Photographer Laurent Laporte’s visual notebook

1. Paris, 2018, We were on a shoot and the stylist Vadim Clemenceau was using sport soles in these leather moccasins. I asked him if I could take a quick picture of them. That photo became the most popular cover of my Whereisthecool magazine. A story about contrast…

2. Bali, 2017, At dawn, drunk before taking a plane back from Bali, I noticed some amateur fishermen all wearing clothes to protect themselves from the cold water and sun. I love this relationship to fashion and style when you move away from the fashion of magazines.

3. Imessouane, 2019, Sometimes photography is just a story of shapes and colours that come together in a happy end, as in this photo. I admire the geniuses of the photographic eye, like William Eggleston, who manage to provoke these “assemblies”.

4. Romania, April 2017 , One of the many beautiful landscapes and numerous portrait pictures I took during a 2,500km road trip around Romania, one of the most unexpected trips of my life.

5. Whereisthecool Studio, 2021, It was during a shoot for Issue 7 where we had to break down a Hula Hoop movement. We had a break with Camille Raffray and took this portrait. The expression is right between the pose and the moment after, which makes it quite authentic.

6. Japan, May 2018, This picture was taken on a ferry that took us to the Art Island of Naoshima in Japan. The atmosphere and the old-fashioned furniture of the ferries has always been very inspiring for me.

7. Tokyo, September 2013, I stumbled upon these Japanese rockabillies on my way out of Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, and spent at least an hour or two taking pictures of them dancing and listening to music. Few people live their passions with the same intensity as the Japanese.

8. Swami, October 2018, The advantage when we travel far from home, as in California for example, is that the first four days don’t pose any problem to get up at dawn to catch the first light. Our van was parked in front of the beach and the night before we were in front of the Californian image.

9/10. Whereisthecool Studio, 2020, I had this idea of shooting for a swimwear brand for a long time. The marks on the plastic chairs of the terraces always reminded me of vacations. The shoot was funny: ask a model to sit still on a chair and immortalise these marks on her back.

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