LUDWIG FAVRE
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The sculptor of urban atmospheres
"I love cities, smells, noise, the atmosphere that is different every time. I love places with a soul and a story to tell. Through the diversity of perspectives of constructed space that it offers, photography allows us to bear witness of the world we live in."
LUDWIG FAVRE
Born in Senlis in 1976, Ludwig Favre now lives and works in Paris. Art history, multimedia and audiovisual studies, but also the transmission of a passion between a father and his son were the means that trained the photographer’s eye, sensitive to the reproduction of picturesque landscapes. Photographic practice allows Ludwig Favre to record “slices of life” that he likes to capture in a spontaneous way, on his many travels. Notably the ones produced between France and the United States, where he feels at home. In New York in particular, Ludwig Favre allows himself to be surprised by the stunning infrastructure of the city, which is like none other. Whenever he has the chance, he reveals a vision that is both dynamic and serene. Winner of the Geo Prize in 2015, his images have been shown in Paris, Sydney, Seoul, New York, and Los Angeles. They have also been used by the major brands Bauer Media Group, Visa Platinum, L’Oréal, and the US Open.
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Interview
What message do you want to convey through your work?
That in a universe where everything escapes us, time, life and death, the contemplation and sharing of the beauty of this earth is something essential. This is what I try to do through my photos, to arouse an emotion, a feeling, a desire to travel and discover...
How was your passion for photography born and how did you come to make it your profession? (your studies, a trigger, an external influence, a success...etc)
When I was younger my father introduced me to photography and development in a darkroom with chemical baths, I have always been attracted to photography, animated images since my childhood. I always had the reflex to think a place in terms of images, angles, rendering. I studied communication, multimedia schools and I worked for a TV channel, it has always followed me and naturally I turned to photography to do nothing else, travel and try to transmit and testify through my photos of the beauty and richness of this land and its people.
Can you share some anecdotes about your latest photographs at YellowKorner ? (context, what was memorable during the shooting, why this particular subject...etc)
Especially about your photographs "Palm Springs I" and "Chinatown Playground". Palm Springs is a place I've always wanted to visit because it's close to the Joshua Tree Indian Reservation, I happened to spot this hotel before because it was in a very 60s style. As for the basketball court in San Francisco, I discovered it in the movie In Search of Happiness with Will Smith and so I did some research in order to photograph this place which offers an incredible view of the city of San Francisco.
Where do you draw your inspiration from? (from fillms, from your travels, from people...etc)
I was marked by directors such as Ridley Scott, Blade runner for the work on colorimetry or Stanley Kubrick for films such as (Clockwork Orange, 2001, The Space Odyssey, Full Metal Jacket) and for his obsession with shots in central perspective converging on a vanishing point. But also Platoon by Oliver Stone...
Why photography ?
When I was younger my father introduced me to photography and to developing in a darkroom with chemical baths, I have always been attracted to photography and animated images since my childhood. I always had the reflex to think a place in terms of images, angles, rendering.
Your inspiration, especially artistic ?
Ernst-Haas, Stanley Kubrick Ridley Scott
What characterizes your writing?
The United States has always been a source of inspiration for me, since my childhood, I have been immersed in this universe through films and series that come straight from the USA. I was shaped by directors such as Ridley Scott for his particular colorimetry and his play of lights, but also by Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick for his obsessions with perfect symmetries... The music of my adolescence was marked by the Doors, Pink Floyd, Jimy Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, Maxwell, I grew up in this universe that I call my America made of memories and music. I have tried through my travels to transcribe what is still an obsession for me, trying to reproduce all these emotions and images that have marked me. I spend my time traveling throughout the United States. From city to city, from the West Coast to the East Coast, with the sole purpose of sharing my discoveries, my emotions and my photos.
An anecdote to tell us ?
I took the pictures of California during a roadtrip starting in Los Angeles and ending in San Francisco. I had already planned to go to Palm Springs, a small town lost in the middle of the desert which has remained frozen in time and which was a high resort for Hollywood stars in the 60s. The houses are all different and all more picturesque than the others. I promised myself to come back in this typical hotel with multiple colors to photograph it again, and to explore a little more the city when the first rays of sun make their appearance on the hills which encircle Palm Springs.
The picture you wish you had taken?
The photo of Muhammad Ali beating Sonny Liston on May 25, 1965, in Lewiston. It is so expressive and speaks for itself.
Your last reward / pride ?
Being part of the Artists present at the New York Ford Foundation Collection Artists since 2018.
Awards : GEO National Winner 1st place Photo Awards, GEO Winner 1st place Photo Awards, HASSELBLAD Masters Finalist, SONY World Photography awards Mention, PHOTO Winners Of The Greatest Photo Competition Of the World
Jury Member Adobe Awards, New York; Fine Art Photography Awards, London; Fresh 18 Awards, London
Your next projects ?
Vietnam, Japan, Brazil
Your favorites YK
Damien Dufresne
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Themes
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
Among all the subjects that he has had to photograph, Ludwig Favre has a particular fondness for the city of New York and the vast landscapes of the United States. Particularly appreciating the low rays of the evening and morning, in the golden hours, the artist applies a somewhat nostalgic, soft tonality to his photographs that evokes the passage of time. He travels to the working-class neighborhoods of the American megalopolis and captures the emblematic sites and monuments. ... See more See less
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