This series examines the photographers who exhibited at the Leica Galerie at photokina 2014. The focus of this year’s exhibition concept was on impressive photography from the world of music. It embraces all facets of music photography, and today we’re featuring the work of Letanguerrant who gives us a look on stage and behind-the-scenes of singer P!nk’s tour. Read on for more information about his work, exhibit, and insight.
Letanguerrant is a cosmopolitan. Born in Halifax, Canada, in 1963, he only spent the first three months of his life there. As a photographer, musician, and dancer, he has been traveling his whole life. He lived in Paris for 15 years, but has also lived in New York, Montreal, Miami, Vancouver, and Melbourne. For the last eight years he has been based in Los Angeles .
Letanguerrant has been working in the music scene for over three decades, and the list of names he has toured with is long: Prince, Sting, Sade, Céline Dion, Cher, Mariah Carey, Sinéad O’Connor, Moby, and Seal, to name a few. However, his closest relationship is with P!nk. He has been accompanying and getting to know her like few others for the past two years. “P!nk is one of the best performers and singers I’ve ever seen. She’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met, she gives 200% to her work – all the time,” the photographer, who admits to being one of her greatest fans, says enthusiastically. It is no surprise then that the photographer has taken such unique pictures of the artist. The apparent ease seen in the images belies the complexity of the photographer’s work. “Shooting ‘live’ conditions isn’t easy, because the lights change all the time – and their intensity as well. I have to change my settings constantly. The band moves all the time, especially P!nk; she’s always running around on stage. One second she’s here, a second later she’s somewhere else.” Letanguerrant is concerned about the authenticity of his pictures, so he does not use Photoshop. The photographer and his camera (whether a Leica M, M9 or M2) are one entity. “I look at something or someone and all I think about is how I can make it look in a picture.”
Q: What image is your favorite in this gallery and why?
A: This image of the drummer Mark Schulman is the one I like best. I like this picture because it is shot live and we can see the effect that the Noctilux 50 mm does at 0.95. I love that bokeh effect and that’s exactly why I got the lens. It gives a mystic effect and it’s not the traditional live picture that we usually see.
Q: What, if anything, do you hope the viewer sees or gains when looking at these images?
A: Usually, photographers who work on live shows always use DSLR cameras. I think it’s a good thing for Leica to show these pictures and show people that Leica M cameras can do a great job in live conditions with extra low lights and a lot of movements on stage.
Thank you for your time, Letanguerrant!
– Leica Internet Team
You can connect with Letanguerrant on Facebook. See more #DasWesentliche impressions from Leica Camera at photokina 2014 here
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