Category talk:French photographers

Hello, I am looking for a french photographer that takes pictures of racehorses. my horse raced in 2001 and 2002 at vichey, saint cloud, deuville, longchamp and others. Her name is Quila Shun and i have been looking for a winners circle photo and a finish photo for about 6 months but communication is a big problem. She was born april 17th 1999 bred by modest van loy. She is in the united states now with my retired race horse and they just love to go for rides, but we would still like to see her racing photos. I have all the dates of her races, if someone can help me with the french or english communication part. thank you liz cromley email realmaxie@earthlink.net — Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.246.81.173 (talk • contribs)

Not sure if you can ask here..try asking the help desk Fethroesforia 16:53, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Paul de Cordon

Paul de Cordon (Toulouse 1908 / Paris 1998) is a french photographer. He is known for his circus photographs

Early years

Paul de Cordon was born in Toulouse in an ancient noble family of Savoy . He is the son of a cavalry officer. During his childhood, he spent several years in Mainz, Germany, where his father was garrisoned. It is in Mainz that he began making photograph using a small camera given by his father. Later, he told that he had spent long hours in the shop of an old German photographer and that is how he began to learn photography. It is when he lived in Germany that he became a circus fervent amateur. In the twenties, German circus , like Althoff were travelling from cities to cities with large crew and many animals.

After his Lycée years he enrolled in the cavalry. In the Army he spent most of his time training his horses and riding them in steeple chases and military cross. He participated to more than 500 races on various french and european racefields, and sometimes, he won.

During second World War, in 1940, he was captured in the Ardennes. After 2 unsuccessful escape attempts, he was sent to Colditz. In 1945, the US Army set him free. He remained a few more months in the Army and was affected to the Cadre Noir in Saumur.

Second life

Then, he happened to meet film director Jean Devaivre. Devaivre had been a figure in the French Resistance. He was an underground activist while working at the same time, for the German owned Continental films in Paris. Devaivre proposed Cordon, who accepted, to be his assistant. It was a complete change for him, almost a second life. Cordon had always been attracted to the stage. In the thirties, over a short period of time, he had attended Charles Dullin acting sessions. His interest for photography was also a key factor to his decision. On movie stage he would better learn the role of light in the making of images.

In the early fifties, another major change occured in his life when he decided to become a professional photographer. For many years he worked in his Paris studio for fashion designers and advertising agencies.

After he had settled in Paris, he began developping a huge personnal work on circus and cabaret. He spent many nights with his camera at the Crazy Horse Saloon, or at Medrano or, at the Bouglione brothers Cirque d’Hiver. He also travelled a lot around the world visiting circus. During these trips, Cordon developped strong links with the old circus families that were very active in this businness, Schumann, Rancy, Knie, Gruss… . He shared with them a same passion for horses. At this time he wrote several articles for the swiss yearly Information Hippique on circus horses and riders.

Circus Instants

« While watching this obstinate quest for the perfect gesture, I realized that I was living what I had always been expecting : a circus instant » « Instants de Cirque », it is the title of his most famous book and the key to his circus images. This « Instant » has some similarity with the « decisive moment » evoked by Cartier-Bresson. It is the opposite of luck or accident but rather this tiny fragment of time when the photographer’s eye catches something other eyes don’t see.

One of Cordon’s famous pictures, (Three zebras) shot at the Amsterdam Zoo in 1957 and published all around the world is an example of something common that suddenly becomes unique. It is also particularly true for another photograph « Amis, Gilbert Houcke and Prince ». This image has nothing to do with what is usually referred to as « circus photograph »,it is shot backstage, there is no circus ring, no light, no stage costume, no audience and meanwhile, it is a splendid vision of an animal trainer.

Cordon did not like very much to be described as a circus photographer. He loved circus but he was not much interested in the documentary aspect often linked to circus photography. He used to say, « I am looking for the very style of an artist, that’s what I’m interested in ». The photographs he took revealed aspects of the subject’s character and personality.He had a talent for capturing what other probably did not see. Above all he was interested in producing images that would translate an emotion and be different. This is probably the reason why so many circus artists wanted to be photographed by him.

Crazy Horse Saloon

Paul de Cordon met Alain Bernardin at the very beginning of the Crazy Horse Saloon. The former antique dealer who had just invented a new cabaret and the former cavalry officer shared the same dislike for conventional rules and the same interest in stage show. Cordon spent long hours at the « Crazy » where he took many pictures wether on stage or back stage. He liked the company of models and dancers, and they trusted him when he came in their dressing room with his camera. That is how he gave many moving images of these girls. This part of his work despite its quality remains lesser known than his circus photographs.

Technique

Cordon used different cameras. His 1950’s photographs were made either with a Rolleiflex 6x6 or with a 35 mm Leica afterwards, he used almost exclusively Nikon cameras. Cordon never used a flash when not in his studio. He was very keen of technique. He liked to work in the dark room and to do prints of his negatives and was very good at that. He considered printing as a second shooting. However when the prints were for books or exhibitions he had them done by a professional printer. Cordon was also very interested in studio’s work. He set up his own studio in the late fifties. In his studio Cordon worked mostly with a Hasselblad camera but also used a Linhof view camera. There he made many advertisement and fashion phototographs. He loved the work with studio flash and was an early user of the Balcar flash. Dick Balli the founder of the company became one of his close friends.