Mr Le Coz - Brass Instrument Repairer

[Helen Summers]

On Tuesday last I went to photograph Jean-Philippe le Coz in his workshop in Brest as he had kindly agreed to let us photograph him at work. From a photography point of view the place was an absolute night nightmare being cramped and cluttered with lots of really dark areas and other areas where there were big windows letting in blasts of light, but naturally, all in the wrong areas. We are going to have another trip now we are clearly aware of the actual challenges involved. All I can say is thank goodness for Nikon's 20mm f/1.8 lens. Anyway here are the best of the images I managed to get for your perusal.

 

[ian_s]

particularly like the fourth image - shelves with the spare parts etc and seventh

 

[Glenn]

I used to play saxophone and it always fascinates me how these guys manage to knock the dings and dents out of the most damaged of instruments.

Great pics, and I look forward to the next instalment.

 

[John2]

I really like environmental portraits, especially when they tell a story. Like this set a lot Helen, the trumpets in particular. Despite the circumstances you describe, you don't seem to have had to resort to flash which would have been difficult given the amount of reflective surface around. Nice tonal range as well. Nice work.

 

[Toby Webster]

Excellent, I really like these.

 

[John King]

The contrast has been well handled and tells a story. One idea would be to go back and do something similar from accepting the instrument in for repair, doing the work and the finished article ready to be returned to the owner.

I did something similar when I rebuilt a motorcycle from a hideous but running wreck (just) to getting it back on the road and running very well. As for the workshop being cluttered he is a beginner - you have not seen mine where the bike was worked upon.

 

[Helen Summers]

Thanks for your comments everyone.