Edward Salmon is not the type of photographer to sit on the edge of a floor and wait for the game to come to him. No, this great basketball fan prefers to capture moments of play from above. Lots of height. His thing is the drone, the central tool in his photography practice which allows him to “ give height to [s]has creativity “.
With his favorite camera, thanks to which he immersed himself in the world of photography, our man, reached by telephone, traveled for a year all over France to capture sports scenes. Particularly on, or rather above, the country’s “playgrounds”. With the key, a “ unique alliance » of aerial photography and sports practice presented in more than 200 photos.
“ I very quickly perceived the graphic and unique potential of sport seen from above. The lines of the land, the curves, the colors, everything is revealed from the air to offer us extraordinary landscapes. Athletes breathe life into these images, giving them their strength. Their movements, enhanced by the shadows that emerge thanks to the ambient light, transform these photos into living paintings, into graphic works », writes this 34-year-old photographer, whose work comes out on October 26.
This “ art book on sport, more than a sports book », comes to consecrate the work of this self-taught image taker. He, who worked in export for a long time – he has just left his previous job – was seduced six years ago by the viewing angles that such a flying device could generate. A practice which induces its share of rules to respect. He must first complete remote pilot training with a theoretical exam, the core of which is common with ULM piloting, with the General Directorate of Civil Aviation.
Report the flight before taking off
The equivalent of a driving license in the air in his pocket, then his company created, he can get started. Among his first photos, a session with the players of the pro B team in Poitiers (Vienna), where he is based, the PB86. Seeing these professionals and their shadows captured in these suspended moments, they are “ images that we never see “.
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Édouard Salmon went off to explore other sporting practices (surfing, golf, horse riding, etc.) and the idea of making a book naturally emerged. Which publisher to contact? The answer comes to him by reading… the article by USA Basketball dedicated to Rémi Reverchon who then released his “Backpacker’s Guide” for NBA fans with Amphora editions. Contact with “ the leaders in France in the sports book sector » is favorable: his literary project will come to fruition.
His common thread? Outdoor sports and a variety of settings and sports, more than twenty in all (baseball, American football, athletics, etc.). He spends a lot of time on Google Earth identifying original, colorful places. In Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) for example, he contacted a basketball content creator. The latter presents him with this atypical field, with almost clay colors, except for the fuchsia pink racket, adjacent to an athletics track.
To photograph that day, he needed authorization from the prefecture and Rennes airport to “ to announce [s]we fly “. According to the geography of the country, flights are permitted from 30 to 120 meters high. It all depends on the level of detail desired. The subject of the photo doesn’t have to think too much. The image taker, who deplores that some people use drones without having a diploma at a wedding, asks him to carry out his gesture, whether successful or not, while trying to forget the device flying a few meters above his head. “ Everyone is super happy and surprised to see themselves seen from above. »
Dubbed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
At the origin of the project, one of the questions, with the publisher, was the integration of well-known athletes. “ We ruled out this option because it is not the athlete who is the hero of the book, it is the sport. Whether you are an amateur or a pro, any movement can have this aesthetic. The idea was to show that sport is universal. Everyone can practice it, it is not reserved for great champions and great exploits », Develops the photographer who himself appears in photos with his brother-in-law.
His work, available on exhibition at the Paris Madeleine sports hall, is very refined: almost no texts, apart from photo captions and quotes on sport. With the notable exception of a foreword signed Yann Arthus-Bertrand with whom Édouard Salmon was able to discuss at the end of the project. The title of his book is also a tribute to ‘The Earth seen from the sky’, the global success of the environmental activist, which sold more than 4 million copies.
Édouard Salmon had no idea that the latter had such an interest in sport in his own work. “ He always photographed sports whenever he could. He has covered numerous Paris-Dakar for example or Roland-Garros. Sport has always been a passion, he has always been attracted by the graphic vision of sport, more than the sport itself. This was very much in line with my point. », appreciates his youngest, who finishes: “ When an aerial photo caption gives this kind of recognition, it’s nice. »
Sport seen from the sky, from Amphora, 230 pages, released October 26, available in all bookstores, €49.95. Exhibition of 20 paintings in the Paris Madeleine sports hall from October 19.
