Jean-Baptiste Sinniger

PHOTO . January 26th, 2013

Interview with Jean-Baptiste Sinniger – french photographer born in Haguenau, Alsace in 1983.

Where are you right now?

In my parent’s apartment, somewhere in the parisian suburbs, seating on my bed.

Would you like to live in a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean?

Honestly no. It sounds too much like a boring romantic teenager fantasy. But I would for sure love to spend a few days in a place like that in order to take some cool pictures. Actually I’m getting quickly bored when I’m alone in the nature… After a few days of vacation in the countryside, I’m always happy to come back to the big city. I think that I need its upbeat and dynamic environment in my life to be creative.

Do you have a specific intention when you take a picture ?

I don’t know if there is really a specific intention hidden behind my pictures, but if I look back at my work, I feel that I often try to find some beauty in an environment that is not necessarily beautiful. Sometimes I really suffer from the modern urbanism that is imposed to us, and in that case photographing things that I like in it becomes almost a therapy.

There is a cool movie from Eric Rohmer called L’arbre, le maire et la médiathèque that deals brillantly with this specific subject. But I never plan anything when I shoot. It’s maybe when I do the selection for my journal that things are getting a bit more in order, that I try to tell a little story.

What is your equipment?

Right now, I’m mainly using a Canon F-1, a Canon AF35 ML and a Minolta Dynax 7000i. I also used to shoot a lot with an Olympus Trip 35 that I cared a lot about, but lost it in a wedding last summer — sad story. I don’t have any digital camera, except for my iPhone. I’m kind of a big Instagram user, since I can’t carry a big camera around everyday at work, having my cellphone in the pocket is a good way for me to stay “photographically” active.

Where do you prefer to walk?

It depends on my mood and on the weather. I don’t like routine so I always try to discover new places. I’m also often too lazy to walk…

Do you have projects at the moment or for the future?

Yes. I’m working on the creation of a paper magazine with a friend. It’s a quite ambitious project and I don’t really know where it’s going to lead us, still I’m really excited about the experience.