PHOTOGRAPHY

Lee Eggenschwiler – Standard Values

by Lee Eggenschwiler

Standard Values explores the opaque economy of colored gemstones in Bangkok. Conceived as a visual investigation, this project focuses on the gray areas of this industry, capturing the precise moment when trust mechanisms and global flows transform a simple stone into a standardized ideal of luxury. The book confronts the raw materiality of the gems with the urban space, creating a dialogue between the facets of the crystals and the architecture of the skyscrapers to reveal their similarities and inclusions. Yet, the images also reveal a sense of solitude within an illusory opulence, moving between empty shops and anonymous bodies.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Last Minute Risk

with Natacha Lesueur

“What is clearly conceived can be clearly expressed, and the words to say it come easily.” Nicholas Boileau, *L’art poétique*. As students embark on their final year of study at ECAL, with their interests and methods taking shape, this final project offers an opportunity to challenge their own rules, established practices and influences, to refuse to settle for the status quo and to take risks.

PHOTOGRAPHY

ECAL x Polaroid Foundation

with Douglas Mandry

This workshop brought together ECAL graduate artist Douglas Mandry, the Polaroid Foundation, and around thirty Bachelor Photography students. They had the exceptional opportunity to work with a camera that produces Polaroid films in a 40 × 60 cm format and weighs nearly 200 kg. This experience was made possible thanks to its operators, John Reuter and Harriet Browse, who introduced the students to the use of this unique device and the Polaroid Foundation team. Douglas Mandry provided the project’s artistic direction and supported the students in their experiments carried out directly with and on the films. The final result was presented as a collective exhibition on ECAL’s premises, revealing a particularly rich diversity of approaches and visions.

PHOTOGRAPHY

ECAL x Moncler

with Philippe Jarrigeon

Drawing on Moncler’s Alpine heritage, its timeless style, and its technical mastery, the ECAL Bachelor Photography students developed their own interpretation of the brand’s visual language, blending documentary photography with staged scenes, and merging reality with fiction, under the artistic direction of French photographer Philippe Jarrigeon. As part of Paris Photo 2025, the students’ work was showcased at the Moncler boutique on the Champs-Élysées.

PHOTOGRAPHY

ECAL × JEAN PAUL GAULTIER: "Le Mâle" - 30th anniversary

with Florence Tétier, Nicolas Coulomb

"Le Mâle" - 30th anniversary In 2025, "Le Mâle" will celebrate its 30th anniversary. With this in mind, students have been working on the brand's fragrance. Reflections on masculinity and different representations of the body in 2025.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographic Essays

with Matthieu Gafsou

This year's “Documentary Practices” course is devoted to a territory that is very close to us and, in a way for most of us, very far away: the countryside. For a city-dweller, the countryside is an out-of-town territory where you can go for a walk, where there are farmers, fields and forests. Recent votes in Switzerland testify to a considerable widening of the gap between town and country: the far right would be the place of rurality, while the left would be urban. This territory is not only topologically different from the city, but also seems to be inhabited by people whose lifestyles and thinking are at odds with the city. The reality, however, is obviously more complex and resists such simplification.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Workshop with Thomas Rousset

with Thomas Rousset

The aim of this workshop is to explore the boundary between docu-fiction and magic realism in photography, using the architecture and spaces of the ECAL as a narrative framework. Both approaches are rooted in reality, but differ in the way they inject fiction.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Summer University Athens

with Nikolas Venturakis

Athens, the cradle of Western civilization and the vibrant capital of Greece, offers a unique blend of ancient history and modernity.Taking advantage of the Summer University program, second-year Bachelor of Photography students had the opportunity to explore this mythical city and collaborate with photographer Nikolas Venturakis. Amidst ancient ruins, lively neighborhoods, and Mediterranean landscapes, the students were able to develop a rich photographic language. This immersion in the heart of the city, where the ancient meets the contemporary, allowed them to deepen their artistic vision while enjoying the local cultural vibrancy. The cobbled streets, bustling markets, and golden hues of the Athenian sunset served as the backdrop for a unique photographic project, capturing the soul and energy of this timeless metropolis.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Picture Consequences

with Tamara Janes

The students task is to create their own story, storyline, narrative or sequences based on the existing given images. Using their personal interests, imagination and ideas they link the images together. They can continue the plot of the images, do in-depth research, write fictional stories or tell stories based on personal experiences. The students had the freedom to photograph, generate or film.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Video

