Photographer : Jean-Philippe LebéeJean-Philippe sites : Facebook/ Tumblr/ Blog/ Photography Why Jean-Philippe Lebée (again) ? Lately, I am finding myself liking every picture Jean-Philippe is posting on Tumblr, it's something that happened before only with two photographers : Megan McIsaac and Eric Rose. So if I am doing it with him it means that he has become, with the two photographers mentioned just before, one of my favorite artist. Usually I love with moderation, but with these three I learnt to love unconditionally. They all have a different aesthetic but I can easily relate to their vision. That is why I don't think I have a particular style that I appreciate in photography and Jean-Philippe made me realize that.
In the first picture of Jean-Philippe I commented, I mentioned that I loved his photographs because he really knows how to make an intimate shot. But an other reason I am a fan of his work is because he chooses people with a lot of personality and charisma. It's not a question of being stylish but it is more about feeling something when seeing them. That is why in my opinion, choosing who to photograph is also an other part of a photographer talent. Sometimes you will see someone beautiful on the street and then think of shooting him/her to then realize that you have made a mistake, some other time you will see someone who isn't beautiful but who will leave a strong impression when being photographed. All this to say that photographing people doesn't always rely on beauty, on the contrary, hence my choice with today's picture.
What I'm seeing. The man on the picture is nor good or bad looking. Actually, we don't know if he is or not or I'd rather say we can't know it because he is hidden by his hat. We can only try to imagine how he looks like because the only clues we have about his face are his glasses and light beard. Face is the first contact we have with people when we first meet them, we are used to think that looking at someone's face and eyes will help us figure out his/her personality.
I precisely selected this picture because of one fact : our habit to think that it is easier to figure out someone's personality when seeing his/her face. With this picture, Jean-Philippe is showing us the exact opposite. Though we can't see this man's face, the place where he is, his tattoos and his attitude are helping us to find out who he is. I first mentioned the place because this room does have a personality. That is why I believe that instead of thinking how to photograph his model, Jean-Philippe first thought of what angle would be the best to shoot him so that we can figure out who he is.
When seeing this picture my attention was first catched by the feathers on the right corner. I was wondering what these feathers were part of until I realized it was a dreamcatcher. Then my eye fell on Obama's poster to finally arrive on the model hat. I believe that my eyes made all this journey because of the angle chosen by Jean-Philippe. I find his choice very interesting and wise because my eyes met the model last. It was as if he invited us, viewers, first to discover a little bit of this room, to set the mood, to help us understanding who this man is. The hat is an element that brings contrast, because we may have expected to see the man's face but instead we are led to look at his body, his position and above all his tattoos. Eventhough we can't see them clearly, I do think they all have a story just like this room with its catchdreamer and its bunch of posters pinned on the wall. But Jean-Philippe doesn't let us the time to wonder more about the tattoos as they are way out of focus, we are brought back to the bedside table where we can see that the model is lighting an incense stick, and then we are back to look at the dreamcatcher.
I don't know this man but I do have the feeling that he is dreamer, a traveler and an artist (betting he's a musician, don't know why..).
Who do you think this man is or what do you think he does ? (those two questions sound pretty much the same, I know..)
