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Emile Hyperion Dubuisson
Siberia, the Far North
I went to Siberia without a camera. I bought it there. I was eighteen. Before being there, I never photographed. After shooting these images, I did not photograph again for more than ten years. For my first experience, I was assistant director on a long-term documentary film project shot in Russia. After few months of traveling all over the country, we landed in Siberia. The film was hard to make because of the weather conditions, and I started exploring the landscape by myself. I am here in this unreal set, on the north part of the polar circle and practically no light; it’s the middle of the winter, the coldest time ever. No one strolls for pleasure. Excursions are limited to the necessary. A few furtive silhouettes stirred in the dim light around the wind-swept encampments half-buried in snow. What did I shoot? I don’t even remember. I was not a photographer and survival took all my attention. These frames now appear to me to hold a deep intensity. Is it the reminiscing to that long-ago time when photographing was for me a totally instinctive and free act?
A few weeks later, we went back to Moscow and I started to process the film… My lack of experience and the absence of notice on the film, made the development very random. Half of my films were blank, the other half almost translucent. I decided to store the negatives. I left photography. Right after, I went back to Paris and start working as an assistant and then a cinematographer on feature length films for ten years. It’s only after coming in New York to study photography at the International Center of Photography in 2006 that I decided to look at the negatives again. The curiosity and the new technology help me to discover what was behind. Very quickly, the images from Siberia kept my attention and I realized how they were important for me. They signify the beginning of my photographic endeavor and that first step onto which I could build. A random chemical process, an unconsciousness of the image, and a lot of chance came together to create a series that is at once constructed and magical, consistent and surreal. To my now professional eye, these images of Siberia resonate. Diving back into this work from the past, I am rediscovering a part of my innocence. While structuring these images I have discovered unexpected meaning.
Bio
Emile H Dubuisson was born in Paris. He attended the International Center of Photography in 2007, furthering his knowledge of photography. Prior to that he studied cinema at Universite Paris 8 in France. His work reflects disciplines of both fields. Dubuisson is currently working as cinematographer on a feature length film.
Related links
www.emilehyperiondubuisson.com
Imants, you are not speaking for all of us here when you “disinvite” people who are merely posting their opinions. From my reading, it was you who chose to turn the discussion personal.
David S., you are most welcome here and your perspective — as does Imants’ — adds to the discussion.
Patricia
I never said we.
David S.: Although I couldn’t disagree with you more I do appreciate your getting the party started. I guess this topic still needs discussing.
Imants: Regarding your teaching comments. Well stated, sir. The world could use many more of you.
…remember Mr Sutherland stated that the essay was a better get it right…….“a sad waste of THIS VERY VALUABLE SPACE” not me
cheers for that patricia…
Emile, Congrats for making it here.
I think its always good to see where we’ve come from both technically and artistically. As such this work is an honest retrospective on yourself. If any of us look back on images taken a number of years ago, then maybe we wouldn’t quite think we are the wonderful people that we are (honestly…. we are – lol!) :/ The old adage of the best camera is the one you have with you is indeed true – be that a mobile phone, a disposable film, or your 5dmkII. Do I like your essay? Well, i’d be luke warm on it to be honest. It does represent something but not much to me. I did like the opening image though and you presentation does make an interesting point of shooting with freedom (to paraphrase).
Cheers and best.
I find it interesting, the idea of “this very valuable space” that is Burn. I think some of us, at least occasionally, fall into the fallacy of believing that it is somehow our space, but it is not, it is David and Anton’s space and they can do with it what they like, and if we don’t like it, we can go elsewhere or start our own online magazines. I’m not saying anybody shouldn’t comment on the content, just that nothing is gained by feeling inappropriately proprietary. Personally, one of the best things I like about Burn is that so much gets published that I would never choose if I were making the choices. It’s those selections that I learn the most from. Learn about photography. Learn about the world. Learn about myself. But since bryanformhals brought it to our attention, I do find myself questioning why you all would publish something that’s already been published in at least four other online magazines. You don’t feel that Burn merits first-run work? I might consider it a slight that it was even submitted with those kinds of priors. And how often do we hear that there is a better edit available somewhere else? Or that the artist knows his statement is a bunch of crap but that’s the way these things work? Top print magazines would never put up with that shit. Should Burn?
