Claude Simon 

Country: Belgium

In the seventies, I was already passionate about photography and I had obtained the AFIAP in 1977. After an accident with a long concussion in 1981, it left a big void: I hated the dark, and being locked up, which didn't help for film. I would sometimes cry for 2 hours, for no reason. I took refuge in sailing for years, and sailed in the North Sea and the Mediterranean. 
It wasn't until 2012 that I was able to take the photo again, and everything had changed. And the EFIAP arrived in 2013, then, year after year, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, etc... and finally EFIAP/d3 in 2021. At the same time, I became attached to the C.P.E. and have just obtained the M.CPE. 
Photography has always been a way for me to express life as we feel it, for better or for worse, what we have experienced, happiness and unhappiness. I really like Africa, I have lived many expeditions, alone, in Ethiopia, 13 times. I discovered a very endearing world, met people with whom it was easy to take an interest in their world and I was able to rejoice... Then, 3 expeditions to Namibia, a group of 8 Belgian amateur photographers. It was there that I tasted the endless desert, nature photography which is always a wild nature, and also a great freedom. The meeting of unknown peoples whose presence one feels intensely, while completely ignoring the language, the Bushmen of the Kalahari, the Himbas of Kaokoland, the attractive landscapes, the amazing wildlife, and the immensity of deserts such as the Namib. I've never asked a person to turn a little to get a better light, or to strike a pose. I don't want to disturb or change a world that is not mine.