About Me Q : Who am I ? A : As far as it matters, I'm about 30 years old and french, I currently live in Japan. I try to make images who speak for themselves, so don't expect much blog-style talk here. I am a passionate amateur; I do not rely on my images so live and eat, but try to do a professional quality work and keep up the fun. Q : What can you see here ? A : My Photographic work from Japan, France, Argentina, Thailand, India & more to come ... Mostly Japan anyway. Q : How to contact me ? A : Please mail me at the following address : website [AT] alaindavreux [DOT COM]. I'm open to commercial work request and commercial use of my available work. Feedback and critics are also welcome. Q : Will I make a book of my Japan pictures ? A : Yes, I just take my time, because I want to deliver something strong, and because there is no hurry. 2010/6/13 : After 7 years of photography in Japan, it is time to move forward on my book project. As a first step, I am happy to announce here (concept here) the cover I have had in mind for a few years. You can mail me at book[AT]alaindavreux[DOT]com if you want to get updated when released. More info will come this year and the next, be patient and thank you very much for your interest !   Copyright Info Q : How can you use my work ? A : Only personnal, non-profit use at home, is authorized. In any case, do not remove my copyright info and do not change the file name. If you're unsure about how to use my work, just ask me (use for education purposes for example should not be a problem). I've put high resolution version because some people wanted wallpapers, and I try to keep watermarking to a minimum. Please help me keep it that way ! Q : Can you put my work in another internet website ? Or on another media, or print it and display it in public ? A : No, but there are exceptions as per bellow. My thumbnails can be rehosted on your website, and must be displayed with my name and website adress. Hotlinking of the smallest size images in blogs or forum is aceptable with my name and website adress if the blog/forum is not commercial and the thread is relevand to my work or to the subject. Hotlinking or rehosting of the bigger images is not allowed. This is important because it will help people identify my work and keep all my pictures in the same place, so I don't have to watermark them badly. Q : Is commercial purpose or any use from commercial organisation possible ? A : Yes, and you'll have to get authorization from me first. Don't hesitate to contact me, I'm open to various projects and ideas. I have reasonable rates. Please note that you will not find my work on cheap stock photo website as I do not support this system that hurts a lot the pros - making a good image requiers a lot and they should be allowed to live from it. Pay peanuts and you will get monkeys. Please note that if you use my work without proper authorisation I will claim some compensation at made-on-order rate plus penalities, think about 1000 euro and plus per image - just do not steal my work. Q : How to learn more about the meaning beyond the images ? A : Check the links I put to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia project. Don't hesitate to follow the links, you'll learn a lot from them.   Photo Technique Q : What camera/lens do I use ? A : The camera does not make the image : eye does ! So do not focus too much on the technique or technology, try to master it in order to forget about it - your subject is more important, just learn about it. Good camera body and great glass help a lot nevertheless. I now use a Canon 1D mark4 and used a mark3 until 2009, and curently uses the following lens : 85mm f1.2 II, 200mm f2.0, 100mm macro f2.8 IS, 24mm f1.4 I, 16-35mm f2.8 II. Next lens will a 135mm and spme TS-E. That is about 10 kilos of gear plus bag to carry over during long shooting days, and thousands euros, good photography requiers some efforts - that is why it has a cost and should be paid properly. I also used a 20D and used the following lenses : 70-200mm f2.8 IS, 50mm f1.4, sigma 18-50 f2.8, and sigma 70-200 f2.8. If you're looking to buy photo gear, put more money on good lenses than on the body, it will help you a lot. Nikon and Canon both have huge lens range so they are a good pick - one day you may updgrade your camera but you will keep the lens. But remember it's just a tool, photography is about having fun - enjoy your shooting and share your images ! Q : Why do I use the 16/9 ratio ? A : I do not have 16/9 lines in my viewfinder, I just compose my picture for this format. It's somethimes difficult but helps me produce stronger images, it just feels more natural to my eye. Some people just make square images with 24x36 cameras, I do 16/9, that's all. I shoot mainly 16/9, but also use 2.35:1 (cinemascope), 24x36 or square depending on the subject. Q : How much do I post process my images ? A : As little as possible ! I shoot RAW with Neutral settings (no sharpen/contrast/saturation) and finish the work during postprocessing. I use Faststone to sort my files and open them in photoshop. I ajust white balance in most cases, sometimes add a little contrast and sharpen if needed. That's all. I really don't like to modify my images more. If it's not good enough straight out of the camera, I have to try again. The most important is to get a good light, natural light with clouds, in the afternoon end and early morning are best to my taste. Q : How did I learn ? A : Just some time and effort. Internet helped a lot, and digital camera too. Technique and camera use from dedicated websites. Other art forms such as sculpture, drawing or architecture because beauty is a human gift. My own eye from seeing photo that people share and lots of experimentation.

(c) Alain Davreux