Raymond Depardon: Our Farm

In Our Farm, the famed French photographer Raymond Depardon tells his early life story with his very first photographs, describing his youth as a farmer's son on the banks of the Saone River, filled with the ardent and urgent desire to testify to the state of the world and of his fellows. "The stone staircase in front of the kitchen is still there. It leads up to the loft. Though my memory isn't entirely clear, I seem to remember that it was my first landmark on the farm. As a child, I was only allowed to go up the very first steps I still like to sit on those stairs today. Is it because of the perfect shape of the steps, worn by the passing of time? Is it their color that changes with the light and the seasons? It is pleasant there, in the winter sun. You are sheltered from the wind that blows through the Saone valley. In summer, it is the hottest spot in the courtyard. When evening falls, the red sun sinks behind the top steps."