The “Megaliths!” project was initiated in 2013 and today includes more than 70 images.

I’m living in the west of France where we have quite a lot of Neolithic constructions. The Megaliths are indelible references of our past, enthroned in our land for more than five thousand years, remaining silent witnesses to our evolution, passion, the creation of nations and wars– sanctimonious objects almost forgotten and insignificant today, often lost in remote areas but will be around for millenaries outliving the human race.

I must admit, I ‘m very much impressed by these human-made creations. They are truly an expression of human social organisation and deep faith. Even today, experts have many different theories about the way they have been assembled, and the reason why they were built. This mystery is of course a part of the fascination they produce.

Each photograph of a Megalith requires research in Neolithic history with precise GPS coordinates because they are often hidden deep in the countryside, in fields or woods. The encounter is similar to that of making a portrait, each Megalith expressing its own personality and photogenic quality. Most of them have been shot in my region (Poitou-Charentes), but I often have to drive over 1-2 hours just to get a single shot.

It is always a surprise. Some megaliths are enormous; others are pretty small; some are really elegant, and others are just massive. And, of course, the light has to be appropriate. I particularly look for strong shadows with clouds in the sky. In my opinion, megaliths fit well withto black and white photography specifically because they offer a wonderful mix of textures between stone, sky and vegetation. The choice of the shooting angle is also fundamental. It gives depth, volume and life to these big stones.

I shoot in Raw files with a fuji XE-2 camera and its standard 18-55mm zoom lens. Files are then developed with ADOBE Lightroom. I’m not looking for sophisticated processes. I often choose a dynamic appearance with deep darks.

Megaliths are the symbol of an unchanging human creation. One could even say that in the same way that we use photography, a Megalith construction was man’s desperate attempt to freeze time …

— Dominique Phillipe Bonnet

View more of Dominique’s work –> here.