La bonne vie

La bonne vie is a series based on my grandfather's photographic archives of his vacations and special times with friends during 1970 to 1990, in France.

Born in 1945, my grandfather, Andre Lepetit grew up in Razès, a small village 25 km away from Limoges, in a family of millers, only relying on one 1 small salary every month. No extras, no celebrations, no movies, no vacations. He only gets to discover the mountains for the first time during a school trip and as for the ocean he sees it for the first time the same year he graduates. A the age of 14, He takes of on his motorbike and reaches the village of Mont Dore, and La Rochelle the next year. Ever since, his thirst for adventures never left him.

Andre is the handyman, the adventurer, the fisherman, the great collector (Motorcycles, Cars, Knifes, Knick knacks, Cameras...), France's 1988 champion Lawn mower, the amateur photographer. At almost 80 years old now, Andre continues to travel through France and spends half the year on the road in his Van.

He is the reason why I became a photographer. I was only 3 years old when I was offered a toy replica of a camera for the first time, then when I turned 16, he offered me his Zenit 35mm. I only love traveling and going on adventures thanks to him. As early as 6 months old, he was already taking me on road-trips in his van.

Since my youngest age, I find family photo albums fascinating. In 2023, I borrowed all his archives and found hundreds of photo negatives of his vacations and special times with friends.

A « Slice of life », like he likes to say, « It was the usual daily life, the good life, we weren't really asking for more »