(Q) How long have you been taking photos of graffiti & what interests you to do so?

(A) First photos was taken around 1986/87 when I moved up to the “Ile-de-France” (the Paris suburbs) at this time, each day I was riding a south section of the D-line to go to school and each day I sticked up to the windows to learn about the graffiti… this leads me to start painting around a year after.

(Q) Do you own photo albums of actual prints or do you prefer digital?

(A) I lost two books from the early 90′s, I still own one of the oldies and I tried to re-print some of the old negatives but it’s almost impossible to get the half of what I lost. Leave your books outside your house and if you want your photos back, take a good lawyer. Now, like many of us, I do not prefer digital but the cheaper the better.

(Q) How many photos are in your personal collection?

(A) Not that much, around one thousand and a half. Most of the pictures are up on my flickr, i try to share most of them there.

(Q) Do you feel photography plays a major role in documenting graffiti culture?

(A) Without the works of photographers, I don’t think graffiti will be as global as it is now. In good and very bad ways.

(Q) Do you have any crazy stories or memorable moments while taking photos?

(A) Ten years ago, I was walking on track sides to take some pictures of silver dubs done the week before by some friends. There were some workers a kilometre back on the left side, so I stayed on the same side, walking close to a long wall, but I heard some guys talking and walking near me. There was no way out except jumping in some bushes on my left. When I did that, my shoulder hit a fucking anthill behind the bushes, I fell right on top of it and I got up instantly and yelled loud that scared the two guys away. They ran off the tracks quicker than I jumped, but one of them tripped on a rail and smashed his face on the granite railway ballast. He hit it real hard. Just so happens that they were just kids going back home after school who walked by the spot I was shooting at… I apologized for scaring them and I took off my jacket and shirt… the ants were killing me.

“I tried my best to hide my french accent! One more time, thanks for this request, it was a pleasure to do and it was a good training for my crappy english also!” – CPSH74

Location: Nemrock – South Side of Paris

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