In a world going through difficult times, people sometimes tend to focus on negative aspects. And to be fair, there are indeed many negative things happening, as media often remind us. Moreover, it seems that a certain self-absorption is taking root in our Western societies, affecting conviviality.
I’ve found my artistic mission in expressing the opposite: I’m passionate about positive emotions and I greatly appreciate the unifying aspect that art can have. It’s in this direction that I find inspiration and artistic themes.
Inspired by the idea of conceptual photography and neopictorialism I use landscape and city photography to explore a theme, because a photo of an urban or rural scene can have multiple meanings. At a basic level, it shows the landscape, evoking memories for the viewer or surprising him/her with the unknown. But through appropriate composition, a photo of such a scene also visually tells a story and conveys emotions. At the highest level, it can even possess an allegorical aspect. And it’s for this latter aspect that I choose subjects, as it encompasses the other meanings. Therefore, I seek landscapes that already, as a whole, allegorically respond to the theme. In order to amplify and accentuate, the photos are composed at specific locations and times. In the same spirit, the digital photographic development process is carried out: mastering the tones and adjusting colors to an appropriate color palette in such a way to emphasize the allegorical aspect. The theme is then revealed through a series of photos created in such a manner and by placing them next to each other in a sequence, with the idea that the collection of photos is more than the sum of its parts. Furthermore, a few words to each photo are added to convey its allegorical aspect (see inside the portfolio).
The viewer will thus see a composition of photos, and each one will touch him/her in its meaning according to his/her sensitivity, consciously or unconsciously.
Please send a message if you’d like to get in touch directly.
Prints are available.
Thomas Speck, born in Germany, currently lives and works in the Parisian region (Colombes). He is an emerging artistic and Qualified European Photographer who uses landscape and cityscape photography allegorically to explore his themes. Having grown up in a tri-border region between the Black Forest in Germany, the Vosges Mountains in France, and Basel in Switzerland, he has always been inspired by the contrast between international cities and nature. Although he holds a PhD in science and has management experience in the French industry, he studied artistic photography as a self-taught individual through online mentoring and intensive practice.
2020 – to this day
Photographic Artist
Gold Winner, Prix de la Photographie Paris, PX3 2024
9th Annual IIC Awards: 1st Runner Up – 93.06 – in Fine Art Cityscapes Class, highest scoring image in France winning 8th place in country competition
Certification as “Qualified European Photographer” by the collection “Eternal Brilliance”
Art Shopping in Carrousel du Louvre (Paris, France), 2023
Honorable Mention, International Photography Awards, IPA 2023
Press
Digital Photographer Magazine (Issue 282)
Digital Photographer Magazine (Issue 265)
Black & White Magazine (Issue 161)
Digital Photographer Magazine (Issue 250)
Digital Photographer Magazine (Issue 238)
Digital Photographer Magazine (Issue 233)
2001-2020
Project Management in French Industry (Alcatel, Safran)
1994-2001
PhD in Basel, Switzerland and PostDoc in Rennes, France
1989-1993
Degree in Chemistry, Basel, Switzerland