Along the Caspian Sea
As part of my work on urban gentrification in Baku Azerbaijan - I have got the chance to spend a lot of time on the coast of the Caspian Sea. From Luxury Resort to trashed public beach, the caspian sea around the Azeri capital offers a unique glimpse of the disparity of the local life. Here are a few images . The whole project can be find here on this site and the compte series on my agency Institute Artist
The story is available for Publication through Institute Artist | or contact me timfranco@gmail.com
Crude Gentrification in Baku | Azerbaijan
Dominated by the flame towers, the city of Baku seems to pride itself in its successful oil history. Once known as the black city, the abundance of oil inland and on the caspian sea has seen this fairly new country (Azerbaijan) rise from the ground. Located between two big power of the Region (Russia and Iran) and still involved in an ethnic conflict on its west border with Armenia, the country has been looking for ways to build up a national pride around its successful oil profits.
From organizing international events (European Games, Formula one amongst others), the country has invested a lot into impressive infrastructure and working together with big names in architecture to gentrify and modernise its capital city . Oil money has even sometimes ignited dreams of giant projects such as the Kazar island, a Dubai-like housing project with the highest scryscraper in the world surrounded by luxury residences that has seen a brutal stop. Other original projects involve the white city located in what was once the center of the oil industry in downtown Baku, based on Haussmanian / Parisian architecture. With the fluctuation of oil prices, the economy of Azerbaijan is at risk.
From war migrant camps to futuristic architecture, this photo series portrays the capital city of a the land of fire !
I am very happy to present you this new photographic series if you are interested in publishing it, you can view the whole set and purchase images with my agency directly @institute artist by clicking the following link : Crude Gentrification Complete Series
Life Magazine Feature | China Photographer
Life Magazine in China did a great feature on Metamorpolis in their september issue . Check it out, available in China mostly everywhere .
Tim Franco is a Asia based photographer, currently based in Seoul, South Korea, but traveling weekly over the east asia region on assignment.
Wolmido vintage park | South Korea Photographer
Between assignments, I am spending some good and deserved rest time in my new home in Seoul / South Korea. But i can't help myself to pick up the camera and shoot what attracts my eyes. Recently I discovered this really vintage amusement park on a small island in Incheon, a one hour ride away from the capital city by subway.
Tim Franco is a documentary & commercial photographer now based in Seoul South Korea and taking commercial photography assignment in the whole east asia region.
First Light - Fishing in the Celtic Sea | Documentary Photographer
While back in Brittany for the summer ( western part of France where my family is from ), I traveled to a small village of fisherman in the remote part of the region to start a new photography project. While the main project just started, I also did a mini series while going fishing with some local fisherman in the Celtic Sea.
We left around 2.30 am to reach the the trawling point at sunrise around 5.30 to 6 am. The boat is trawling his net at the bottom of the ocean three to five times per fishing sessions. The main catch is Langoustine but about 20 to 30 % of the revenue is still made with other fishes , squids, crabs and other kinds of ocean creature that get caught in the net. 15 to 17 hours are spent on the sea every day on the weak and the work can be dangerous especially in big waves when the boat is rocked in every direction. Accidents can happen quickly
This series is available for editorial usage | please contact me at timfranco@gmail.com
Future Sound of China | Editorial Photography
Last month I have traveled around China to portray the Future Sound of China, a story about upcoming and underground musician around the middle kingdom. All the portraits were shot on my old and favorite hasselblad on film. Here are some of the portraits and the tear sheets of the article
Tim Franco is a photographer based in Asia out of Seoul and travels monthly to China and East asia for editorial and commercial photography assignment
Seoul travel story | Travel Photography for L'Express
I moved earlier this year to my new apartment on the beautiful hill of Namsam in the center of the capital city of South Korea. A few weeks ago I was assigned by the french magazine l'Express for a travel story here in Seoul. Here are a few tear sheets from that story.
Tim Franco is Seoul / Shangai / Beijing based photographer available for editorial and commercial photography assignment all over Asia.
America Road Trip with old Rolleilfex part 2
A couple month ago, I took off to America for the Metamorpolis Book Launch in New York and then traveled by Car from Florida to California. Most of the time, I enjoyed discovering new places and meeting with friends, taking a break from photography but once in a while I took my old rolleilfex twin lens out of the bag to capture a few photos, here are some of them
America Road Trip with an old Rolleiflex part 1
A couple month ago, I took off to America for the Metamorpolis Book Launch in New York and then traveled by Car from Florida to California. Most of the time, I enjoyed discovering new places and meeting with friends, taking a break from photography but once in a while I took my old rolleilfex twin lens out of the bag to capture a few photos, here are some of them
Shanghai Urban & Middle Class Story for L'express & L'expansion
A few photos taken in medium format for a double story I worked for L'express & L'expansion on the urbanisation and the middle class in Shanghai
Muslim Women in Shanghai
More of my photos on the muslim community in Shanghai. A few portraits of the women around the Shanghai Mosque waiting during the men's prayers.
Ghost Cities | China Property market Issues
More photos from my work on ghost cities around China that are part of the story I did for the Wall Street Journal ( see post below ).
Shanghai Muslim Community
Muslim in China represents 1.6 % of the population, meaning more than 21 million of Chinese are adherents of islam. Even if they are mostly located in Western region such as Xinjiang, Gansu and Ningxia, muslim Chinese are spread all around China. Their integration in Chinese society, especially for Uyghurs ( Mostly from Xinjiang 10 M of them in China ) is often echoed with problems. While a minority pleads for East Turkestan ( Xinjiang ) 's independence, the rest is trying to go on and adapt to China although racial profiling is quite frequent and muslim Chinese from western region often occupies the lowest jobs in the city. As islam integration is a global subject, I decided to explore more the situation in Shanghai, the most active city in China and look at how the local muslim community was integrating and living. This is an ongoing project.
Chinese Economy Downturn for the Wall Street Journal
As the production and export is slowly moving south towards South East Asia, lot of chinese cities who once boomed during the export rush in the 90's and 2000 are now struggling to renew their economy and to keep jobs for all its migrant workers. I went down to Yantian near Shenzhen to photograph a story for the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323527004579079543848190238.html
new york | subway acrobats
While commuting between Manhattan and Brooklyn on the L train, you might come across Kaheen and his group of acrobatic dancer. Almost everyday, they come from Brooklyn and Queens and ride the L train between Union Square and Bedford. " This is where people give the most ! On good days we make about a 100 dollars " say Kaheen. Their performance take train in the middle of the commuter - using train bars and handles, each of the group member dance to the rhythm of the music making impressive acrobatic moves. Here is a few photos taken during one afternoon commuting together with them.
Photos by Tim Franco
Chongqing - Bo Xilai | New York Times
We work on a story looking at the business landscapes after the destitution of Chongqing Mayor Bo Xilai.
Mining in Mongolia
After two weeks in Mongolia exploring Ulan Bator and big mining project as Oyu Tolgoi ( Rio Tinto ) copper gold project - I came back with a full feature that I wrote and shot