I still miss your point, David S. By publishing Emile’s essay nobody has been cancelled from a list, it’s not ‘or him or the other’.. I’ll still be interested what your reaction would have been if there was no background information. Being just 18 years old, using for the first time a camera, first time processing film, what if you wouldn’t have known? Does that matter more than the work itself? Is making money THE thing that counts for you, to judge work? When is ‘emerging’ about enough? German language has about 15 different words for the one English ‘to emerge’..
Eva, its not remotely about money. maybe this helps:
A good friend of mine is a hugely talented painter but the usual drill applies: struggling to get shows, rarely selling her work, doing a job she hates to fund the thing she loves. But in spite of her lack of ‘success’, she embodies a complete dedication to the art of painting – diligently sourcing rare pigments, mixing her own paint, making her own frames, stretches her own canvasses, endlessly exploring different techniques, being hyper-critical of everything she does if she knows it could have been done better. I firmly believe it is precisely that dedication that makes her an artist – not the paintings, which are only the by-product of her dedication and her love of what she does. And I further believe that the dedication is apparent in her work. Her vision is totally modern but the work is grounded in a centuries old tradition. it is the ‘doing of it’ and the seriousness she imbues it with, for which there are no short cuts – that is the important thing.
(Disclaimer: this is not the way I work, nor do i expect anyone to make their own cameras. what i’m trying to sketch is the way an attitude to process informs the end product. i am not an artist and so i have spoken instead about professionalism, which i believe to be a part of the same continuum).
To answer your question, what if i hadn’t known the circumstances – I can tell you that i saw the pictures first and read the statement after and it only confirmed what i already felt; that these were pictures by someone who simply hadn’t a clue. i found the whole thing profoundly anti-photographic for the simple reason that the images demonstrate no understanding of the medium.
You say “nobody has been cancelled from a list, it’s not ‘or him or the other’” – which is true, but not really what concerns me. What concerns me here is the construction of the ‘worthy image’ – in this case, worthy of being published by the inestimable DAH and coming with his nod of approval. If dilletantism is to be rewarded at this level – and in my opinion both the process and the product in this case are profoundly dilletantish – then that erodes the value of far more deserving work. It contributes to a climate where photography is seen as something that anyone can do and anything goes.
I dont think i can make myself any clearer. If anyone has got anything out of this – as seems to be the case from the numerous PMs i’ve had – then great. If anyone feels offended, in particular Emile or Imants, then please accept my apologies.
Now i bow out.
Dear DAH,
When this essay was posted I thought it was a joke and then realized no that isn’t how this site works. Or is it? Then I remembered that you had announced that all essays posted here would receive payment for the work. That was rather shocking to think money was paid for this work. Most of the work here teaches me something and with the comments made on the essays I sometimes learn even more. However, this work leaves me cold, freezing, pun intended.
#1 is the only one that has any clarity and contrast and composition and would qualify in my mind as a decent black and white image.
#2 the fish and the woman had potential if the quality of the photo was better
#12 is that a dog?
#16 Reindeer slaughter would have been interesting if the quality was such that I could see what was going on. Even on full screen it was hard to make out the head of that one sticking up to finally figure it out.
#17 Is a repeat of #2 and both are bad images of an interesting scene
#18 What is it?
#19 The man in the snow is just a man in the snow or is he standing up and you are looking up at him?
#20 Lights in the snow and scratches? What is this one all about?
#21 Grass made it through the snow
Emile, sorry to have to say that but I know how important it is to get good feedback on your work. I would hope that your work has progressed past this point. Congratulations on being posted on Burn….
This essay is not about an 18 years old boy with its first camera. It’ about how my experienced eyes decided that these images are strong enough to be a story! How I spent all this time to edit, build, frame, find the texture , pick up the image.
and for those who are interested to see the all series you can see it online on Tiny Vices’s Portfolio. Tim Barber was the first who decided to publish this work and at the time I sent him the all series (something that I don’t do anymore). I am very happy to be here on Burn and I more than pleased to see that these images are creating a little debate.
http://www.tinyvices.com/gallery/132925?page=portfolios
A bit of context: Jacques Henri Lartigue started when he was 6 years old. The images he made from day one are classics of modern photography. He never took a class. He was not a pro. Some people are born photographers.
