Don’t look for any logical link between this campaign’s title and my trip… there aren’t any !

Quick tip : slightly zoom out on your computer screen to better appreciate the pics ☺ (keyboard shortcut : push on “Ctrl” + “-“ or “Cmd” + “-“ on Mac)

Hey you! But who does “you” refer to anyway?

First of all, it seemed important for me to precise that I wish not to “cry for help” through the use of this campaign, but that I find it a good opportunity for me to present my project and its intimate character to a handful of people I chose; people with whom I feel close.

EDIT (Sunday 23rd of December, 2018):

The proximity, the connection, the feeling establishes itself over several years, several hours, a few minutes or in a fraction of a second. This text is addressed to friends I’ve known for many years to those I’ve met more recently to friendships that are simply short-lasting. I find that as soon as we are conscious of the fact that nothing belongs to us, not even our relationships with others, and that this doesn’t make them any less beautiful, then we are more apt to appreciate their beauty.

This is also addressed to “strangers,” or to people with whom I have very few connections. Why, you will ask me? Because I’m not so fond of the idea of feeding this form of “voyeurism” that I would be in sending this out to all of my contacts over social media. And I will be so happy and proud to know that my photos and my writings can be enjoyed by only certain people and that I can touch their emotions, without them saying, “I know Antoine, he’s a buddy of mine; a good guy.” A more neutral sort of view.

END OF EDIT

For what concerns the initial photograph, I chose to show you my friend Mustapha, who is Senegalese, without whom I would not be in the process of writing to you here, today. We met while carpooling a few weeks ago and a few days later I had my plane ticket to fly to Senegal. Thank you, Mustapha.

And now, let’s head to the next step...

Why Senegal?

Because that’s where Mustapha’s from and while speaking with him about his home land during the carpool, he gave me the desire to go visit. That’s all!

No, well ok, there were a few more thoughts before taking this ticket on the, “spur of the moment.” The following day of our carpool, I looked at my online account on “Pole Emploi” and realized that I would only be getting government funding until December 23rd, 2018… dilemma!

Might as well be honest, I had no desire to pick back up where I had left off, just before quitting my former job, as a computer engineer. Growth, productivity, numbers, results, pressure, stress, raise in wages…

On my side of things, it’s rather the contrary. Over the last couple of months of professional inactivity, I have never been so happy (oh, well of course, Antoine, you aren’t working…). It’s because I’m reconnecting with true meaning, my meaning, that which I would like to give to my life.

(Some 90’s tunes for the following sentimentally nostalgic chapter of my story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXnpsBBBMo4&index=1&list=RDpXnpsBBBMo4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gl5OEZ8j_o&list=RDpXnpsBBBMo4&index=2)

Less is more. It’s catchy, but I think that it really summarizes my current state of mind. Fewer restrictions for more freedom. The freedom to look at the world which surrounds us and not only see it, but take the time to appreciate its environment, be it nature or people.

My biggest source of pride these past few months, has come from knowing that I have regained control of life’s boat. In a few words : recklessness, intuition, hearing, letting go. Many of these things bring me back tenderly and happily to childhood! And it pleases me to write and share it with you.

Well now, let’s talk a little more about the subject… the trip!

**Trips, like dreams, start as soon as we close our eyes and our mind transports us into another world. Last it 1 year, 1 month, 1 second, we are all free to travel whenever and where ever (caution: not paying attention to the road while driving can be very risky for your health and for that of others)**

I am therefore starting to be curious, researching more about Senegal. Google images, Google flights, it’s nice, it’s not expensive. Just under a hundred Euros for the ticket! And apparently, January just happens to be the best time of year to go there. Up to this point, I’ve traveled quite a bit, but only to developed countries. So, naturally, in my head I hear this “call of the wild.” Bingo, let’s go!

Senegal, as my first stop. But let us continue dreaming on together…

…with Booba! Neither a little bear, nor our greatly cherished virtuoso of the French language, but… the beauty of happenstance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ka01Y_pYgM&list=RDpXnpsBBBMo4&index=11

--Actually, I think destiny is more like it. It might sound a little overdone, but personally I believe in a sort of destiny, where things which must happen, happen. But everyone possesses inside of him the strength to provoke beautiful things, while smiling, while transmitting positive energy via kindness (peace and love, hippie style, and all that jazz)—

Booba, I met him at the N133 restaurant in Lyon. A restaurant where I had an apprenticeship during the summer, and where Albert shared a little of his immense culinary savoir-faire with me, along with lots of generosity and kindheartedness. Thank you, Albert.

Having established these connections, I often stopped by to say hello, drink a coffee, chat… and our talks, naturally, covered the travel plans I wanted to share with him. This lead him to telling me, “come back Saturday; I have a guy from Senegal who’ll be helping me out in the kitchen, that day!”. And after a few minutes of conversation that same Saturday, I found myself invited to stay in Kedougou, where Booba will be joining his family precisely in January!

That’s cool and all, but what about after that? What will you be doing?

I’ll improvise! (Editor’s note: I haven’t gotten a return ticket)

I’ve chosen to let my trip be guided by my encounters, humanity, because that’s the way it started and I believe in the goodness of mankind. I want to let myself be lead by these encounters as much as possible. And to simply take the time to stop when something interests me: the freedom that comes with purchasing a one-way ticket.

