Catherine Auzuret

@sawadicat

How did you get started in photography ?

Much more than « how », it is « when » i really decided to take photos.

As most of the people I have always took photos but not as involved as I am for almost three years. Then happened two important events which have deeply changed my life.

I was physicaly and psychologicaly totaly blocked, unable to do anymore, to think optimistic, to enjoy, to believe.

That took time, then little by little I coud moved again, fighting against pain. I could go back to my long walks. That could be a part to the question « how ». Because of the long walks. I always regretted not to have a camera with me for years. When you walk you see a lot. At different time of a day, what you see, what you cross by is always different because of your own mood, your sensibility, of the people of the context, of the weather, of the districts you choose to go to. « Why » did I really dive in the photography much more thane ver before ?

I needed to reconnect with the emotions the perceptions of the outside. I didn’t want to talk anymore about my feelings. I just knew I needed to express, to « create », to say in another way. First for and to myself, then to others probably.

I began to draw bodies, to feel the materia, to mix the textures. It was not enough, I needed to go fast. It was a call, a call to do, to feed the light i was feeling coming back inside.

I bought a camera.

First, I hunt the colors. One color/one day.

Then I captured the shadow. I was focused on their beauty, how powerful they were.

After this period, I looked for all the dirty spots, marks or liquids on the ground. That opened more my imagination. I could see so many things in

them.

One day I really looked up and I started to watch the people and the scenes. I watched and I saw.

I was understanding I was able to take pictures because I was in a kind of meditation, concentration, contemplation‌

What does photography mean to you ?

It means I am connected with the world. I am opened to it. However I do it, I print a part of me in a part which is not belonging to me. It develops my acuity, my capacity of capting what others don’t event see.

Photography is a way to receive and to express as I already said.

Being able to see so much details, so much faces, so much instants and choose one because it is luminous, or unusual, or fascinating and giving back my interpretation of the fact with my emotions.

That teaches me I can let go moments or people I haven’t captured because not ready, or too late, or just because I must let it like it is without taking it, for many reasons. You understand ? That means, be patient, be humble, be where I have to be at the right time and don’t always take photos. Just watch and see and appreciate.

Actually it brought me serenity, joy, peace. However I need serenity and

concentration to start to « shoot » (a strange word in photo language : « kill » the subject) More I do more it feeds my mind and my soul.

Somes say it is a work. In a way yes but I prefer to call it development.

Tell us a street story that affected your photography and the way you see things.

I could talk about my main serie which captivates me for 2 years.

I told you I was walking a lot. I told you I developped my way of photographying step by step. The both combinated was also a way to recover my place as a woman in an important moment of my life.

One day I was outside in a street, picking up something fallen down on the floor. It was early in the morning, the weather was really dark and cloudy.

When I slowly stood up, i saw from below in a shop a reflecton of what it was going on in my back. And this reflection was right away on a face of a plastic mannequin. Because of the weather, the light was stunning and that was giving so much interesting details in front of me. I took the first picture of this serie and when I edited it, I saw in one way, without double exposure or retouche, anoter point of you of the reality. I could express feminity in my city. Even the manneqquin was not alive, its look expressed a kind of « retreat », « distance », like mine ans it could give me the opportunity to let got trough it the builidings or the trees which are parts of my walks too.

Notice that those kind of mannequins are disappearing. So I decided to walk all around then in most of the street of Paris, distrcit after district to try to find out the last one.

I called this serie « la femme dans la ville – réflexion/reflection » a double sens « thought and reflects through a woman in her city.

Since this time I am not watching window like before.

Homeless, migrants, adged persons also changed my attention. I am touched about people but more than that I see solitude, disarray, the meaning or the non sens of life.Sometimes I think I pay attention to those most of the people do not care anymore.

With a lot of respect I take their picture and most of the time I don’t ask, that is true. Sometimes to show the reality of an instant, beautiful, ugly,

sad, or impressive, you must « rob » the instant of the emotion.

Actually I do remember the moment or the story of each picture, how long time I have waited to cature it, or why did I take it, where was that.... That means a lot for me.

Are you a professional photographer ?

No I am not a professional. Lucky I am to have a job that teached me the photography. I am a print manager in an advertising agency. I care about the picture because this a big part of my work.So in an inconscious way I learned the essential of a « message » in a picture. I learned the frame, I learned the color. That helped a lot for sure. Then you don’t learn your own sensitivity.

Contrary of what I do every day for advertising, I am not retouching my photo, except light or contrast. Less than 10 times on thousand pic, I took of a details that was disturbing the pic. That’s it. I am not interesting in

misrepresenting the reality of what I saw and captured.

Tell us about how you see things in your country ?

Interesting question because more I am discovering foreign photographer more I am able to recognize a way to take photo, depending on where people are living.

It doesn’t work every time of course, but generaly you get the common style.

Definitvely, I am culturally influenced because of the french famous photograhers or film makers, because of the city I am living in, because of my own education and the influences i get, because of the job I do. But I don’t care about what others did or do. I am not copying to do like‌ I ask for humility to talk about what is a good picture or not. The most important for anybody is the emotion and the compatibility. And the most important for me ia taking pleasure in taking photo.

Sometimes I am wondering how would be my photos if I was a small person or if I was deaf.

The reality is I just activaly start photography in an age most of the people are not really interested anymore to try to do something else.

So let me introduce myself.

My name is Catherine Auzuret, I am a mother of a 21 years old son. You know my work already. I am a young photographer. I am a bresilian samba reggae drummer twice a week and play for street shows the week-

end. I am a writter sometimes. Lucky I am to live in one the most beautiful city in the world, offering so much variety of sensations. I am 51 years old in few days ans I apologize to the mistakes or fault I could have done in english. I hope you will have get the essential