because I am currently editing some work of my own recent journey and what’s on my mind is how to tell the story of “travel” without it being cliche “travel photography.”

Well…your essay is a very good example. It’s not so overly “artsy” that I can’t relate to it…there are still recognizable people and places but they are shown in a personal way.

That’s very funny…I only now saw Anthony’s comment above about “artsy personal photojournalism.” That’s sort of been my mantra today and as far as I’m concerned you’ve accomplished it here. Good job.