Raphaël Gaultier
Raphaël Gaultier is a self-taught freelance portrait and documentary photographer from Seattle, WA currently based in Brooklyn, NY working across a variety of genres to capture the intimacies of daily life. His work is concerned with the concept of home, whether that’s found in spaces, people or objects that speak to who we are.
When I look at Raphaël Gaultier’s photographs I feel like I’m seeing the kinds of images that come into being when a photographer is trusted to be present for gestures of simple intimacy or moments of quiet vulnerability. They’re not found images, they’re revealed images - pictures that emerge over time in light the way landscapes emerge underneath a rising morning sun.
In our often anxious and uncertain times, I appreciate the thoughtful beauty and presence of his images more than ever. I asked Raphaël to tell me a little about his journey in photography:
For a long time growing up I always thought of myself as the least creative in my family. I want my work and my journey to be a testament to others that anyone can pursue something they’re passionate about if they put in the time with their craft. I had no photography education growing up - it wasn’t until midway through college that I picked up a camera to start taking pictures after I tore my ACL playing sports. It was that necessity to express myself when I wasn’t able to do the things I love that helped shape me into the photographer I am today.
Oftentimes, what I’m trying to express in my work is to look at everyday things and occurrences and appreciate them for what they really are. My world revolves around the people I spend my time with and the places I habitually venture, and I want my work to be a representation of the comfort that comes from our everyday routines. There’s an intimacy I often capture in my work that I think shows the kind of upbringing I had. I’m glad my work and who I am are so closely tied - it feels authentic to the stories I’m trying to tell.
I prefer to shoot on film because it slows down my entire process for each photo I take. The speed at which artists are expected to produce, share, interact with, brainstorm, and improve on their work is highly unsustainable and leads to less thoughtful work. My work and my process is focused on doing the opposite of that. By using a medium format camera and meticulously scanning in each photo I take, I’ve slowed down my process to care for each step in the process. I’ve found that being more intentional with the ways I work in medium format has helped me become a more thoughtful photographer when I pick up a digital camera as well.
The speed at which photographers (as well as other artists) are expected to produce and share work is something I think is completely backwards in the industry. I’d like to see more thoughtful, long term projects that are backed by brands and publications that have the finances to support independent artists. I think we’d see a big difference in the industry’s mentality to constantly pump out work, and the quality of meaningful work that would arise out of it. I hope there will be things that help address this problem of overwork in the photographic community in the years to come.
Follow Raphaël Gaultier on Instagram: @raphgaultier.
Photo at top of post: Self-portrait
↓ ↓ ↓ All Photos in this post © Raphaël Gaultier ↓ ↓ ↓
Kat and Noah, Seattle, WA. 2021 © Raphaël Gaultier
Helen, Seattle, WA. 2020 © Raphaël Gaultier
George and Miguel, Seattle, WA. 2021 © Raphaël Gaultier
Ophelia, Seattle, WA. 2020 © Raphaël Gaultier
Soft Light, Portland, OR. 2020 © Raphaël Gaultier
Funeral, Maui, HI. 2021 © Raphaël Gaultier
Raphaël Gaultier is a self-taught freelance portrait and documentary photographer from Seattle, WA currently based in Brooklyn, NY working across a variety of genres to capture the intimacies of daily life. His work is concerned with the concept of home, whether that’s found in spaces, people or objects that speak to who we are. His work has been featured in i-D magazine, Pitchfork, The Nation, The Seattle Times, as well as several other books and publications. Raphaël has worked as the co-founder and editor of Human Condition magazine, a publication centered around providing resources and uplifting young artists in Seattle, as well as Associate Creative Director of Seattle-based retailer LIKELIHOOD. He’s been freelancing as a photographer since 2020.
Website: raphaelgaultier.com Instagram: @raphgaultier.
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Troy Williams
Troy Williams is a fantastic street portraitist.
It's an unusual and difficult thing to ask a stranger if you can make their photograph. Many people might rightfully be suspicious and skeptical of a request like that. Yet despite their suspicions, some people do say yes. They agree to trust you and be vulnerable in front of your camera. And by giving you their trust and being open, you now hold a responsibility as photographer. You have to make an image that does some justice to the trust they’ve placed in you. And as difficult as it may have been to ask for a photo in the first place, it’s even more difficult to make one that sings.
It’s now your task to make a photograph to the best of your ability that describes the person in front of you. Not necessarily to make a flattering image, but to try and make an honest and truthful image - a photograph that holds some of what you saw in the person when you decided to approach them, and some of what they gave you as they arranged themselves for your camera, and some of what you created together in the act of making a photograph.
Knowing how difficult this practice is, I was blown away by Troy Williams’ street portraits - these photographs are absolutely wonderful at making so many complex variables dance in a single image and serendipitous encounter - light, background, pose, gesture…Everything just hits me as right with these images, and maybe most importantly I feel like I’m connecting to the people in the photographs. I feel like I have some intuition of who they are, and while I may be wrong about that intuition, I at least know, thanks to Troy, about their light and humanity on the day Troy photographed them. I love seeing people through Troy’s eyes, and I can’t wait to meet more. He’s a photographer you should be watching.
I asked Troy to tell me a little about his motivations in making the images, and what he learns from these fleeting interactions with strangers:
Isn’t it lovely to be able to look deeply into someone’s eyes and be able to hold that gaze for as long as your mind wants to wander? What a gift it is to have an intimate and spiritual interaction with another. And when it happens with a complete stranger who shows you themselves unguarded, vulnerable, confident, and with a graceful trust, one can’t help but wonder if that moment was touched by the connecting energy that makes us live and breathe. My fascination, specifically with street portraiture as an action of faith, has led me on a beautiful and emotionally satisfying journey.
As we have all experienced the overwhelming aspects of change during the pandemic, my post cocoon moment came when the light of safety began to show it’s ever changing face. My second act in the world of being a photographer began in the summer of 2021. Before the world turned upside down my inspiration for making photographs was based in evoking memories of moments lived and reimagined. Theatrical and cinematic representations of life in my rearview mirror. I was always looking towards the past. Once the lockdowns ceased and the vaccine was readily available with infection rates dropping, all I wanted to do was be close to people again. I decided that it was time to live in the present. Portraits became the proposition.
I am consistently awestruck with the connection made between the subject, the photographer and the audience, which in my belief, creates a community. It has the ability to bring forth the interiority of our desires, our faith, our aspirations, our apprehensions, our truth. It is this profound power that portraits have that brought me to my current version of myself. And just as important as my need to connect, I make these portraits as a way to honor and pay attention to the everyday people that I lovingly cross paths with. We are strong, resilient, creative and healing beings that have the power to lift each other up. We inspire when we live out loud with enthusiasm and compassion. Our surface shows so much of our spirit. A photograph is a beautiful vehicle between one soul to another.
Follow Troy Williams
Portrait of Troy Williams at top of post © Mark C. Wagner @thewarneraesthtic
↓ ↓ ↓ All Photos in this post © Troy Williams @trooooooooooooooooooooooooy ↓ ↓ ↓
Mae, New York, New York City, New York. 2021 © Troy Williams
Franky, Marco, & Polly, New York, New York. 2021 © Troy Williams
Sawyer, New York, New York. 2022 © Troy Williams
Noor & Amir, New York, New York. 2021 © Troy Williams
Benjamin, New York, New York. 2021 © Troy Williams
Emma, New York, New York. 2021 © Troy Williams