Step back. By Anna TA DAC, Gaëlle DE BRITO & Marine CHAMBRIAS

A spring in your step

Nostalgia

The first picture was taken on September 16th 2015 at the Place de la Préfecture in Clermont-Ferrand. It was early afternoon and the sun was shining. It was also a little windy and we could hear the birds singing. It was a very peaceful moment.

We had been walking for quite a while looking for interesting places to photograph when we saw these very narrow stairs made of stone. We thought it was a very nice place with a pretty view so we decided to immortalise the moment. The leaves contrasting with the stones added a little something to the place; it was like the vegetation was “eating” the stairs…

We were actually very surprised to see this little place in this part of the town, even though we had passed by here before. We had never really paid attention to how nice it was; this place smelt like the refreshing, crisp, outside world that seems to be under-appreciated these days. Even though it was surrounded by buildings, it still remains in a sense pure.

We felt particularly good, we were curious and happy. It was like discovering a new place, a new world! We felt free.

The title we have given this picture is "A spring in your step" because it shows a welcoming and cheerful place; you want to bounce up the stairs! We have been living in Clermont-Ferrand for years now and have never really realised how beautiful this town could be...

The second picture was taken exactly four months later, on January 16th 2016, at about 4:30 pm. The sky was very cloudy and we could hear the wind blowing.

We hadn't expected to return to this place and it was very strange to see how much it had changed in only four months. The leaves were gone, and there was a real contrast to the first picture. The only thing which had stayed exactly the same was the stone stairs.

We were as surprised as the first time we visited the place. Not for the same reason, but because everything was different. The landscape, the colours, the people, our feelings, everything had changed. We felt a little sad thinking about how beautiful, peaceful and welcoming this place had been. The main colours had changed drastically to dark colours including greys and dark browns, the colours mirroring how gloomy we felt about the place. It was like a whirlwind had blown through the place and stolen every last bit of life it used to have, leaving only roots and stones behind. The title of this second picture is "Nostalgia" because we felt sad that it was no longer as pretty as it had been a few weeks before.

Both pictures, taken together, tell a story about this place. It's the same place but at different times. One is colourful, while the other is not. One conveys a happy feeling and the other a sad one. They show us how Nature can be overwhelming one day and absent the next, even in the centre of a town. 

The seasons still largely determine our sensations of the city…