A tribute to an innocent man. Mathilde JOUVE & Aurore PAILLER

Tribute to an angel

The way to heaven

The first photograph was taken on October 2^nd 2015 on Edouard Michelin Avenue in Clermont-Ferrand. We took this picture without any effects, directly in front of the subject. It shows a graffiti tribute to a boy called Wissam El-Yamni who was killed by accident by a policeman. When we took the picture, we felt touched, curious, cold and astonished. We heard many cars because it was on the side of a street. We called this picture “Tribute to an angel” because of the manslaughter of this young boy. It's a black and white graffiti. We can see an old man, who seems worried, holding a young, naïve-looking, boy with long black hair. We also see the slogan "Vérité, justice" on the left; this means that Wissam's family wants to know the truth about what really happened. "Wissam" is written on the right. This beautiful work of art is by Vinci Vince.

The second photo was taken on October 9^th 2015 on Victory Square in Clermont-Ferrand. We took this low-angle shot of the cathedral's west front without any effects. There were people all around. We felt good, warm and happy. It was a sunny day and it put us in a good mood. We chose to entitle this picture “The way to heaven”. This church was built by Hugues de la Tour in the 13^th century. The architect was Jean Deschamps. For us, it's a religious building with a beautiful and pure architecture.

The common title of these two pictures is “A tribute to an innocent man” because, though there is a contrast in scale, both pictures show how people express their pain for someone who has disappeared: the graffiti is a tribute to Wissam, the cathedral commemorates Christ. 

A city’s public art and great buildings give the city its “colour”, its particular character. A cityscape is surely largely defined by its memory space (“lieux de mémoire” in French), that is: places that make us remember people and events that were (and often remain) important for us, the inhabitants. They are often calm places where we can go to remember and to feel better.

Time and tide. By Maxime AUDIGIÉ & Anja RALAITSIZAFY

 

Rest

Movement

The top picture, taken in April, shows a panoramic view of Monaco with lots of buildings and a harbour with dozen of boats and yachts. We added a black and filter to make the picture look “old”, to emphasize the feeling of solitude, and to make the people who look at this picture feel that time has slowed right down. It was a sunny and warm day but there was a bit of cooling wind which made the moment nice and relaxing. We could hear the sound of the waves and the seabirds, and smell the flowers (we took this picture next to a beautiful garden). We were really feeling good at this moment: it was so calm because of the distance between this place and the centre of the city where there is all the activity.  The distance adds to the sad calmness of the picture. 

The second picture, of a large Washington street, taken in July on a hot and sunny afternoon, shows people, numerous parked cars and many buildings, including a church. It was such a noisy place: the cars were making so much noise and I could hear lots of people talking. There was so much going on; the photo captures well the hustle and bustle. The smell was not unpleasant. The heat was unbearable.

These two pictures are contrasted: black and white quiet and calm, versus colour noisy and busy; slow versus fast.

Lonely city. By Elodie BALDET & Wyame AMAZIGH

Losing myself...

Getting lost...

The first picture, of the Color Me Rad event, was taken on the 4^th of October 2015 in Clermont, in the Place de Jaude. It is a 5 km charity run followed by a concert. The runners and spectators throw coloured powders at each other; here, there's a lot of pink!

This is a happy crowd scene with crazy people laughing and dancing and having fun together. Everyone is looking in the same direction. Most are wearing sun glasses. You want to be part of the event, even if you do not know the people in the crowd. You want to enter the picture and join in because happiness is contagious. But, all these people can also be a little scary too; you might get lost in the crowd…

We took the second photo on the 28^th September 2015, in a Clermont street not far from our high school. It's a black and white picture, with many shades of grey. It is dark and rather sad. This silent narrow street is lined with flats. The shutters are closed; you feel lonely here, unwelcome, lost. In front of the balcony, there is emptiness, darkness. It is a melancholy atmosphere.

Both these photos are about the feeling one sometimes gets in the city: feeling isolated. In a crowd of people you do not know, do you belong? In an unfamiliar setting, are you not out of place?

Dirty old towns. By Flavie CHAZEAU & Jean-Baptiste PEYRAT

Rubbish (i.e. not very good!) management...

Belching trashcans

Rubbish management is very important in a city; a dirty city is unpleasant for the people who work and live in it. Holidaymakers won’t be interested in visiting a city which is not clean; cities will then become poorer if they are not kept tidy.

Both pictures are about how rubbish is managed in cities. The color picture illustrates the problem, and the black and white one the solution.

