Alain Noguès

Originally from Toulouse, I discovered photography in 1956 at the Annecy Culture and Youth Center (Haute-Savoie). During my military service in North Africa I had the opportunity to subscribe to several specialized photography magazines.

It was in Algiers that I bought my first camera, a Rolleicord 8x6, with which I made the series of square format photos that I will present at MIA 2020.

Back in Paris in 1960, I decided to leave a safe profession to learn photo-printing techniques at the Keystone agency. With this experience. I started working in the famous Pictorial Service laboratory, frequented at the time by photographers such as Robert Doisneau, Henri Cartier Bresson, Marc Riboud.

In 1963, a trip to Algeria allowed me to make postcards for the Algerian National Tourism Office.

Once back in Paris I started several photographic series with rather heterogeneous themes: horse races for Tiercé magazine, reportage on industries and the industrial world for "Entreprises" de Réalités, the end of the filming of "Pierrot le fou" by Jean Luc Godard...

From the beginning, I put my free moments to good use, inspired by artists such as R.Doisneau, W.Ronis, and E.Boubat. I went on the streets looking for poetic situations in the unexpected moments of everyday life. I tried to capture strong and revealing moments to compose well-constructed images. My gaze on the world has always been curious, sometimes mischievous.  My sensitivity is reflected in the attention I give to others. I worked in film photography and the negatives were developed in the laboratory.

1966 marks an important stage: my first paternity. This event led me towards an evolution of my photographic work as a freelance for agencies. In 1966 I collaborated with Reporters Associés, in 1971 with Gamma and on 13 May 1973 I became co-founder of Sygma. An adventure lasting 29 years.The arrival of digital images in the 90s upset the habits of my profession.

For my part, doubts and anxieties related to the change of my favourite tool are restrictive. But in 2004 I passed the digital "doors".

Today, with a little nostalgia, I keep digitals documents as if they were negatives. Many things have upset my photographic universe ... All this will not prevent me from questioning myself, to believe in what I am, to want to capture events, inequalities, changes, joys and pains in images...".

A. Noguès