Seaside sensations. By Caroline SCAVENNEC & Clara MARTIN

Little French paradise next to the sea

Big villa by the sea

The environment in which we find ourselves influences our feelings and thoughts. We visited a town on the French Riviera and one on the South Carolina coastline…

Cassis, on the Azure Coast, is about 20km from Marseille, on the most touristic coastline of France. It has a charming harbor typical of the coastal villages of the south of France. We took this photo last summer. We chose not to use black and white because we wanted to bring out the beauty of those lovely colors: the bursting blue of the shining sky and clear water and the flaming colors of the little houses in the background. We chose a landscape format. The sea and boats are in the center of the photo. In the background, each pretty house has its own style. It was like a little paradise, restful and warm, bathed in light. It was a real pleasure to take photos. 

The second photo was taken during a February school trip to Charleston, USA, a town in South Carolina, on the East coast of the USA. We chose to frame this photo like that because to show the “bulk” of this splendid villa. The environment is verdant. On the right is a palm tree, which shows that the climate is subtropical (warm and wet in summer, fresh and dry in winter). There are several floors in this impressive villa next to the sea. How different from the little houses of the French harbor town! The colors are less present on this picture, it seems less jolly than the French landscape, but Charleston is not a tourist destination like Cassis. The colors are quite cold: stone grey, fir green, pure white. The light of the sun gives a calm atmosphere to the scene.

Source of inspiration. By Pauline CHAPPON & Mathilde MARCILLIERE

A fountain for peace

A fabulous fountain

The first picture was taken on a windy sunny Sunday in a small town in the Auvergne called Les Martres de Veyre. I like this fountain, built in 2008 to celebrate the twinning with Arcozelo, a small town in Portugal. It is built in Volvic stone. On the right of the fountain there is a fish. The little thing in blue  is a plaque where we can see the coat of arms of Arcozelo. In the background there are houses. This is the lower part of my town. In the foreground there are flowers. I love this small friendly park, it is a great place to relax. There is a river next to it. The sounds of the river and the fountain are very beautiful. Many of the townfolk, including myself and the mayor, went last summer to visit our twin town, as it was the 10^th birthday of the twinning. I love this fountain because of what it stands for: peace among nations.

  

The second picture was taken at midday, on a beautiful but nippy Tuesday, in Clermont-Ferrand. I was with my friends. In the background, you can see part of the historic center of Clermont-Ferrand and in the foreground there are lawns and benches. I love being near a fountain, listening to its soothing sound, just sitting on a bench among the flowers and trees. This grand fountain, in dark Volvic stone, is called the Fontaine d'Amboise and I'm fascinated by it. It is now in the Poterne square, having been moved several times over the years. Jacques d'Amboise asked a sculptor to make it in 1511. There is an inscription in Latin on it and the elaborate decorations are typically Renaissance, there are masks and garlands adorning it. At the top, there is a statue of a man wearing an animal skin. It is obviously a prestigious historical monument and adds to the inhabitants' sense of civic pride.

These fountains are in different towns; one is recent and the other is much older. They are proof that fountains have always been an important part of the urban environment.

Serenity and stress. By Juliette CAYLOU & Samuel JORGE

We wanted to take a picture of the Jardin Lecoq to show how beautiful Clermont-Ferrand can be. This 5-hectare park, designed by Paul de Lavenne, dates from 1912. Birds fly all around the garden, the trees are grand and there are flowers everywhere. People are happy in this place of serenity, after school or work, away from the cars; they can relax and try to forget their daily problems.

There is noise and pollution in the second photo. People suffocate in this city; smiles are rare, and everybody is always in a hurry. It sometimes feels like a prison. But, because people have to work and shop, stress is an inevitable part of city living.

City life is sometimes calm, sometimes busy.

Public vs private. By Mayssane BENHADID & Tessa CAZENOBE

The first picture was taken on the 15^th of October in a corridor of our high school. We wanted to go home; we were tired and worried about the amount of homework we had to do for the next day. It was very quiet. We could hear whispers coming from the classrooms. We smelt dust. We were cold; the central heating had not been turned on yet. We took this picture in black and white in order to emphasize our feeling of insecurity. Our school was built in 1849 and its corridors are gloomy: steel lockers, old-fashioned doors, blue and grey tiled walls. When we walk down the corridors we are afraid of how others might judge our way of speaking, dressing or behaving. Sometimes, the other pupils tease us. The photo reflects how we feel…

The bedroom picture was taken during the holidays in Mayssane's warm, cosy and comfy home. We smelt the chocolate cake that Mayssane’s mum had just made. We chose a colour to contrast with the black and white photo. The bedroom is full of colours: the bedspread and pillows, the big painting above the bed, and the wooden chest of drawers. Birds were tweeting in the garden. When we took the picture we were joyful and quiet. There are the basics things that you find in a bedroom: a big bed (for big naps), a desk (for the courageous pupil) and a wardrobe (for fashionistas). Bedrooms can be places to have fun or work in. This is our private environment, a place where we can do whatever we want, we can be ourselves without fearing others’ judgment. We feel free and safe there.

The contrast between our photos makes us think about how, living in the city, we move between the private and the public spheres. Our bedrooms are private “safe” places where we can be ourselves, whereas the bleak corridors of a school are “dangerous” public spaces where we are afraid to be ourselves…

The best of both worlds? By Camille FERNANDES & Camille NIGON

The daily to and fro

The peaceful path

We took the first photograph in Malintrat. It was a cloudy, nippy, mid-September, morning. We could feel a slight breeze and it was wet. We chose black and white to emphasise the negative aspects of the scene. We see a road with lots of traffic. We were tired and the noise and pollution put us in a bad mood. Drivers were impatient and used their car horns. It was grey and ugly. In the background is the ‘Poste RTE’, founded in 1950. It has a high voltage (up to 63,000 Volts) so it is a little bit noisy too. It both produces and distributes electricity so it is an important service provider of the area. Our title for this photo is: The daily to and fro because it shows a moment that lots of people repeat each day; they go to work, take their children to school, whatever...

In the evening of the same day, we took the second photograph; it is completely different though it was also taken in Malintrat. We gave it the title: The peaceful path. Even if it was still cloudy with a little bit of wind, the temperature was now unusually mild. Nature’s greens and browns dominate. We felt free and happy and could hear the birds.  This is a nice place to go for a walk to. You can relax  there after a hard day’s work.

Malintrat is a place of contrasts; you can have negative or positive feelings there, depending on the spot you are in and the time of day. Malintrat is a dormitory town; it has both rural and urban features. That is why we like our town.