Rediscovering The Forgotten Villages Of Haut-Bugey

Edge of Humanity Magazine

3 hours ago

Photographer Pierre Serpol is an Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this rural photography. From the series ‘Wandering Through Forgotten Villages’. To see Pierre’s body of work, click on any photograph.

This land of low mountains and scattered villages is where I live. I have known it since I was a child. I have travelled through it hundreds of times, exploring on foot or by bicycle the roads and paths that shape it. However, convinced that one has to be far away to see more clearly, I rarely photographed it. Until the day I decided to rediscover it from behind the wheel of my car, in the winter light, at dusk on rainy days, or even at night. Decided to finally photograph it, embarking on this wandering through space and time.

En route vers Ruffieu – Valromey, France

This project, begun in 2016, was carried out in the Haut-Bugey, a region of France at the southern end of the Jura Mountains.

Biography

I started when I was 15 by practicing silver argentic printing, even before I bought my first camera. However, it was in the 1990s, after taking several courses (portraiture, exhibition printing … ) and winning two first prizes in regional competitions, that I truly got into photography and started to create series that are often inspired by childhood memories or things that strike me about today’s word, in which people are often integrated into architecture and landscapes (City walks, Wandering through forgotten villages, seasides, reflections along water ’edge … )

As an answer to the flood of images that overwhelm us, I try to promote a long-term project focused on rediscovering beautiful prints and the poetic and contemplative aspect of photography.

Until 2012, I mainly shot in black and white, seeking poetry in light and shadows, shade of gray and geometry. Since 2013 and my gradual transition to digital, I use color more often.

I am a member of the Paris-based agency VOZ’image and the « Rhônalpin Collective Photographies-Rencontres » with witch I participate in project and exhibitions.

All images and text © Pierre Serpol