Emile, thanks for the link.. as often I prefer the light background, and there are some gems in there :)
David S.,
Intention imbued into work is one thing, and possible, but not very easy to accomplish. To say he no intention in taking these pictures is patently false, it just not have been the same intention you have when taking pictures, which is to create “professional”-looking images for publication…
At the end of the day the images by themselves are divorced from any intention, and I like what I see.
Lately I’ve been waking at around 5am to the sound of birds in the trees outside my window. It induces in me a very strong deja vu for SE Asia. It’s a really uncanny, almost dreamlike feeling. I can’t place any exact when or where on it – just a compilation of those many times waking early to catch a bus, train, plane, go out shooting, not feeling well, or just waking to feel that feeling of being halfway around the world and the birds are singing and the motorbikes and heat haven’t started up yet. Now why I get that feeling of Vietnam, Thailand, etc in drizzly cold Seattle just from the sound of birds at that particular time of the morning is strange, but it’s there and I can’t shake it.
To me that’s what these photos are about. So lets stop talking about “briefs” and “professionalism” and more about how photography can impart feelings. Whether they bring across those feelings to the viewer is often a matter of personal taste. Some of the essays on here do it for me and others don’t – and each of us will have their own take away from each essay. So it may be a “waste of space” to some but not to others, so best to keep the proverbial mouth shut of comments like that. Just know it doesn’t have an impact on you then move on, or offer up some advice that possibly could help the photographer move the work forward in the future (ie tips on sequencing, or an image that throws you out of the mood, etc etc) but isn’t just a blanket condemnation. Too often the internet now empowers individuals to be judge and jury when there’s actually no trial taking place.
Michael Webster’s comment above has it about right. Burn should be the place to come to see essays that are complete. That are the best the photographer has to offer. All the images in the essay are the best, most relevant to the project. There aren’t other versions out there that have better pacing or more interesting images that help tell the story more completely. And the artist’s statement should have something more than just a passing resemblance to the images.
I am a believer that essays should be completed to the extent that there should be minor tweaks only. But it probably isn’t practical as people are producing more and more long term projects as they see it being the way to get their work seen. Bottom of the cocky cage photography (news) has changed and career paths are diminishing so the essay will stay with us for a while especially on the www world as it suit the media carrier.
I stated before that the first essay I had posted was completed but the second was part of an on going project(more like an ad for my book) and it was a uncoordinated disaster. Since that time the book has changed though conceptually there are now 3 completed, image sequences etc. I never got anything positive from posting it on burn except the knowledge that it was a dumb thing to do on my part.
I echo Michael K’s comment this is a completed essay and satisfying for most viewers
though conceptually the same there are now 3 completed,
Emile, thank you for allowing your work to open this conversation here. I know it may
not be how you thought the comments would go, but having your work presented
here has opened a wonderful time to talk about Art and Commerce.
No matter the aesthetic approach, the greatest appreciation of any
work executed is fair compensation. The dialog your work has opened up
is so important. How do you value what you’ve created? Have you thought
about the value of what you have created? Is acceptance enough? Should this
even be discussed?
We all begin by responding to the results of our efforts. Eventually we will
share with others. When we get positive response we are rewarded and
continue seeking approval… we’ve connected. Now comes the hard part,
coming to the realization that others connect with our efforts and perhaps
want to possess what connects with them. How do you come to terms with
this?
We’re now at the point where somebody appreciates what we do enough to
compensate us for our creativity… yikes! You think, “I could do this for a living!”
I want to leave it there. Thank you again Emile, DAH, Anton and David S for
allowing the display of Emile’s work to generate such an important conversation.
What not to Love -CIVI
An interesting opportunity here for a not-uncomplicated debate – not conducted often enough, I feel.
The merit of this work is obvious enough to some and the ‘amateur’ nature of it clear to all. The contemporary meaning of amateur is ‘unpaid’ and ‘inept’ and these both perhaps apply here. The original French and Latin derivation of the word is ‘lover’ or ‘to love’ and that is clearly the spark of this work.
I disagree with Emile who states just above that this isn’t about the 18 year old who took the images but about the experienced eyes (his own, years later) which decided this work was – to Mr. Sutherland’s disagreeing taste – professional enough to become a series. I think it is very specifically about the 18 year old, very obviously about the first-time experience, very beautifully about the purity of ‘looking’ and the truly charming things which that kind of ‘ineptitude’ allows us, as first-timers, to find important, to find meaning in. There are too-numerous precedents in outsider art, in folk art, in snapshot photography, in contemporary art in general for this not to resonate.
