Tribute to Didier de Faÿs

It is with great sadness that the Union des photographes professionnels has learned of the death of Didier de Faÿs, a long-standing friend and partner of the UPP.

Through the pen of Estelle Decléenne, UPP administrator, we pay tribute to him:

"When a great man passes away, he leaves us, beyond the sadness of his loss, his vision, his universe, his traces and the indelible image of a life dedicated to his cause. The man: Didier de Faÿs. His cause: Photography.

For over 40 years, Didier de Faÿs has never stopped thinking and rethinking photography, and promoting photographers. He's put all his energy into it, and certainly a lot more when you consider how many times, with all the candor and wonder of a child, he's crossed forbidden, unexplored zones, and how many times he's had to wipe away casts or pebbles.

Director of the Bourse du Talent, exhibition curator, avid reader of portfolios, publication director of photographie.com magazine, regular contributor to round-table discussions, Didier was a great connoisseur and deep lover of those who make photography, always keen to bring the world of others to life, to enliven it and sometimes to reanimate it when he feared the world was dying.

A little prince, a little crazy, a little gentle, a comet that crossed our skies, one day here, often already far away, always wanting to go further, bigger.

A great visionary, a pioneer, sometimes unloved or misunderstood as geniuses often are, he never ceased to anticipate the future of this oh-so-complex universe.

Just this summer, on the Place de l'archevêché in Arles during the Rencontres, he created the Rencontres ON/OFF, a peaceful bridge between two worlds of photography.

He was a revelator, he wanted to make photography a celebration.

A huge thank you to this man of values for his writing, his energy and his self-sacrifice."

The Union des Photographes Professionnels, through the voice of its Board of Directors, sends its most sincere condolences to his family and associates itself with their grief.