A New Story: Capturing the World Through Photography

 

A New Story
by Fabrice B. Poussin

The Coachella Review: Where were these photographs taken?

Fabrice Poussin: All these were taken at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.

 

 

Abandoned

TCR: How did you become interested in photography?

FP: My sister, who is five years older than me, was first to get a camera and to experiment with it. I was nine then and was intrigued. As we grew older, she began buying more and more sophisticated equipment and processing her own work. I also learned to do this. She still travels the world, and so do I.

 

Before the Storm

 

TCR: What do you like most about being a photographer?

FP: Being a photographer gives me every excuse I need to get on the road and discover new places, or simply new details in my surroundings. It also gives me access to the most precious gift: the ability to share what I see with others so they may discover what, until then, was unknown or unseen by them.

 

Father and Son

 

TCR: What does photography do for you?

FP: It might be corny to say it, but it makes me happy. It fulfills me as it allows me to engrain memories in ways that become more permanent.

 

 

Happiness

TCR: How has photography influenced you as a person?

FP: I will say that photography has allowed me to grow as it made me discover sides of myself I did not know. It has also lead me to explore every surrounding detail in deeper detail.

 

 

Harmony of the Wind

TCR: Is there a specific theme that flows through your work?

FP: Research, experimentation, and discovery. It must be the search for the beautiful, the everlasting beautiful, which transcends all of us. Nature in the wild, nature in the city, and recreated nature in the studio. I like to represent the natural and what nature may do to the man-made structure.

 

Into the Night

 

 

TCR: What inspires you?

FP: Is it okay to say “everything”? From there, I stay alert to my surroundings at all times. I cannot say that one thing inspires me at any given moment; rather, I watch and let myself be inspired. It is even possible, I believe, to be inspired after the fact, upon contemplating the photograph long after it has been taken.

 

Snowy Sand

TCR: Is there a story you had in mind when you took the photographs in this photo essay, “A New Story”?

FP: I love the American West for its ruggedness and apparent desolation. The story here is one of the universe, of its danger and of its promise. It places the viewer in a hostile and beautiful place all at once. We feel isolated, in danger, but also comforted by the crystal-clear blue sky and the pristine appearance of the “sand.”

 

Storm

TCR: What kind of photography do you see yourself doing in the future?

FP: I really want to explore the cities and discover the unusual within. I also plan on continuing my exploration of the American West. I am not sure what I will do in the studio next, but it is likely to involve stray paint and flowers along with other still life objects.

Watching