The fact that Emile could revisit his own first work with more mature (experienced) eyes and see the germ of what he has become is so valuable – both for himself and for all who practice an art whether it be the photographic one or any other. The purity of the original impulse is enviable and nearly forever lost on the professional, on the expert, on the experienced. It’s so obviously the point of the exhibition of this work here that the debate seems nearly pointless. But clearly it isn’t entirely without need because there has been such heat generated here.
I think it is an object lesson to everyone to keep the amateur – the lover – alive in us all.
First – Given all the criticism and debate I went back to take a second look – this time, with my reading glasses as I had just returned home from Greenland. Of course, I well-remembered the poor processing, the dust, scratches and such and, given the harsh critiques by some, was prepared to see a set of photos that upon closer examination looked worse to me than my earlier viewing – the one without my reading.
But no. This time, despite the horrid technical flaws, many of the images just struck me as wonderful, powerful and very evocative of the Far North in winter. I look at the images and I can feel it; I feel it in my nostrils, in my lungs and on my skin.
So I think that, feeling wise, it was a great first shoot. Technically, it was awful, but my own feeling about photography is that the feeling it captures is far more important than the technical aspects. I sometimes visit other sites and see photographers blasting images that have a little bit of noise or whatever, yet they have feeling, and see them praise images that are plastic smooth and plastic in content and feeling.
No plastic here.
Second – Peter Grant, your comment:
“Emile… amazing your film didn’t crack.. ”
This is a very true worry. I have had film break on me several times and sometimes I have had to create makeshift darkrooms on ice or tundra just to safely remove that film and replace it with a new roll. Yet, because extreme cold is always dry cold, what would happen more often is that static electricity would create little “lightning” bursts on the frame or the shutter would slow down and go off sink so that half of the image was overposed and the other half under – if that half was exposed at all.
I find the newer high-end digital cameras – for me, the Canon IDs III, to be much better in cold weather than film was. You just have to have a couple of batteries per camera and always keep one tucked into your parka so that it can stay warm.
Third – My name links to my blog, but as I started it right after I suffered a bad injury that limited what I could do physically for quite a long time, I have done any real cold weather shooting for the blog. Maybe that will change this winter. I once started to build a website but got sidetracked and never finished it. Now, it is just an embarrassment to me and when I find time I intend to start from scratch and build a new one, but it opens in cold weather, though not the extreme of darkest winter, and there is a bit of cold weather in it, so anyone who might be curious could see it here:
http://home.gci.net/~runningdog/
one of the great things about listening to a record is the crackle, bump, crackle, bump, at the beginning and end of the track.. people sample it these days.. gives a certain atmosphere..
were these a set of dumbly composed, (photos like this are EVERYWHERE), or derivative, (photos like this are EVERYWHERE), efforts which had been ´distressed´, (photos like this are EVERYWHERE), i would hate them..
they are not and i do not..
some of the photos work better than others – that´ll all ways be the way – yet they are original.. ´honest´ someone said.. utterly worthy whether crisp and clean classical, (which i think would also work for many of them), or f**ked up and punk.
photography is about feeling remember – as is music.. and any methodology which provokes a feeling is acceptable.. valid.. wonderful.. RARE.. from the crackle n bump of a record to the crisp clean tone of a cd.. work needs to be judged much more in this regard than with regards to false projections of professionalism, monetary value or place in the changing market.
i could´nt care less what any of our perceptions of professionalism, money and blah-blah are if the work lends us a mood.. this work speaks louder than the commentators below and our egos.
i´m not going to read the statement..
much love
d
onandon.
this is rubbish
http://corkap.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/mathew-brady-18631.jpg
please use ironey properly.. it is sarcasm, not rain on your wedding day.
i·ro·ny
1.
the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend.
Very genuine and crude images. I like.
Didn’t like it. Not clear in vision.
I’ve always loved these series. Had I realized earlier it was up I’d have chipped in its favour. The first time that I saw Emile’s images they didn’t have any captions or text, and they were terribly intriguing. I didn’t know even if the photographer had taken the images or if he had found them somewhere, nor what the photographs where of. I kept on revisiting them in my head time and time over again. Sometimes over composed and perfect photography is so abundant that you just can’t tell one image from another, but something of Emile’s pictures just stuck from their sincerity and little imperfection. It was like opening somebody else’s teenage diaries.