Laurent Lafolie

James Geer is a much sought-after photographer whose love of sunshine and beauty has seen him travel the world, shooting pictures for publications and brands such as Monocle, Habitus, Gourmet Traveller, Levis and Hermes (just to name a few!). He has a real eye for portraiture and some of his more famous sitters have included Geoffrey Rush, Kimbra, Julia DeVille and Rose Byrne.

After a stint in graphic design, Melbourne-born and raised James Geer left for the bright lights of New York, cutting his teeth as a photographer while assisting and shooting fashion and editorial campaigns. Since then, his true passion has been capturing the ever-evolving “Australian lifestyle”, although most recently, James’ work has seen him lead a somewhat nomadic lifestyle. In 2012, James packed up his young family and a few cameras, bound for Italy, France and Spain. On assignment for both European and Australian magazines, he spent the year scouting for inspiration – personal narratives and characters who he could capture with his sharp, graphic style. Laurent Lafolie is one such character, a French photographer based in the small town of Salies-de-Bearn. There’s a real “out-of-timeness” about Laurent’s process, crossing eras and analogue/digital techniques, as James discovered when he spent a number of days photographing Laurent. James was living in the township at the time and one day, he knocked on Laurent’s door and asked if he could take his picture.

As James recalls, “I recently had the pleasure of hanging out with a truly inspiring photographer. Laurent Lafolie is a master printer using one of the first photographic printing techniques invented known as platinum-palladium printing. I have shot film for the first time in ages since hanging out with Laurent. Meeting him rekindled a spark for me, he reminded me of the magic of the photographic process. He was extremely generous (not to mention trusting) in showing me his process. Lafolie combines these age-old printing techniques with hi-resolution scans, inkjet negative printers and Photoshop. Which kind of suits his 17th century studio that is covered in 1960’s wallpaper.”

James Geer: jamesgeer.com
Laurent Lafolie: laurent-lafolie.fr