Helene Havard is a French photographer who attempts to portray meaningful images beyond what her camera alone can capture. Helene specializes in still photography on movie sets and streets, as well as the art of photo manipulation.
By taking different images and combining them, Helene is able to create a new world constructed from her imagination. Her tools include a NikonD700 camera, Photoshop and a Wacom tablet.
Helene strives to insert meaning, feelings and a message in her photographs. This first photo below, titled Lost Childhood, is a place where viewers can transpose their own history and find a personal narrative:
The empty swing invites viewers to imagine themselves sitting over that open water – suspended, somewhat helplessly, without any solid ground in sight. The cloudy skies speak of stormy weather, trials, and troubles. As a whole, the composition is captivating, and daunting at the same time.
The extent of Helene’s photo manipulations can be much more subtle too. Take a look at this next photo where she strengthened the spiritual aspect of her subject just with the addition of a commanding sky:
This basilica is beautiful in and of itself. . . but with beams of light radiating through the broken clouds, there’s an added emphasis to the sacredness of the building.
And in today’s final image, Helene demonstrates her ability to capture meaning without the use of photo manipulation:
The composition contains a sad irony. . . on the wall, a grumpy scrooge overlooks someone with no place to sleep during the holidays.
I encourage you all to take a moment to explore the rest of Helene’s evocative photographs at heleneh.viewbook.com.