Camille Farrah Lenain

Rachel and Olivier are in love, and love to hunt together.

They live in a tiny house in the South of France, a little bit outside of Arles. I stayed with them many times, documenting their hunt and their quiet rituals. They wake up before dawn, their five dogs whining and howling of excitement, while they quietly drink their quick coffee before hitting the road. For waterfowl hunting, they go to a rice field in Camargue, and sit together in silence as the sun is about to rise. Waiting together, whispering as they point at birds in the sky.

That morning in the summer of 2022, they killed a mallard duck and a couple snipes. As we were heading back to the truck, Olivier picked a few saladelle, a species of flowers of the Camargue region. He offered the tiny bouquet to Rachel, as they were walking back in the morning sun. They set everything on the back of the truck, getting ready to pack up. This still life reminds me of the special relationship they share, this capacity of waiting together for hours with comfort, a pleasure in  hunting that comes before the one of killing.

Camille Farrah Lenain is a French-Algerian documentary and portrait photographer who grew up in Paris, studied Photography at l’ESA in Brussels and at ICP in New York City (virtual). She relocated to New Orleans in 2013, where she teaches Photography at Tulane University, and works on long-term projects with a focus on empathetic portraiture, exploring the notions of representation, collective memory and plural identities.

Her clients include : The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post Magazine, T Magazine, Sierra Magazine, ELLE Magazine, The Bitter Southerner and Libération. Her photographs have been exhibited internationally, including at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Arab World Institute, Festival Incadaques, Les Boutographies, PhotoVogue Festival. She was previously an Artist in Residence at the Joan Mitchell Center and Nunu’s Arts Collective.

Camille is a member of Women Photograph, Diversify Photo and Authority Collective, and works between France and Louisiana.