with Olivia Schenker

Hot N Cold By making a very short film, students learn fundamental notions in the narrative, visual and conceptual development of video production. The project provides essential technical skills in shooting, lighting, camera movement, sound recording, editing and post-production.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Workshop Digital Medium Format

with Anoush Abrar

Beauty shot The week-long Medium format digital workshop is both an introduction to shooting equipment and dedicated software. Students worked in groups to produce portrait images.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Applied Photography

with Calypso Mahieu

Waliking in Renens A collaborative project in which students were asked to choose a local shop in Renens and to create a documentary project combining images of still life, architecture and portraits.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Video

with Orsola Valenti

Hors-champ “Showing by hiding, revealing by stealing": for a political practice of the audiovisual image. The main aim of the course is to raise awareness of the political dimension of the audiovisual gesture and give students the tools to distinguish the cinematographic image from the media image. Whereas the latter - flattened, emptied and therefore interchangeable - overwhelms its receptor, rendering it powerless, the cinematographic image liberates emotion and critical reflection. In this way, it goes beyond the supposedly faithful representation of reality.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

PHOTOGRAPHY

SYNC SCREEN

with Charlotte Krieger, Jean-Vincent Simonet, Florian Pittet (Sigmasix), Vincent Jacquier, Julien Gurtner, Matthieu Minguet, Cédric Duchêne, EPFL+ECAL Lab, Giacomo Bastianelli

For a week, the first-year visual communications students worked on an installation consisting of 15 screens, accompanied by a 360° sound system developed by EPFL+ECAL Lab. This chandelier, five metres in diameter and suspended from a height of three metres, served as a support for their experiments. Using music specially composed and spatialised for the occasion, the students explored the dynamics of sound both visually and in movement.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Fine Art Photography

with Natacha Lesueur

Seduce, they said Based on projects developed around the theme of seduction, students develop a personal, in-depth project over the whole semester.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Workshop Photographic chamber

with Matthieu Gafsou

The workshop week 4x5 is both an introduction to the 4x5 technical camera and a way to kickstart a photographic project. Students experience the process of analog shooting, from development to large format printing. This intense week is highly technical, but also focused on developing a photographic language, allowing for a better understanding of the fundamental workings of photography.

FOUNDATION YEAR

Option photographie 22-23

with Younès Klouche

Sélection de projets de semestre

FOUNDATION YEAR

Atelier image 22-23

with Francis Baudevin, Christian Pahud

Suzanne Ciani Vert, verre, ver… Jump Cut Le chiffre du jour Agnès Varda Spaghetti

PHOTOGRAPHY

Afterhuman

with Elizaveta Porodina

For this workshop, Elizaveta Porodina asked the students to explore the theme "AFTERHUMAN". This theme opens up perspectives for capturing futuristic landscapes, representing the potential fusion of technology and humanity. Think about visually depicting the coexistence of artificial intelligence, cybernetics or biotechnology with natural elements. Experiment with innovative techniques to convey a sense of evolution or transcendence. This exploration invites photographers to creatively interpret and visually narrate a future beyond conventional human experience.

FOUNDATION YEAR

Color – S1 22–23

Selection of various projects led by Clelia Bettua and Luc Aubort.

FOUNDATION YEAR

L'Or Bleu

with Nicolas Haeni

Une exposition par les étudiant·e·s en Année Propédeutique – option Photographie de l’ECAL/Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne Sous la direction du photographe Nicolas Haeni, les étudiant·e·s invitent à se questionner sur la symbolique de l’eau. Depuis la nuit des temps, cet or bleu intrigue et inspire, laissant naître des interprétations qui, encore aujourd’hui, et peut-être même plus que jamais, habitent la littérature, les arts visuels ou encore les arts vivants. Partant de la citation de l’astrophysicien Hubert Reeves « À l’échelle cosmique, l’eau liquide est plus rare que l’or », les jeunes photographes proposent leur vision personnelle et individuelle, en explorant différents domaines de la photographie : nature morte, portrait, architecture ou mise en scène. Photos © ECAL/Marvin Merkel

PHOTOGRAPHY

Analog Medium Format Workshop

with Anoush Abrar

For this week's "sitter" theme, first-year photography students were asked to imagine a medium-format analog portrait. The term "sitter" was historically used in photography to designate the person posing for a portrait. This use dates back to the early days of photography, when long exposure times were necessary and subjects had to remain motionless for extended periods. The term reflected the idea that the person had to sit or hold a pose for the duration of the exposure. Now, as photography technology has evolved and exposure times have become shorter, the term "model" or "subject" has become more commonly used, reflecting a wider range of poses and activities beyond simply sitting.