Michael Darbellay /
Michael Darbellay (1978) lives and works in Valais, in the Swiss Alps. A co-associated architect with GAME agency in Martigny, he developed an interest in photography as a teenager, first in his father's photo lab, then through his architectural studies. He turned to landscape photography in 2008, on his first major trip to Asia, a hobby he cultivated through further travels over the following years.
Since 2020, he has decided to make time for photography, which enables him to find a personal and professional balance.
Stephane Darbellay /
Stéphane Darbellay (1973) come from Valais in the Swiss Alps. As a teacher, he developed an early interest in the mountains. Attracted by unspoilt landscapes and a keen winter sportsman, he soon turned his hobbies to climbing and ski touring.
In 2022, accompanying his brother up the Arolla glacier, he took up photography. Touched by the graphics and the light of the place, he quickly took to the game of discovering these pictures through a lens. Numerous outings devoted to this new hobby followed, including a trip to Iceland in December 2023.
One place, two visions /
Although we share the same passion, the same place, the same time and even the same equipment, the choice of viewpoints in situ and the post-production parameters remain a solitary task, in which our personalities can express themselves.
The Valais is our preferred area of photographic exploration, generous in its diversity of materials, textures and light, whose strength and energy we seek to reveal through a combination of long exposure, superimposed images and artificial light.
The first series were of night landscapes. Above all, it's an experience, a step back from the ever-changing world of civilization. The absence of movement, light and sometimes even noise enhances our perception of the vital energy of the place that welcomes us.
Technically, the notion of planes and light remain two essential elements, but they can now be parameterized. The photo aims at the essential, the expression of a perceived energy, between figuration and abstraction; an intimate transcription of an emotion we feel, through the chosen staging of materials and colors.