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‘ee of Color N°22 €7.00
SHADES OF COLOR
2.| Shades of Color N°22
DES OF COLOR
SHADES OF COLO
06 FRANCIS TACK
36 AVRA GHOSH
68 NANCY A. SCHERL. DINING ALONE
96 MATHIEU FORGET
108 STEVE MAC CURRY. BELONGING
126 TANUSREE MITRA
146 SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
162 ALLABOUT PHOTO AWARDS
186 SIENA PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
194 ARTHUR DROOKER. CITY HALL
206 WORLD PRESS PHOTO
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FRANCIS TACK
“INTERVIEW ”
How and when did you start photography, and what was your learning path?
| was not 20 years old when | left with a camera in Egypt, hitchhiking. | climbed the pyramid of Cheops
today. Of course, wanting to climb it sends you directly to prison ,but | had the opportunity in 2019 to fly over
it in a paramotor, an incredible chance for a photographer. But it was a few years later, in Morocco, where |
lived for 2 years, the desert approach, and especially the fascination of the sands imprinted in me forever.
What are your main influences?
During my military service in cooperation in Casablanca, | met some talented photographers who strongly
influenced my style. The light, the framing, and the harmony of forms and colors are my tools. Landscape and
reportage are my playgrounds.
In the '90s, when | returned to France. | won many distinctions, notably the Grand Prix d'Auteur of the French
Federation of Photography and the first prize of the ‘Ballantine Finest International Photography Award .'In those
years, | published a few books on the southwest of Paris.
What is the part of photography in your life, and has it changed your vision of the world?
lam a physicist by profession and an exploratory photographer by passion. | have pursued a quest for deserts
and dunes, traveling in photographic and anthropological research on all continents. | discovered the
peomorphology of the sands, the color, the vegetation, and the man in the desert.
am the author of 3 books on the world’s deserts. First, ‘Dunes’ in 2002, whose French, English, and German
versions were published in partnership with Geo and National Geographic, then 'Rouge Désert' in 2005, and
Oasis: in pore The quest for deserts has no end. | continue the adventure of the sands through photography
and travel.
After several books on the desert, you have published a superb book on oases. Can you tell us about this
roject?
Erman Iman ."As the Tuareg says: water is life. Without a minimum of water in the soil, there is no vegetation,
no chance of life or survival for man and the entire animal world. Natural oases, temporary or permanent oases,
are all imprints of a fascinating nature in unlikely places that are conducive to life. The concept of an oasis can
be found throughout the great arid diagonal that runs from the Sahara to the Chinese deserts via the Arabian
Peninsula. In oases, without irrigation, nothing can be done. The traditional oases have learned to master water,
to adapt to seasonal and climatic variations for agriculture of gardens with date palms. These oases became
the stages of the caravan routes - silk roads, trans-Saharan trade routes (gold, salt, amber, ...). -
My book Oasis, prefaced by Pierre Rabhi, contributes to this ecological awareness by sho' the traditional
oasis practices that have little impact on nature and water resources. More than a book of images, "Oasis" sticks
to the reality of an unknown world. It shows these refuges as places of life, havens where Man and a luxuriant
nature live in perfect harmony in the heart of vast expanses of solitude.
These oasis are all over the world. How did you select them?
From China to the Sahara through Iran and Arabia, | focused on traditional oases where cultivation methods
and irrigation have changed little. Indeed, several decades of unbridled development of deserts in the Middle
East, Arabia, and North Africa have led to the massive extraction of fossils. In addition, water to develop agriculture
in the desert, modifying desert spaces’ functioning and oases. For 2000 years, the Silk Roads through
Uzbekistan to China crossed a string of oases with exotic names from Samarkand to Bukhara in Central Asia,
from Kashgar to Dunhuang to bypass the Taklamakan desert in China. These oases have undergone great
changes during the 20th century and are now large metropolises.
You work with a motorized wing for your shots. What are the difficulties of this type of shooting?
Flying over the dunes at dusk shows exceptional landscapes. To be convinced, one only has to remember the
film ‘The English Patient to be confident. Unfortunately, flying over deserts at low altitudes is bardly possible
due to the lack of aerial infrastructure in most of the world's deserts. A project in Algeria thus incited me to practice
the paramotor, the lightest aircraft.
A few words on the paramotor, do not imagine the practice as simple and without risks. The aerology being
complex, no flight is reproducible. Takeoff, flight, and landing are the 3 phases subjected to many imponderables.
| found myself in a sandstorm in the Gobi desert. The aircraft is only an uncontrollable fetus in these conditions
with the major risk of closing the sail and falling. | have had technical breakdowns of all kinds.
An accident in the Brazilian Nordeste, caused by shearing winds, reminded me brutally and painfully that this
is not a harmless sport!
What kind of equipment do you use (camera, lenses, filters)?
Most of my images are made with SLR and 24-100mm and 180mm lenses.
| use the f/8 aperture in most situations. This meets the FTM optimum on zooms.
How do you prepare for a photoshoot?
When you take off into a desert, you don't know exactly what the subject will be. However, | have discovered
unique landscapes several miles away from above, so | head for my photographic curiosity. For example; the
cover of the book Oasis illustrates the Chinese Gobi under an overcast sky pierced by lines of light that shape
this landscape of the highest dunes on Earth.
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What has been your favorite photographic experience?
Let's talk about recent shoots. In Paris, Fall 21, | made a series of images illustrating Marianne that revisits the
Parisian sites of the French Revolution. We find Liberty, Fraternity, and Universalism, allegories adorned in blue-
white-red. A very colorful subject! In Tunisia, in November 2021, | saw the Calligonum arborescent. It is a rare tree
very threatened by the Grand Erg Oriental, in sands of different colors according to whether this sand is wet or
dry. A great moment of photography!
1 like to understand the intention/vision of a photographer. Do you have a vision of the final image, or do you
work to get a well-composed/exposed idea and finalize it by experimenting during post-processing?
| don't crop my images, so the shot is essential and matches the desired result. | use Lightroom to classify and
enhance the photos and then photoshop to do a final touch to the jpg
Social media is the best way to distribute images. What is your favorite site, and do you have a specific strategy
for using them?
Conferences, exhibitions, www.francistack.com, and Facebook, which | use sparingly.
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