Community Spotlight - Lyne Jodoin

Lyne in Zadar, Croatia

Où habites-tu? Qu'est-ce que tu aimes/n'aimes pas dans ta ville? 
(Where do you live? What do you like/not like about your city?)

I live in Laval, a suburb north of Montreal which is where I grew up.  We bought a house in Laval fourteen years ago to be near our workplace. I'm still a big fan of Montreal, though, which is a big, secure, and vibrant city.  It is well known for its cultural diversity, its gastronomy, its numerous summertime festivals and, of course, for its French heritage. When you go out of Montreal, you can see all the natural aspects of the province of Quebec.  We can really appreciate the four different seasons, and autumn, with its spectacular colors, is one of the best overall.

Montreal is an island. That means that whenever you want to go out or in, you have to cross a bridge. Consequently, you have to be sometimes really patient when you drive during rush hours…Fortunately, public transport is getting better and better with time and more people will be inclined to use it.

Krka National Park, Croatia

Parles-nous de ta vie: ton mari, tes enfants, tes animaux de compagnie, ton travaille…
(Tell us about your life: husband, children, pets, work…)

 I got married eleven years ago to a wonderful person, Chemir.  We’ve known each other for almost thirty years now. We met in our workplace, but we were actually neighbors without knowing it! We don’t have any children of our own, but like to take care of those of others. I have been practicing as a family physician for more than thirty years now. For the first fifteen years, I’ve worked mostly in geriatrics in a teaching hospital. Afterwards, my husband, who's practicing as a dermatologist, asked me to help him to operate a new clinic. I’m still there after more than sixteen years…

We have the chance to share our lives with a really nice “four paws” family. We actually take care of five cats and are waiting for a new doggy. We lost our dog, Hanzelle, last May and we miss having this kind of unconditional love and beautiful energy around us.

I took care of a lot of different animal species through the years, but one of my biggest dreams is to take care of more animals, maybe as a benevolent in a refuge or by having my own small farmhouse.  I'm working on a project to co-own a donkey. I really find these animals quite attractive and they’re very useful to protect other animals. We'll see what happens with this idea!  

Lyne Jodoin and her husband, Chemir

Quand es-tu devenu intéressé par la photographie? 
(When did you become interested in photography?)

As long as I can remember, I've always liked photography. My father was a big fan of slides and we looked at them whenever there was a family gathering. I had my own small camera and was eager to see the printed pictures which were not good most of the time.

I think taking pictures is an excellent way to live in the present moment and I felt that even as a child. It can also be an attempt to retain a particular moment which is the opposite of living in the present moment, but who has to be always perfect?

Quel est l'appareil photo utilises-tu? Autre équipement ?
(What camera do you use? Other equipment?)

For a long time, I took beautiful pictures with a DSLR Canon camera with different lenses that were great also. I used to put all my gear in a backpack which was very heavy and bothersome, but I thought it was worth it. Trying to find an easier way to transport everything I needed, I changed my gear for a smaller model, a mirrorless Olympus with new lenses. This was way better in terms of size and I had fun using it for a few years also. I use a macro lens, a lightweight additional lighting, a steady Gitzo tripod if needed and that’s it! 

I must admit, though, that for the last three years, I took almost all of my shots with a cellphone (IPhone 12 pro). It’s always with me and I can be way more spontaneous and creative with it than with my older stuff. The available apps like Snapseed, Lightroom, Photoleap are easy to use and give great results. The main limit for me with a cellphone is bird photography, but you can’t have everything, no?

Storm in Dubrovnik, Croatia 

Tu préfères quels sujets? Lieux ? 
(What subjects do you prefer? Places?)

I like to challenge myself to photograph things or scenes that seem not that interesting. I think there’s often an angle, a color, a detail that can be found and nice to show.  I'm a big fan of macro photography for that reason. It’s easier for me to see beautiful opportunities with natural beauty, but living environments offer also great possibilities with architectural features, street art, nightlife, and people!  As I have the chance to travel on a regular basis, it gives me a lot of different opportunities to explore. I'm really grateful for that.

ladybug on crocus

Comment as-tu trouvé 365? 
(How did you find 365?)

On January the first, 2022, instead of making a boring resolution, I decided to give myself a new, fun challenge for the year. That’s when I started to take a picture a day with my phone.  I was doing it all by myself then. It was okay but I must admit I was running out of ideas after a few months.  I looked at different options and found 365 Picture Today which seemed well-organized and friendly. I wanted to wait for the next year to get into the group. So, I waited until January the first 2023 to jump in! I missed only a few days since then, so I'm quite happy with it. I must say I can forgive myself if I don’t find the time to get a picture every day.  I think it’s a good way to stay in the long run because sometimes life can get really busy or you can be sick or any other reason. The whole point is to have fun doing it!

Qu'est ce que tu aimes/n'aimes pas? 
(What do you like /not like?)

I like 365 Picture Today for different reasons. First, it really challenges me every day, so for me it’s a great opportunity. It also gives me the possibility to share my pix. Sometimes you wouldn’t dare to do it if you weren’t engaged to do it. I also appreciate a lot looking at what other members photograph. It’s a great way to get out of my comfort zone because I would go for the easy shots sometimes. I find people really creative and enjoy the positive vibes of the whole process. 

I love the new way of presenting prompts of the day for this year. It would be great, if possible, to let the group know on what basis the photo of the day is chosen. It would be a wonderful way to improve our own skills.

Purple flower with ant

Sur Instagram, tu écris tes posts en anglais et aussi en français. Pourquoi? 
(On Instagram, you write your posts in English and also French. Why?)

On a daily basis, I speak and write in French. It's my native language. Canada is supposed to be a bilingual country, but a lot of people don’t speak English fluently in Quebec and most of the people don’t speak French in the rest of the country. It’s like this and it’s fine. Writing every day in English has thus been another challenge for me.  I really appreciate all the ways we can easily find these days to translate when I'm in the dark!  The good news though is that I'm becoming more fluent as time passes and that’s great!

Volcano in Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Y a-t-il autre chose que vous aimeriez nous dire? 
(Is there anything else you would like to tell us?)

Taking pictures is a good way to appreciate life itself. It’s also a wonderful way to keep being curious, attentive, respectful, and joyful. In a few words it’s a good way to live and not get old in your mind, your heart, and even your body because it makes you go out and move more than you would do without it! 

Like the well known French photographer Marc Riboud said: “ Taking a picture is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.“

Lyne concludes: « Longue vie aux photographes et merci à l’équipe remarquable de 365 Picture Today! »  ( “Long live photography and thanks to the remarkable 365 Picture Today team!”)