B (142)

In a way, I limited my

input as a photographer.

This loss of control

quenched the thirst for

fi nding new meaning in

my photographs, in a

beautiful way.

Everything with the

project had to do with

linearity. This included,

the way the fi lm moved

in the camera, how

I moved forward on

the road, the scanning

and creating of the

contact sheet and the

large life-size prints

I eventually made of the

contact sheet.

• Keep Interaction to the Maximum: When on a road trip in unfamiliar parts, talk
  to the locals as they will be able to tell you the best places for resources.


• The Equipment is Not Important: Sometimes, letting the project take over is the
  best thing that can happen to it. Don’t get too caught up in the quality of equipment
  you are using. It just distracts you from immersing yourself in the experience.


• Set Your Parameters: Decide on some set ways of shooting and then just shoot!
  Setting parameters gives the project a unique kind of consistency.

Tips to Keep in Mind When Photographing Within a Time Period

87

I used only local equipment, including a

scanner, which is not what one ideally uses

to scan negatives to create a contact sheet.

What I achieved in the end, was a long map

of the road.

Due to the process I adopted, I found

that the project began to have a warm and

emotional connect. The villagers could

immediately recognise and connect with

the same places on the road as opposed to

places on a map.

To me, it was about collecting bits of

information as I went along. By using local,

regional technology only, the project came

to a point where the process itself broke

and the poetry of the images came out. I set

a bunch of parameters where I only shot

three images and only in the vertical format

at each stop. The project seemed to take on

a life of its own, and I found it to be a very

cerebrally rewarding experience.

— As told to Natasha Desai

To view more of Fabien Charuau’s work, you can

visit http://www.cargocollective.com/fabiencharuau

I used three

locally sourced,

inexpensive, plastic

fi lm cameras with

Kodak Gold and

Fujicolor fi lm.

I developed the fi lm

in a minilab and used

a scanner to make

the contact sheet.

My Equipment

After some time, my

brain took a back seat

and the photographs

unravelled themselves of

their own accord.

BETTER PHOTOGRAPHY

87

MARCH 2015

ON ASSIGNMENT