The newsletter with Raymond Depardon, Pierre Collombert...
Reading time: 4 minutes
To the summary
- A word from Jeanne
- Raymond Depardon and Pierre Collombert: two visions of the photo
- 4 photos to save our heritage
- Regional photography meetings
- A fireplace fire
- Americas and Europe
- Tapnade to the taste of the day
- Testimony: I'm tired
A word from Jeanne
Do you remember January 2025? Abbe Photo had published a small booklet which, in thirty-one pages, recounted the country here. François had nicely titrated Flowers and perfumes of Provence – From the earth to bottles.
And then, quite naturally, quite peacefully, over the months time has passed with a daily meeting around a photo by André Abbe (archives document) illustrating the history and traditions of the whole of southern France, Passadoc inviting readers of Roquebrune-sur-Argens and elsewhere, to exchange, leave comments. A pleasure to read them!
There were other pleasant meetings: that of Lise Henriot, the pretty pottery of "Ubradou de la fuente, in Roquebrune-sur-Argens; More recently, that of Jean-Christophe Denis, business advisor in Montargis, who abandoned the so standardized images that we see in many reception halls; he opted for large-format photos of André Abbe, unique photos that pleasantly surprise his visitors!
- Wow! It's beautiful! Where did you get this?
In December, an exceptional exhibition: The dog of Saint Roch, rare photos of André Abbe of course, offered in a unique and authentic setting in Montpellier, in the heart of the ECUson.
Yes, 2025 is over... 2026 is there... And the newsletter too!
Jeanne Monin
Raymond Depardon and Pierre Collombert: two visions of the photo
Raymond Depardon is a photographer. Pierre Collombert is a journalist and reporter mainly for the agricultural press. Both take photos, but these are two visions of the photo. Anecdote.
Meeting of photographers on the Larzac in 1968
Pierre Collombert and Raymond Depardon take pictures from the same rock. Pierre remembers the scene: a bus is in the middle of the field. And that's the trouble with Raymond's photo. So Raymond Depardon asks Pierre Collombert to make some pictures with his equipment while he's going to ask the person to push the vehicle. Peter runs. On return, Raymond Depardon negotiates with some young people in the foreground. Raymond Depardon has an aesthetic sense. He wants to have the Larzac T-shirt in front of the picture. After about ten minutes, the case is settled. The trick is done! And so Pierre Collombert benefits. Here's the picture with the T-shirt and the bus. Two photographers, two sacred careers, but two visions, very different from the photo.
Depardon's exhibition, Colombert's books
Raymond Depardon exhibited his photos at the Pavillon Populaire in Montpellier until 12/04/2026. His photos can be found in a very beautiful pocket book collection.
Pierre Collombert has published a large number of books. He invites us to present his next project. It will be a photo book with several themes. The more Peter shows us his model, the more stars we have in our eyes. A series about famous people is amazing. But the show about strangers is even more crazy...
4 Photos to save our heritage
100,000 thanks to BlueLemon for its support!
First, Stéphane Génin (standing in the centre) decides to support the backup of the 100,000 photos from Abbe Photo archives.
Next, employees vote to choose the photos to represent BlueLemon's values: freedom, pride, team spirit and honesty.
Finally, the 4 photos selected are displayed at the headquarters of rue de Mogador in Paris.
On Monday, Geneviève Bresc (Musée du Louvre – left of Stéphane in the photo) as well as clients of BleuLemon made it an honour to attend the event in a small committee with a part of the team (you can see Olga Campeis on the left).
But the real stars of the evening are the people photographed by André Abbe (standing to the right of Olga)
For example, Marceline Mundet (1901-1996) kept sheep. The hostess loved her job so she proudly poses. Proud as the employees of BleuLemon who contribute to the transformation of IT directorates (DSI) in daily life.
Regional photography meetings: Jeanne's favourites
Each year, these Encounters gather a selection of works from photo clubs in an entire region of Montpellier.
