About Alain Gaymard

Alain Gaymard

Who am I ?

Alain Gaymard, photography as a passion…

Confucius said "choose a job which you like and you will not have to work a single day of your life". Here is the quotation which applies to Alain Gaymard.
"In spite of myself, but with no regrets and the greatest of pleasures, it is the advice which I followed. Photography was my passion originally and it then became my job. I've practised photography since the time of Argentique and "was converted" rather naturally to digital technology. Although my techniques evolved with the era of digital technology, Black & White has been constantly present ever since my beginnings and until today. I prepare exhibitions around a theme and organize my journeys according to them. As an involved photographer and generous artist, I am interested in the equestrian world, travelling, as well as in the development of my job." These are the words of the photographer who is introducing himself to us.
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An artist whose universe is unique,

Alain Gaymard's works offer us a unique visual and aesthetic universe. His photos are recognisable by their lively colours and their soft focuses. The artist presents us a dreamlike world, making the audience travel not only through a wide chromatic pallet, but also through fantastic, intriguing, picturesque and poetic spheres.
His landscapes are inspired by the film adaptation of Tolkien's work, in a similar vein to those of Tim Burton's. Alain Gaymard's works also have a pictorial structure which reveal inspirations from surrealist painters such as Salvador Dali, or from photography such as the editions of Sebastiao Salgado. The artist creates a comparable universe, encouraging inspiration and escape.
The artist takes a fresh look at productions which surprise us by the choice of themes: we find masked and mysterious characters, including fanciful creatures to misled travellers, while maintaining the strength of its captures. The artist invents an improper and fanciful society. This apprehension in the face of art aims at giving aesthetic while implementing technical work, by adopting different perspectives emphasising the dreamlike atmosphere.
His objective is to capture the moment and the emotion of faces, expressions, by revealing the most diverse feelings. Alain Gaymard is thus an innovative photographer, not hesitating to associate various genres and themes to create a folkloric and surreal world. The artist develops a style of his own that entices you to escape through dreamlike creations.

How did you come to adopt this style?

"I visit a great deal of exhibitions. I find that, in many of them, there is not a lot of personal research put into photos, perspective wise and technique wise. The competition being tough, I try to develop a style which can differentiate me from the rest, whether it will be for news reports or digital creation. Some agencies turned me down by saying this was not proper photography, but it also offered me more opportunities, including a new outlook. I thus used a tool which I master: the computer, to complete my creations and I evolve more and more that way.

What is your most crazy dream?

"My most crazy dream would be to work with a real gallery. Not a gallery whose sole purpose is to put itself out for rent, but a gallery which really takes care of promoting its artists, with a real collaboration. In brief, a real gallery. But for the moment, it is only a dream. "

What feelings stimulate your work?

"During my shots, I need to be fully engrossed in the subject. I also look for a certain originality in the final result. I hope my photo triggers in the spectator a desire to know the place (landscapes) or the photographed and of course, to get to know more about my work. Every photo presented has to share the present atmosphere of the place of shooting. This atmosphere can be marked by the nostalgia and romanticism, like in winter landscapes for example or they can be dramatic and mysterious like castles, haunted landscapes, montages …"

What is your favourite quotation or favourite expression?
" There is only a way of failing, it is to give up before having made a success ". Georges Clémenceau.