While Fujifilm takes up residence in Arles during the opening week of the Rencontres de la Photographie with its event Fujikina, L’Œil de la Photographie met three of its ambassadors: Mathias Benguigui, Laura Bonnefous, and Julien Apruzzese. This was an opportunity to reflect on their collaboration with the Japanese manufacturer and discuss their activities during this week in Arles.
Julien Apruzzese
A Fujifilm ambassador for nearly ten years, Julien Apruzzese asserts that he has developed a strong bond with them: “It’s the same people who have been supporting me since the beginning. I have been a photographer for 11 years, my first camera was a Fujifilm, and I have never used anything else. They have seen me evolve.” As an advertising photographer, he runs a creative studio for brands and artists. Fujifilm participates in all his projects and regularly offers him to try new equipment. “Our relationship is not exclusively based on the financial aspect; they support me enormously and accompany me in each of my projects. If I have gotten this far, it is also thanks to them.”
During Fujikina, Julien Apruzzese will conduct a master class where he will create several images to form a triptych series. The public will be able to see the capture of each photograph and, the next day, its post-production: a figurative portrait (Monday), an abstract portrait (Wednesday), and a still life (Friday).
Mathias Benguigui
Photographer, editor, and exhibition curator, Mathias Benguigui observes the world through a documentary practice with a decidedly subjective approach. His book “Les Chants de l’Asphodèle” (Le Bec en l’air, 2021) published with Agathe Kalfas, aimed to “put into perspective the different layers of migration on the island of Lesbos” through a narrative mixing text and image. Mathias Benguigui has been a Fujifilm ambassador since 2020. When photographing his project Delta bleu as part of the BnF’s Grande Commande, which he continued with “Black Swamp,” he uses the GFX 50sII camera. This medium format offers him the freedom of a wide variety of approaches: “What I love about digital is that it allows you to have several different films in one camera. For example, for the BnF, I did something with very worked colors, while ‘Black Swamp’ was in black and white, with a lot of grain. All with the same camera.” It’s also an ideal tool for his press portraits, which to him provide a quality close to film.
For Fujikina, Mathias Benguigui will lead three workshops: two Photo Walks in the streets of Arles to understand improvisation in portraiture by reading the environment and light, as well as a Fujifilm Workshop in collaboration with the Rencontres d’Arles titled “Producing and Distributing Your Personal Vision,” on how to approach personal ambition as an author and think about a project over time to better construct it. He will also give a lecture on the importance of a subjective perspective in documentary and informational photography.
Laura Bonnefous
Laura Bonnefous has been a Fujifilm ambassador for three years now, describing a very familial atmosphere with them. The photographer pursues both an artistic practice, at the border between documentary and art imagery, and a more commercial activity for fashion and advertising. She does her shoots with Fujifilm’s GFX 100S, a medium format “very suited” to her practice and whose camera body she appreciates.
Portfolio reviews, workshops, photo walks, and conferences: Laura Bonnefous will be very active during Fujikina. For her Fujifilm Workshop in collaboration with the Rencontres d’Arles, “Between Landscape and Portrait, Color as a Fragile Link,” she will take participants into the city for a photo session along the Rhône, between portrait and landscape. Her workshop with Fujifilm will be more theoretical and will focus on how to develop a personal project, from the birth of the idea to its realization, and how to present it. She will also conduct a Photo Walk and a conference, for which she has invited Sylvie Lecallier, curator at the Palais Galliera, to discuss the relationship with clothing in contemporary photography.
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