Here are the two favourites of Jeanne Monin:
- At Mont Saint-Michel, a flag is controversial. One clue: it's a very old quarrel! Jeanne tells us everything in the article.
- In Saint-Étienne, a hanging system allows minors to store their belongings. An amazing discovery (photo above).
In this Article, find our selection, Jeanne's favourites and some nods to our archives.
A fireplace fire from Provence to live all year long
Fireplaces replace TV channels in cafés and restaurants. But the fireplace at home is different. The lights on Youtube are aesthetically perfect.
At AI time, we thought differently. We film the real fire of our real fireplace in the Bastide in Roquebrune-sur-Argens (Var). In the room, there is also the carillon. Before, it was in the living room of the Abbe House in the centre of the village.
We cheated a little: silence in the room for an hour was impossible. So we used the real sound of the fire filmed that day and the sound of the carillon, then we repeated them several times. The video remained the same!
Why look at our fireplace fire in Provence?
With every view of Youtube, it brings money to the association. This helps to achieve our project: digitize the entire collection of the 100,000 archival photos of Abbe Photo from 1969 to 2000. And then it's a way to show that there's something else!
Thank you again for your support!
Americas and Europe: United in artistic creation!
A fine example of cooperation, artistic this time.
Back in 2024: from Argentine tango to Fred Astaire.
In the casting:
– Brito's choreographer Flavio (left) is Brazilian, but lives in England
– English dancer Richard John Moore (right) makes breath-taking wears
– Californian Julian Shelton came especially to photograph the event
– 45 years separate this archive photo from the event « Intimate Provence » directed by XaL
– Archive photos on « Crafts, soul of French luxury » selected by XaL mixed up in the footsteps of the dancers
– The photo of André Abbe in the background is taken at the very beautiful market of Muy (Var) (it's Sunday, 45 minutes from St Tropo)
Video (duration 2min21) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un3pcR1KePQ
Thanks again to the team, to the artists who volunteered, sometimes from afar, to raise awareness of the preservation of the photo heritage.
Tapnade to the taste of the day
Dubai offers gold-priced chocolate made in China! Naz chose to reinvent the tapenade. Presents at the show Provence Intime in August 2024. Naz made us discover his recipe. 18 months later, Tapenaz is on sale in Dubai! Soon available in France? We hope!
In the meantime, we don't get tired of seeing Naz singing Padam padam from Edith Piaf, it's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7zbHokshqI
And the Tapenaz website here: https://www.tapenaz.com/
PS : Naz is looking for partners in Europe, advice to amateurs
Testimony: « Marre d'avoir un cadre produit à thousands d'examples"
« I was sick of it. Marre d'avoir un cadre I**A, produced thousands of copies across the globe. I can't believe I'm blending into a standardized decor, soulless, historyless.
What am I looking for? Rarity. A work that reflects certain values... and each prospect puts its values behind "some". A work that influences my worldview. A French heritage, rooted in an identity, a history. Because we all need to reconnect to our roots, to the land of our ancestors, to the religion or traditions that have shaped us. These black and white photos, taken in France, are not just images: they are pieces of memory, invisible links between generations. We're just a stitch in this big chain, but we have a choice of giving it meaning.
Why did I choose to invest in unique works by André Abbe?
With Abbe Photo, I found much more than buying a decor. I found a custom approach. Personalized support, from choice to finalisation, with options ranging from basic
Abbe Photo: our challenge is 72,000 photos to scan
« Heritage photography" , it is Geneviève Bresc-Bautier (Musée du Louvre) who thus describes the photos of André Abbe. A photoreporter career started in 1969 with two decades of unique photos. It is important to save this collection because it is our heritage: Provence, France, Europe, the whole world.
The exhibits allow the public to discover the collection. JC is the first private purchaser of photos. Soon, a first SME will invest in art works (numbered and signed photo prints). Thanks to them and thanks to you for the support!
Chronology :
2015 : beginning of digitisation of the 100,000 photos
2023 : another 87000 photos to scan
2025 : another 72000 photos to scan
2030: end of digitization?
