REMY François and Eddy (B)

Father and son, in winter, they abandon macro/proxy photography to go to the Hautes Fagnes, the largest nature reserve in Belgium with its 4,300 hectares.
All the photos were taken within this nature reserve in a pine forest with an area that is now limited to just over one hectare. The weight of the snow, the frost, the wind and above all the numerous fires, the last of which in 2011, destroyed this pine forest planted in 1852. All the Scots pines are charred and each year the number of those which remain standing while shrinking.
This magical place with trees tortured by the elements, ravaged by fires, bears the name of Noir Flohay.
It is in the heart of this strange phantasmagoric forest located at the top of Belgium that they invite you through this exhibition.
They are waiting for the weather conditions to be extreme, for snow, frost and fog to arrive to get us there. It is after an hour’s walk from the nearest car park, through the moor and the bogs, that these ghostly trees appear to us, when often they are only a few dozen meters from their fallen kingdom.
Most are still standing bravely, but many of them are lying on the ground and in a few years it is a cemetery that visitors to this isolated place will discover.
The silhouettes of these emaciated trees are very graphic and irresistibly attract them every year in winter, especially when there is snow.