That’s euphoric and all; Earth to Antoine!

Oh boy! There are nice people in this world,…but maybe not everywhere!

The plan will therefore be to, first off, travel to the coast of all countries on the Guinean Golf, indicated in yellow on the map. And notably: Guinea Conakry, the water tower of Africa, with all of its beautiful landscapes, Sierra Leone for its forests (thanks, Teddy for the advice), then Togo and Benin for their Voodoo traditions!

And then, if I still have any money, and that I haven’t been cursed down to the 23rd generation, a tsetse shot or any other deadly event, I’ll keep on!

Back up to the north of Senegal, that I will have probably not yet visited, then head towards north Africa! Morocco, notably to trek across the Atlas, if possible, and Algeria… because few tourists are over there (roots 4 ever)

And thereafter? Let’s say that I’ve approximately calculated that we’ll probably be in early summer 2019. And summer means heat and heat means trouble for my films, and therefore a return to a more temperate climate (aka France)

Films?

Here’s a little presentation… and flashback too! This summer, I hit up Lisbon’s Sunday market on arrival. A little posh, very industrial/modern, and sunny. I went for a stroll, and this time, decide to stop at a stand that we often see at these types of places: old cameras! You know, the type your father owned, his very first, lying around somewhere in the attic. The one that took all those pictures you see in old photo albums, souvenir photos.

As you probably are already aware, I like old things… I already wear previously-worn clothes, use old records, so being attracted to what is vintage naturally led me to ask myself, “why not photography?”.

Not really placing much importance on it right away, I sent Yonas, a friend from Lyon and excellent photographer too (http://crepeetcitron.com), a message, “Any interesting things in here?” And then, one thing led to another, and he liked my eye for things. I then found myself buying one of his old cameras, love at first sight, as if I were being sent back to childhood only to discover Pokémon yet another time! (Okay, maybe not that much…)

An there you go! Plus, I find it really good-looking…

This is what is called a manually-operated camera. To make things simple, the photo is taken on a physical support (the film), which is not directly exploitable (not like on a digital camera, where we can see the image instantaneously on a small screen). Here, you must first finish the film roll you’re using (which contains normally about 36 slides or photos), then develop it (chemical process, which leads to the creation of “negatives” !)

But Antoine, why do you waste your time on this sort of stuff? With digital cameras, you take as many photos as you like, the ones you don’t like you trash, it’s so much simpler!

Well, let’s make things really simple then: my camera cost only 100€, I am really really happy with the results I get out of it (https://www.flickr.com/photos/162586444@N03/), and I like using it and the philosophy associated with this type of photography. And then the result is raw, has an authentic character, without anything artificial.

I will not see my photos before my return home to France. And I love this way of playing with this temporal aspect of my trip! To be given the time to forget about the shots and then rediscover them a few months later. Away from the instantaneous, from social media, from our (dis)connected lives, I feel the need to so and I find much delight in it!

36 photos per film roll. About 6€ per film roll, I won’t draw you a picture! To take the time to observe my surroundings, listen to my feelings, veer my attention on the details. With every picture taken comes a manual roll readjustment. This means that I must pull back a lever to go on to the next one. A seemingly trivial motion, but is important for me by showing me how much I consume. To give you an idea, I’ve planned on bringing what will allow for me to take 10 pictures a day for 5 months and that’s already a budget of 500€ alone!

Manual photography is really complicated…

Not really! It is both very accessible and a great way to satisfy your curiosity cravings. My camera only has 3 buttons to define the proper parameters in order to take a photo. Easy, right? No delete button! The magic of error, but a mess up is a lesson :) and then with 10 photos a day, it gives me the time to take each photo cautiously, but also the time to simply enjoy my trip :)

And then, a little something to close out

The surprise. The reason why I haven’t sent this out to my family.

To find an old lemon. For example, the first car that I drove in the parking lot of a supermarket one Sunday morning at 8:30. This pretty off-white Mercedes that my grand father let me drive, a few times, in the same parking lot, despite barely being 15 years old.

Fix it up, if need be. And well, I’m pretty bad with mechanics. So why not find an auto repair shop and offer him the following proposition : what I have to give is time. 1 month, 2 months. Work. Help him do paperwork, clean up his shop, do the dirty tasks, I don’t care! And learn how to repair cars in exchange. And if he accepts, help me fix my lemon.

And then go back to France! That’s why I thought of finishing in north Africa, in order to go home in my car by ferry ☺

Shoot! I almost forgot the radio ! It ABSOLUTELY has to work. I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie, “Le Grand Bain,” but I highly recommend it! We saw it as a family. And we had a couple of good laughs, hadn’t been to the cinema in a while. And the music at the end of the movie, we’ll never forget! And I’m sure my dad loved it when he was young.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aJ2Vh_e2dQ

And boom! I’ll show up at my parents’ just like that, without warning them in advance, with that music blasting out of my car radio! Just like in the movie. I get teary eyed just thinking about it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this all :)

Cazou cazou café bisous