Darkrooms Uncovered - Alain Astruc
A peek into a photographer's mental creative darkroom
What does your creative ritual look like? Do you have specific habits or conditions that spark your creativity?
I don’t really have a creative ritual. What I do have is a highly cyclical energy. When my level of attention is high, I can create instantly, it flows without effort. But when that energy is low, nothing works, and I don’t try to force it. I’ve learned to observe these shifts and work with them rather than against them. For me, creativity is not about discipline or repetition, but about listening to my internal rhythm.
When you're feeling creatively blocked, what's your go-to method for breaking through?
I never really experience creative block. Either I’m in good shape and everything flows without resistance, or I’m too drained to do anything, and then it’s not a block, it’s exhaustion. I’ve learned not to fight it. When the energy returns, so does the creativity, instantly.
Describe a moment when your creative perspective shifted dramatically. What triggered it?
It happens all the time. Photography keeps surprising me, I still don’t understand how it works for me. I don’t fully grasp the process, and that’s why I keep doing it. There’s something magical about capturing something I didn’t expect, something that feels both mine and outside of me.
What recurring themes or elements do you find yourself naturally drawn to capture?
There are definitely recurring themes in what I do, though I don’t always think about them consciously. I photograph what’s around me, my life, my surroundings. So certain elements return naturally: nature, children, women, old houses etc. But above all, it’s the light that draws me in.
What non-photographic influences (books, music, films, etc.) most impact your work?
I’m very interested in literature, cinema, and music. I like so many things that it’s hard to know where to start, but I’d say I love Tarkovsky.
What photograph of yours feels most personally revealing, and why?
It’s a photo of my daughter, seen from afar, partly hidden behind a blooming branch in a garden. She’s walking along the back wall of the house, wearing red. The flower in the foreground is out of focus, soft and bright. That image says everything about me, it holds all there is to know.
Find out more about Alain Astruc
Website: https://alainastruc.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alainastruc/
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