The top picture was taken during my holidays in Naples (Italy) last October. I’ve enhanced the colors of the pile of rubbish to highlight the different types of waste (plastic bags, etc.) and also to show the fact that it is unpleasant to see. The colors don’t look natural and they contrast with the garden behind. Moreover, the low camera angle shows up the large quantity of rubbish. The smell was very bad. It was a sunny afternoon (strangely, the street lamps were on). The large plastic containers were almost completely covered over in trash. Behind, the garden was deserted, probably because of the smell. This city’s waste management is not, apparently, very efficient! This picture makes us think about how to improve our environment…

The second picture was taken on a Sunday in early afternoon in a street of no particular interest near my house. The choice of black and white is to signify the seriousness of the subject. The bins are nicely lined up, standing in front of a residential area. The rubbish is sorted by type. The weather was sunny and mild. They was nobody in the street. At the moment the picture was taken I could hear birds and the noise of people nearby. The unpleasant smell was of rotting food. Otherwise, it was interesting to see the attempt to impose order on the potential mess. We French like to impose order and we tend to respect our environment. In France, it is compulsory to sort rubbish; every house needs to have at least two bins (one green and one yellow) and you can have a third (brown) one too. The dustmen pick up the trash to be recycled every two weeks. This recycling system is good from an economic, environmental, and social point of view.

The first photo shows the chaos when rubbish is no longer managed properly; it contrasts with the second one which shows relatively good urban waste management and the resulting cleanliness.

Waste bins are present in different places in the city, mostly near living areas. The bins are made available to all the citizens but some people don’t use them correctly; they do not bother to sort their rubbish. The cleanness of cities depends on citizens but also on the dustmen; when the garbage collectors go on strike (as was the case in my holiday photo), the city becomes very dirty and the citizen cannot do anything about it...

Choose! By Orane MAUTRET & Léa BAUDRILLARD

Insecurity

Everyday life

The first picture was taken on the 26th September in Rue Prévioté. We added a filter to make the picture look "old". There was no sound and it really didn't smell nice. We were cold and it was a little windy. There was a lot of light above and it was disturbing. We didn't feel safe, we were a little anxious and afraid of getting lost. In this squalid street, with its dirty walls and old shutters, no one can feel safe. Everything we look at (the windows, doors, drainpipes, street lamps) seems to be old, dirty and in need of repair. We gave our photo the title "Insecurity" because what people feel in this dark place is insecurity; something terrible could happen to you and noone would know about it! For us, the paving stones represent the old Clermont, and the old shutters and walls mean poverty; the place has been abandoned by people. When we took the picture, there was a lot of light but the photo is not very luminous...

The second photograph was also taken on September 26th but in Rue des Gras. We added a filter to give "warmth" and to bring out details. The place was noisy and full of life. We could smell food and perfume. It was a little cold but it wasn't windy. We felt safe. There was plenty to look at in the shops. The paving stones are all nicely aligned and clean. The shop windows bring modernity to the street. We entitled this picture "Everyday life" because people are here to do ordinary things: some shopping, meet up with their friends.

The common title to these two pictures is: “Choose!”. It is people's lifestyle choices which determine if they decide to go to a street like the Rue Prévioté or to one like the Rue des Gras. We can clearly see the contrast between these pictures. In the first one, we have a narrow, squalid, dark, abandoned street, whereas in the second, we have a friendly, clean street full of busy people. It shows that people reject the old and prefer the new (or, at least, the modernized).

Today, we do not have the same values as before. We are more materialistic and appreciate large, anonymous, crowds. We have forgotten the old, secret, silent Clermont... Our second picture expresses what cities should be like today: lots of shops which give us the feeling of not lacking anything and people in the streets making us feel safe. We choose progress!

Buildings, some brilliant, some sad. By Thiefaine MERCIER & Cindy HONG

The globe of my city

Sad grey building

The first photo was taken in the afternoon of the 14th of September after class. It was sunny and a little wind made the trees dance and the leaves fall. I was quite happy to be out, because the week had been awful. I raised my head, and was blinded by the sunshine reflected on this enormous building in front of me. The IFMA is a mechanical engineering school founded in 1991 in Aubière. The shiny globe is surrounded by the several parts of the school, which is in the middle of many houses and green space. “This is my town!” I thought, proudly. This building expresses confidence; it is a good example of modern architecture. I added a filter effect to show up the light, and the reflection of my city that we can see on some parts of the globe. I entitled it The globe of my city, because, in Aubière, we all consider that the IFMA is the most attractive part of the town. The globe, which refers to Earth, makes us think of the beauty of our planet and the joy of being alive, but also about the progress of technology. Technology has been the cause of lots of pollution, but is now the means by which we will protect our environment. We are all proud of this building.

The second photo I took on the same afternoon. I see this building in Anatole France Street every day and I often ask myself why it is there. It's modern, but it's also very sad! It is surrounded by less ugly buildings, so it really stands out like a sore thumb. These apartments are not attractive. I feel sorry for the people who have to live in them. Though modern, it is just a grey and unlovely block of flats. I call this photo simply Sad grey building because that is what it is! It is a very ordinary and ugly building. To accentuate this I used a black and white filter which reflects the atmosphere of the place. 

The urban environment should be fun and exciting. Luckily, some buildings have a story to tell and their architecture shows faith in the future!