Jean-Michel Lenoir

“A resolutely minimalist and suggestive approach to get to the essential. Not trying to show a subject for what it is, but for what it expresses. This is my way of telling stories, of translatingmy sensibility”. J-M. LenoirA passion for nature from an early age led Lenoir to photography as a means to capture magical moments of nature and wildlife. Starting with wildlife and wide spaces, he developed his own vision of photography.Landscape photography is an eternal quest for atmosphere where the light and the quest of beauty are key references, his aesthetic landmark. His photographic intention relies on his magnetic attraction for wide spaces combined with his quest of beautiful lights. A way that inspires him and his instinct of freedom. In photography, Lenoir looks for simple pictures, which go straight to the subject core, with very few things in the frame. He follows a suggestive approach: he does not try to show a subject as it is, but to share what it expresses. It is his wayof telling stories and conveying his sensibility, like his previous work Evanescence.His latest book, Elements, is a continuation of his previous book Evanescence and a companion piece that highlights Europe’s natural landscapes and a longing to get back to what is truly essential. “Like a mirror reflecting my emotions, Elements plunges the viewer into an organic dreamscape that is constantly shifting, producing light and ambiance at times serene, at times dramatic. Where lines and colours in their purest forms take us back to the origins of wonder...Wherever the elements are at play, nature is transformed, unveiling her limpid beauty. A sunbeam shimmering over the sea, a mountaintop breaching the clouds, a blaze of light spearing the horizon like a ray of hope, gusts of wind wrangling the waves: these simple yet captivating images are my inspiration. My gaze seeks the infinite along the horizon, that line where my past and future dreams lie. In these instants suspended between fantasy and reality,I ponder, watch and wait for the moment that makes me feel utterly alive.”Combining his passion for pictures with rugged landscapes, he organizes and guides photo tours with Photographes du Monde agency for seven years. From north of Europe (Scotland, Norway, Finland) to South america (Chile and Bolivia),his photographic world leads him into areas of wilderness from where he draws his main source of inspiration.Lenoir is an ambassador for Fujifilm cameras and Cokin filters.