Born at the foothills of the Pyrenees in 1981, the contrasting landscapes of mountains and sea instilled in this photographer a penchant for wide-open spaces. Between dreams and reality, Pierre Baelen today uses photography to fight for the environment with the association Surfrider, creating surrealist landscapes that reveal the beauty of the real and the intrigue of the unreal.
Where does your photography come from?
P. Baëlen : I love the banality of scenes from daily life depicted in surreal environments. Photographing wide-open spaces calms me and makes me happy, but the noise and the contrasts of large cities stimulate my creativity and allow me to progress in my approach to photography.
When is your decisive moment for taking photographs ?
P. B : When I take a landscape photograph, the decisive moment comes when the alarm clock rings in the middle of the night so I can get to the location before day breaks! As for staged photographs with people, I like to organize things with a good deal of precision, tell little stories, which involves a lot of preparation before the shoot. But the decisive moment comes after I framed the picture and the unexpected occur.
What inspired you work/your series ?
P. B : Travel is my main inspiration! But specifically the contrast between the freedom offered by the discovery of wide-open spaces and the strange incomprehension that I feel when mass tourism invades the natural world and sets up a form of universal ergonomics.I Love working on the absurd contrast of man and the environment
What is the link between your commercial work and your personal work ?
P. B : Shooting ad campaigns is in some ways an extension of my personal work. Although I maintain my own sensibility while shooting these projects, I approach them in a more collective and concerted manner, because the human and material resources are so much greater than for my personal work.
Which is a bigger priority for you : a great ad campaign or an exhibition at a famous gallery ?
P. B : Both! I think that shooting ad campaigns and exhibiting my personal work in a gallery are two indispensable aspects of a photographer’s life.
What are the current photographic trends for you ?
P. B : Surrealism plays an important role in photography today. Whether it’s created digitally or through mis-en-scène, I like atmospheres where dreams transport reality.
The world experience has changed drastically. Its representation has evolved. Has digital become inevitable in the photographic creative process ?
P. B : Things are moving quickly! We live in the digital era, but traditional film photography has never exercised a greater influence.
Interview by Séverine Morel
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