Web Profiles

"The only difference between a rut and a grave is their dimensions..."--Ellen Glasgow

This month's Web Profiles introduces you to photographers from Canada and France, along with answers to a reader's question about protecting images displayed on the World Wide Web. You might be surprised at my answer, but then again, if you've read this department for a while, maybe not.

Twin, Jumeau
Based in Bordeaux (yes that Bordeaux), France, Hervé LeFebvre's Studio Twin Photographie specializes in advertising work for magazines, agencies, and clients including you-know-who--wines. His Flash-based website (www.twinphotographie.com) is as elegant as a Dior gown yet is as beautifully functional as a Swiss Army Knife. Navigation is dual language and fun to watch as you pick a gallery, let's say Wine, and see an image with small squares to the right, that when clicked, change the photograph in the center. The quality of his imagery in Wines is stunning, ranging from innovative product shots of bottles to wispy nostalgic images of implements of the winemakers art.

Hervé LeFebvre's Flash-based website, Studio Twin Photographie, is as elegant as a Dior gown yet is as beautifully functional as a Swiss Army Knife. © 2004, Hervé LeFebvré, All Rights Reserved

Lest you think you've got LeFebvre's number by looking at these images, go to Portraits to see the cutting edge in so many genres that it makes it hard to pigeon hole him except to say that this man is an artist. His advertising work is colorful and full of whimsy, showing his depth as a creative photographer and is full of energy with fashion images that range from the subtle to the bizarre, all of which are crafted with a Gaelic twinkle in LeFebvre's lens. He takes cliché shots and reinvents them in new and fun ways. There is some high energy, athletic nude imagery in the Divers (Miscellaneous) gallery, so don't go there if that might offend you.

Thieves Like Us
A reader recently asked, "I'm a potential Smugmug (www.smugmug.com) user and noticed you and other professional photographers don't use right-click protection nor watermarks. It would seem you'd want to protect your photos from unauthorized use. I'm not a pro, but even I wouldn't want someone to grab some of my photos as their own."

A reader asked me why I and other professional photographers who exhibit our images on Smugmug.com don't use right-click protection nor watermarks. If you want to know my answer, you're gonna have to read this month's Web Profiles.