Photo-éléments / Marc-André Côté, photographe.

	Link to my Smugmug site and my recently added photos.
	Web link to the Youtube site that presents images in the form of video compilations.
	Link to my personel blogs with lots of comments.
	More about me, my Facebook page.

**Earth - Snow - Steel and Concrete - Sapiens - Silver - Aether**

The Ancient Greeks defined the universe in four elements: air, earth, water and fire. Anaximandre (610 BC - 546 BC) is the author of the first surviving lines by the Ancient Greeks. He explained how the four elements of ancient physics: air, earth, water and fire are formed and how earth and terrestrial beings are formed through their interactions. **Aristotle** added aether to the system of classical elements as the fifth element (not to be confused with the science fiction film by Luc Besson), this imagined to be the pure essence where the gods lived and which they breathed and corresponds to Akasha in Hindu philosophy. Today the elements that the Ancient Greeks had imagined to explain the world have more to do with poetry than physics. I have chosen to create my own elements as a way of classifying my pictures and have used that idea to choose my domain name.
Earth: the greens, autumnal colors, landscapes and all pictures relating to the dry land. The light and shadows, the texture and isolated subjects that become beautiful because of the emphasis that one gives them. The landscape can represent the immensity of the space, and may also illustrate some small worlds at our feet that we no longer see because we take them for granted.
Silver: pictures in black and white and in infrared. The pictures in black and white require from us a more intellectual interpretation than those in color which reflect our more emotional side. In the absence of color we must decode the content of the picture using our knowledge of our environment, and the graphic lines that reveal the forms and the texture of the objects. Black and white is a purified world where the content becomes more important than the color.
Steel and concrete: cities, urban landscapes, the architecture that has been created by man - I like to show humans in context of their cities.
Sapiens: portraits and human activities: homo sapiens (man that thinks) is the element that I find most fascinating to take. How people live, eat, cohabit, occupy their leisure time, dress, care for children are the most difficult moments to seize in a photograph, but they bring me the most satisfaction. I hope the portraits and the moments that I seize will one day become a visual testimony of excessive and totally different life the human race has yet to live. I am convinced that, as the mirror, this tool that seems so insignificant has a big importance in our everyday lives. The portraits of today will allow our descendants to reflect their own pictures, but in a future that will be totally different.
Snow: winter landscapes: as a Canadian photographer, this element is part of my life for four months of the year. The winter is white and blue which gives us the impression of clarity and purity.
Éther: "the fifth element", more artistic pictures.

You have maybe read my introduction in English, thanks to the collaboration of my friends. I would like to have the gift of the languages to better understand the human spirit. Sometimes I dream that man could communicate in all languages - this would be the beginning of a time where one would learn to appreciate cultural differences, and gain mutual respect. However the English language has become one of the first common languages - Klingon (for Star Trek fans) would be a more neutral alternative one but its beginnings as an international language are too far away. Even Esperanto, despite 100 years of effort, hardly does any better. Therefore, I invite you to visit my site that continues in English only.

Thank and enjoy my website.

Marc-André Coté

If you want an image or a file

When you view the image at the full screen size.Use the menu on the right side of the page that indicates Price/Add to Cart. That will lead you to the Prints and Downloads options.The process is quick and fast, you will have though to register to complete the final stage of buying.

Download files for commercial use

For a quick and simple procedure this section provides a single choice - world wide (we do live in the era of the world wide web).. The licenses are therefore authorised for world-wide usage,). My pictures are available as best quality jpg files in Adobe 98 format. Note that a high quality jpg file compares favorably to a tiff file or photoshop therefore it is smaller in Mo.

Prints for personal use

Photographic impressions for personal usage (decoration of the house or office) are available from a photo laboratory known for the quality of its prints. They can be delivered to anywhere in the world.

Artistic Ink jet impressions realized by the author

If you desire an ink jet impression of artistic quality, you will have the choice between 2 types of paper of high quality: the Fine hahnemuhle Art Pearl, a paper semi-gloss to the finished lightly texturized and the paper hahnemuhle Photo Rag, a paper 100% cotton, white broken lightly texturized. Visit : Hahnemuehle. I print these personally and send them rolled in a cardboard tube.