Rémy Perthuisot and the New Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art Lens

Welcome to the enchanted world of French photographer, Rémy Perthuisot, and his voyage with the New Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art Lens.

Facebook : Remy-Perthuisot
Website: remyperthuisot.com
Flickr : remyperthuisot
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
Lens: New Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art Lens

Hello Rémy! Please introduce yourself and share your story with photography.

Since I was a child, I dreamed of telling stories. I have always been very curious about the world surrounding us. I studied in Paris, starting with science and then human sciences. I graduated with a contemporary art history degree in photographic history at La Sorbonne University in Paris. My passion for art took the upper hand over everything else since I am naturally curious and dreamy…Photography has been a long-standing passion that, associated with drawing, painting and writing, progressively became a real job. It is a good way for me to share the chaotic world sleeping inside me, a world where sensitivity, obsessions and questions about reality and about the real or imaginary world that surrounds us, are jostling together. I usually make many portraits, but also produce images that often are stories and fairy-tale illustrations that inspire me or that I invent. I really like partnering with other artists of any type, such as dancers, actors, writers, musicians and painters. Sharing entertains, develops my spirit and makes me see things differently. The way I work is mainly by partnering with people.

How did you become a photographer? What was your first camera?

At the end of high school, I saved enough money to buy an analog reflex camera (it was in the 90s). It was a Vivitar V50 and I still have it and use it. I had the feeling things were getting too simple in pictures to express myself.

We don’t really photograph what we see, but we photograph what we feel, what we think to see, and the way we understand the world. Photography pictures the pieces we choose to show. I learned a lot on my own at the beginning, and little by little, I’ve met people and these meetings have helped me to learn even more. Photography was at first a hobby for me. During my studies, I did two kinds of studies: the humanities, especially history of art, and science. I’ve specialized in the history of photography to deal with photography in depth.

What’s your story with analog and digital photography?

Analog photography is for me really nostalgic. I’ve practiced analog photography for years and it’s funny to see it’s coming back. The final products are very different and there is a creative and experimental aspect that is really pleasant and playful!

Why do you think people keep using analog cameras?

First, because of the final product and the feeling of authenticity. A kind of return to your roots. The best advantage of analog photography is that you take your time and work slowly. You think more and you really take your time to compose the photo and set up the things before triggering. It’s very educational and the experience helps when you switch to digital photography.

Could you tell us more about your artistic universe?

I have the feeling that my head is full of many, many stories. Every time. All the childish games dealing with imaginary stories, more or less fantasy. As time goes on, I’ve really wanted to show in pictures all of these stories. I don’t want to tell finished stories with a beginning, a middle and an end. Sometimes, I just want to give some part of the story that people can use to build their own stories.

How do you compose and build your pictures?

I’m inspired by the whole world. Music is a great source of inspiration, literature, cinema, dance and painting…Legends and myths of the whole world also inspire me. I’m lucky (or unlucky) to have very strange dreams and I’m always thinking that I don’t use them enough. I like to talk with people, to share with them and to know more about their tastes. I like to see the world through the eyes of people.

What were your first impressions about the New Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art Lens?

The weight of it and how solid it is! It’s a beautiful lens. It also has very random side rendering in some areas of the image, which with practice and experience, you can anticipate very well, and provides an interesting creative dimension. The fact you can manage the aperture is really nice. It’s a pleasure to use the lens even though it might be not very ergonomic.

Could you tell us more about your series?

When you asked me to try the New Petzval 58 Bokeh Control Art Lens, I had seen many things about it in the press and I thought I was simply testing the lens in my present universe. Something feminine and soft. I asked Margaux and her sister, who I’ve worked with a long time, to join me. We worked with the usual ideas, somewhere between dream and contemplation. The New Petzval 58, with its fabulous bokeh and dosed distortions, proved itself to be perfectly suited for this type of work.

Do you have a favorite photo from the series? If so, which one and why?

Hard to choose. I’m pretty satisfied with the overall atmosphere of all the pictures, even though we did simple photos to test the lens. I really like the portrait of Margaux with the green/blue bokeh. Having really enjoyed working with Margaux before, it was a pleasure to work with her again and that might influence the choice. And then, maybe the one of Nina sleeping near the suitcase, surrounded by a bokeh that echoes her many possible dreams…

Could you choose a small playlist of music that could translate the essence of your series?

Aurora – Running with the wolves (Acoustique)
Sexwitch – Helelyos
Agnes Obel – The Curse
Sigur Ros - Valtari
Olafur Arnalds – The wind

The lens has an unconventional appearance when compared to other modern day lenses. Did you get any unusual reactions while you were using it?

I confess I’m not a huge fan of its golden look because I’m a discreet person. In the streets of Paris, the lens catches many eyes. The vintage look gives the lens an attractive signature as a decorative object.

Now you’ve tried the lens, do you have some special new projects you would like to shoot with this lens in particular?

I want to test its “defects” more in depth. And also its multiple possible outcomes on some very “plastic” subjects, such as lights, textures, different materials and weather, etc. Without falling into the trap of routine, I’d like to see how it continues to behave in my sets of more or less dreamlike scenes.

Any tips to give to people who want to work in the field of photography?

The technical photo is not necessarily something very difficult — with a little time, a little motivation and the willingness to experiment, fail and assimilate, it will happen quickly, more or less. It is an obligatory passage.

Then you have to run, to not be afraid to express yourself, to question your own tastes. Don’t hesitate to indulge your creative sense and test the maximum number of things. There is often a lot of restraint with beginners. And you have to be curious, to see other people’s work, to check out the work of the great names in photography, the other arts feed the spirit of all things that can inspire us.

Who are the artists that inspire you?

I love art in general. It’s hard for me to give you just several names. But maybe I could speak of the sensitivity of Francesca Woodman photographs, the goddesses of Sandro Botticelli paintings, the musical dream world of Bat for Lashes, the gesture poetry of Pina Bausch, or the incredible lights of Terrence Malick…

written by mpflawer on 2015-11-12 #people #lomoamigo #new-petzval-58-bokeh-control #remy-perthuisot Share Article