Goodness

“Goodness is an extraordinary force.” (Youssef Chahine)

“Deep down most people are pretty decent.”(Rutger Bregman)

“Whether the glass is half empty or half full, you have the power to fill it up.”
(Matshona Dhliwayo)

It is said that man is evil. Without claiming that this is totally untrue, a little nuance can’t hurt. Man can be good. The proof, if I may say so, is provided by these photos found in my traveller’s archives.

That man can be good is what I have found throughout my life as a traveller. Indeed, without this, would I have gone out so much? It is kindness and hospitality that have inspired me to go out and meet others and, naturally, to photograph them from close.
Basically, when I ask myself why I have taken (and still take, mind you!) so many photographs in my life (I mean after a first time when I was only doing illustrations to show what I had seen, and therefore before I discovered in 1981 in Nepal what photography could be), the answer is simple: because I took pleasure in looking for this goodness which certainly exists everywhere in the world, (that responded to my need to be reassured), but which after all is not so common (its relative rarity makes its search exciting).