Au Cochonnet Marin

Charles Aznavour (born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian) died October 1^st 2018 in Mouries (France) at the age of 94.

Just 5’3’’ Aznavour was a small giant. He towered over the French chanson for decades and performed well into his nineties.

Charles Aznavour and Gilbert Bécaud were the undisputed icons on my generation. They were about the same age with Bécaud being slightly younger. Aznavour was born in Paris on May 22, 1924 and Gilbert Bécaud on October 24 1927.

Both were talented singer-songwriters who competed fiercely for the limelight.

In the beginning, Bécaud (surnamed Monsieur 100,000 volts) was the undisputed titleholder and when Aznavour started to sing, a lot of people made fun of him because of his unorthodox voice.

Both performers were totally different entities. Bécaud was an exuberant extrovert who roamed the stage and accompanied himself on the piano; he was a consummate showman, “une bête de scène” and always established an easy rapport with his audience.

Aznavour, on the other hand, was not a showman or an extrovert. He was an extremely talented composer but definitely not an “entertainer.” While on stage he seldom moved and uttered very few words between songs.

I personally interviewed him in San Francisco after his show (I think that I still have the cassette somewhere) and he struck me as a little bit arrogant. I asked him why so very few French performers came to San Francisco and his answer was “besides me and 2 or 3 other performers, nobody in France is famous enough to attract a sizable audience.”
Maybe true, but it still struck me as a little bit conceited.

But Aznavour output was prodigious. He wrote an estimated 1000 songs that he performed in different languages in many different countries. When he came to San Francisco in the Sixties, he sang mainly in English and I thought that this was a little odd. I thought that people would come to hear a French singer sing in French, even if they did not understand the lyrics.

I asked him and he said “when I go to Spain, I sing in Spanish; when I go to Germany I sing in German, when I go to America I sing in English. That’s what people want.”

I politely disagree with this. I never wished to listen to Tony Bennett or Frank Sinatra in French.

But Aznavour outlived Bécaud by almost 20 years. After Bécaud’s death from lung cancer in 2001, Charles Aznavour became and remained a revered French icon until his death.

An unexceptional singer, but a talented composer and an inspired lyricist. He will be enshrined in the French Artistic Pantheon with the likes of La Môme (Edith Piaf) and Jacques Brel.

A great loss for the artistic world.

Alain

When snapping a picture, a seasoned photographer usually has some specific goals in mind.

I have been a shutterbug for quite some time now, and over the years my priorities have evolved. I Initially took pictures to commit people and places to memory. The shots were in black and white and nothing mattered but to capture entire bodies and faces.

As time went by, I acquired a better understanding of photography and I started to focus more sharply on specific details.

Nowadays I am mainly interested in catching candid pictures of animals or people. What matters to me now, are unposed, spontaneous reactions to unfolding events.

When taking pétanque photos for instance, I want to capture the emotions, the tears, the smiles of the people involved in this sport. Passionate moments are fleeting and you need to be prepared to catch them during the microseconds when it happens. I feel that these pictures are genuine and compelling.

Some people rarely show any emotion, even when engaged in some exciting physical activity; due to this stoic characteristic they unfortunately become less attractive to me. I want to catch a lion when it roars, not when it snoozes.

Facial expressions and body language are now what interest me. If you are a sensitive person, your face, your moves will mirror your inner emotions.

A picture is only interesting to me when it shows passion. A lifeless posed picture is a “nature morte” (still life) thus much less captivating than an “action shot”.

The objective of this collection is therefore to show candid, emotional pictures mirroring people’s inner feelings while engaged in an exciting activity.

Alain

Please watch this collection.
PS: If enough people are interested I might turn these pictures into a book…

Life is a demanding mistress and like a mercurial lover it is often unreasonable and unpredictable… And above all, never expect it to be fair.

When you think that you have everything under control, life can throw you a vicious curveball that will leave you reeling. You might try to prepare for various contingencies but there is no foolproof readiness for life’s capricious U-turns.

“Life is a lottery, we lose, we win, and we never know what is going to happen.” Jacques Salome

In an ideal world there would to be some kind of a document (like a car insurance contract) stipulating exactly when your life ends. This way we could better prepare, including family and friends for the Great Leap.

We know that our demise is unavoidable but most of us prefer not to think about it. Soon or later though everyone will have to confront the Grim Reaper.

We are on this earth for a short time and ideally speaking we ought to live every day of our life like it would be the last. But unfortunately we don’t know when fate will intervene and alter or cut short the course of our existence.

“Life is like a roll of toilet paper; hopefully long and useful, but it always ends at the wrong moment.” Rudyh

Regardless, what everybody ought to think about is his/her own legacy. Every man/woman ought to strive to leave a good account of himself on the Day of the Last Judgment. Some of our playfellows do it, effortlessly, and we will always keep a fond memory of them. Some disappear without making a ripple.

When I cash in my chips, I would like people to remember me kindly. I would like them to say, “he was a good man and he will be missed.” Exactly the way we think about our dear departed friend Henry Wessel.
You can judge the caliber of a man by the void he leaves after his departure. And Henry left a deep, long lasting crater.

When I go, I would like to leave the same legacy. He was a journeyman pétanque player, but a kind-hearted man who had a good sense of humor and loved (almost) all living creatures.

In my book, anybody who co-habits with a pet is a good person. And it should be a prerequisite for anybody planning to enter public service.

Is there presently a pet in the Oval Office? I would be surprised…

Stay victorious!

Alain