Halloween in Hamelin

Everything photographed and edited by me.
Website: www.kiciak.fr

Lobbyists are found in most communities. The most obvious ones are present in politics, or religion, but one can observe them in virtually any field, at much more modest scales. I suppose we all know a colleague telling everyone what they should eat or not, or a neighbor explaining the whole street how lawn is supposed to be mowed. Some would tell everyone around them how kids should be raised, some would spend hours explaining why some TV show should be seen, or why something is art or is not. There are hundreds of similar examples.

What I find dangerous about these persons, is when they act in a unsolicited way. It is one thing to give your opinion when asked for it, but it is a whole another one to stuff your ideas into random mouths. Of course, such little propaganda has often some success, since at a given time, one will always find weaker members in a given community, either affected by personal problems hence more vulnerable, or simply newcomers, uninitiated minds. Rallying others to some cause (even an insignificant one) gives some kind of power, which polishes the ego. It is an easy way to feel important: I suspect this is the reason why I see so many so-called opinion leaders wandering around.

In the "Pied Piper of Hamelin" legend, the piper has the power of luring rats and children away using the sound of his instrument. I decided to use this story as a metaphor for my observations. Moreover, referring to the Halloween theme was a good way to mix folklores, which I always find interesting.

Technically, I started the project by a rough sketch, in order to keep in mind all the different photos I had to take. Then, I brought several rocks in my studio, and photographed them under various angles using the same lighting setup, in order to assemble them in post-processing and create that dangerous path. Meanwhile, my dear wife carved the pumpkin in order to give it a demoniacal smile, which I photographed lit by a mix of candle light and studio strobes, using a long exposure. Then I had to wait for the night, and started a fire in my garden to photograph flames and smoke. Last but not least, I also posed for the piper and the victims: jumping and fooling around naked with a bag on the head was quite interesting