"A witness and a modest actor in the evolution of photography": founded by a Nice resident, the magazine "de l'air" celebrates its 25th anniversary
Laurence Lucchesi Published on 07/08/2025 at 12:30, updated on 07/08/2025 at 12:30
"Exactly 25 years ago, an XL-sized magazine appeared on newsstands all over France, printed on beautiful, not-so-glossy paper, sold for 29 francs and promising "reports from one world to another." Featuring an elegant and original layout (by Gilles Poplin, one of the co-founders), De l'air is blowing a new wind into the world of photo journalism. No stars or top models on the cover, no product tests or advice on using a color filter inside, but reports from young photographers like Grégoire Korganow and Julien Chatelin, both co-founders, [...] and Isabelle Eshraghi (VU'), who in her article spoke of an already rebellious Iranian youth and introduced us to a total unknown, Shadi Ghadirian, author of a collector's cover!"
Talent scoutThis is the edifying reminder published on April 18th on the Instagram page (@de_l_air_magazine) of this magazine, as chic as it is eclectic, founded, as Stéphane Brasca, co-founder and editorial director of this title like no other, reminds us, "without the support of a press group or a financial structure." "A magazine born from a desire: to show photographs that tell the story of today's worlds." Without ever being satisfied with publishing iconic images, but by being a revealer of talents, of all kinds and from all walks of life. By leaving the information superhighway. Having become an object of art and curiosity in its own right, this magazine (whose premises are located in Old Nice, with a sublime view of the Ponchettes and the big Blue) is "the only one, " he recalls, " to have benefited, for its tenth anniversary, from an exhibition at the Maison européenne de la photographie in Paris (MEP)." The ultimate museum dedicated to photography in France. An exhibition with the revealing title: "Génération de l'air." This title has the gift of uniting a generation that transcends divisions.
Witness and actor in the evolution of photography"We are both a witness and a modest actor in the evolution of photography," rewinds Stéphane Brasca . "We went from photo-reportage to the societal mag, then to the mag that gives to see. At a certain point, I felt the shift: photography began to integrate culture, via the fairs, Arles, the Cannes festival, Paris-photos. Photography took on an artistic dimension, we saw new actors appear, the prizes multiplied: Guerlain, Swiss life, the PMU, the RATP..." Curator of several photographic exhibitions, among which we can cite Portraits croisés (2013) and Patrick Swirc (2013) at the Théâtre de la Photographie et de l'Image in Nice, as well as that of June 6 and 7 at the Gacilly festival, (on the occasion of which 25 covers were presented on 25-meter-long shelves) Stéphane Brasca decided to celebrate the silver wedding anniversary of its title with photography via three very special issues. The first dedicated to Guillaume Herbaut, this French photographer who has been documenting Ukraine for a quarter of a century, from Chernobyl to Maidan via the Russian invasion. A special 25th anniversary issue dedicated to the cult covers of de l'air , such as that of issue 71, in spring 2019. An issue dedicated to water with Arno Rafael Minkkinen on the cover.
Partner of a residence in ChâteauvallonIn issue 89, we meet a young 35-year-old photographer, Guillaume Blot, who has just toured French road hauliers for a new phenomenal book published by Gallimard. As for the second very special issue, the July 4th issue (with a cover by Peter Dench, see opposite) produced on the occasion of the Rencontres d'Arles and the Gacilly festival, widely honored in these pages, it brings together 83 photographers from 25 to... 95 years old, who will contribute a photo taken by each in the year of their 25th birthday. Finally, in addition to a very special 3rd issue this fall, a film, an exhibition at the Salon de la photo in Paris from October 9 to 12 and another at Photo days from November 3 to 30, as well as participation in the new itinerant Foto festival in Sète, de l'air is collaborating with the "Balcon", a photography residency initiated by Charles Berling and the national Châteauvallon-Liberté scene. In 2025, on the occasion of Châteauvallon's sixtieth anniversary, Floriane de Lassée was given carte blanche until September 20, 2025, to illuminate, according to her, "this illustrious place dedicated to creation, the arts and thought."
Like the magazine de l'air , a polymorphic laboratory capable of capturing all the trends across the different eras, with grace and fluidity.
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29 euros for 4 issues per year or 8 issues/2 years: 58 euros. www.delair.fr
Among the regular contributors to the magazine de l'air: Grégoire Korganow, Julien Chatelin, Bertrand Desprez, Guillaume Herbaut, Georges Rousse, the late Jérôme Brézillon, Dominique Tarlé, the Dupon studio, "the cream of photography today" according to Stéphane Brasca.
"For whom the reverse shot, the off-screen, counts as much as the full-frame. They're not in a competitive, urgent approach; they'll take care with the framing, think about the story. They'll give it something to look at, to appreciate, before or after the event, not during. There are also those photographers who write with light, with the image. To whom we've given portfolios. And little by little, we've opened up to fashion, landscapes, vintage photography, visual art, nudes, and other photographic styles. We've created a separate photography magazine, created a family, that of author photography. And we've been joined by titles like Polka, Fisheye, or Like la revue. We're not the strongest, the most powerful, but we're the oldest. And that, for once, is historic. Because we're now witnessing a huge success of author photography; people everywhere are claiming this approach."
Marc Pollini, Camille BrasseletA talent scout if ever there was one, de l'air also collaborates with the Corsican photographer Marc Pollini, to whom we owe the book in the form of a photographic journal La vallée avalée La Vésubie, sur les traces de la tempête Alex as well as a very poetic work devoted to birds, published by de l'air, des livres.
The books section, where we also discover gems like Côte d'Azur, the precious address book beautifully illustrated by Loïc Alsina and in which Stéphane Brasca has selected some 139 places: museums, bistro restaurants, wine bars, decoration boutiques, bookstores, beaches, galleries and other cabinets of curiosities.
Or the book L'aire de rien, with photographs by Anne Favret and Patrick Manez, who have been exploring the inhabited landscape for thirty years. Another wonderful encounter was with a young 26-year-old photographer, Camille Brasselet, who grew up on the films of Pedro Almodovàr and Jacques Demy.
Winner of the 19M Prize for Photography of Fine Crafts (as part of the 2022 Picto Fashion Prize), this self-proclaimed pastel-leaning colorist has collaborated extensively with fashion brands and magazines. Discover her work in issue 89 of de l'air.
Var-Matin
