It's the end of the summer and that means an end to haymaking but also the time to head to the Visa pour L'Image photo festival in the southern French city of Perpignan. I will be there all of next week.
I was in this university city in the northeast of the country to rent a car in order to be able to drive over to Maramures through the Bukovina region--a trip through one of the most pristine areas of Europe--and I came across this street scene of a young couple. Romania can have a beautiful, sharp light at times.
I am based in this Balkan capital which has a kind of hipness I have not found anywhere else. Neoclassical architecture mixed with Communist era blocs provide a backdrop of decadent urban decay and the young people possess a rabid desire to surpass the West's materialism. There is a raw energy to the city that has to be experienced to be believed.
I am working on a new color project in Maramures focusing on the youth who are leaving to work abroad and then returning with hard earned Euros, expensive mobile phones and nice cars. The dynamics of traditional village life are changing and I intend to observe the transformation over the coming years.