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We asked him a couple of questions to find out more about his work as well as his sources of inspiration.
There is a close link between Ciel Lourd and Ultramarine projects: what was your idea behind the two projects and how have they been developed?
Of course, the obvious link is the underwater world, but more important is that both series follow an old instinct I have developed since I was a little boy. As a child, I found a leaf fallen off a tree. I picked it up and immediately lifted it up towards the sun. The light illuminated the leaf and revealed so much more of its creation. Only later, with much more life experience, I realized that there is so also so much more to this reaction. If you look at something that you pick up you can put all factors in one straight line. The sun – yourself – the object being illuminated. Yourself being in the center of it all.
By following the instinct and holding the object against the light, you are removing yourself from the center of the equation. You've got the sun - the object - yourself. A 180-degree move that changes everything. The object becomes the hero of the story and you are the first admirer. It is not about you and your ego or wishes to happen within that moment. You are merely opening your sails and collecting, what is falling on your medium of choice. In my case, photography. I can't paint or write. That reflex is the soul of everything I photograph. It is always about transparency. Either in a place, I find underwater or create under the microscope. I never want to feel my personality in my work. After hundreds of hours underwater, I remember every photograph I took.
Tell us about your shooting and printing technique. How do you realize your photos?
The choice of my printing technique (platinum printing) lets me work with various papers. Mostly I use thin Japanese papers, which are fantastic for their transparency, yet are strong enough to withstand all the chemicals and cleaning baths they have to go through. The paper is coated with a liquid platinum-palladium solution. When dry the solution turns photoreactive and is printed as a contact print. Therefore a platinum print is always as large as it is negative. In 2014, we designed and built the largest analog underwater camera, the Ultramarine. It shoots a 24x36cm super large negative which I print from. Even in the world of mega high-resolution digital cameras, there is a feeling you can not create unless you are using a 150mm super wide-angle lens. That is why these Ultramarine images have such a three-dimensional character. The ultimate way to admire a moment. Like being a kid lifting up a leaf and holding it against the sun.
