Over time, photography has become a joy, a passion. I like sharing, the meetings it allows and there is no routine! It’s freedom.
Ever since its invention in the 19th century, photography has documented life. At the same time, it focuses on inviting audiences to a rather subjective world, while trying to be taken seriously as an art form. Photography has always been considered a male-dominated profession, but luckily things are changing. Scholars, writers, bloggers, photography students, and enthusiasts have been giving due to the female pioneers of the field. Most were always standing and/or hiding in the shadows, oblivious to how much they could acclaim and accomplish. Arguably, the techniques, concepts, and thematic female photographers use differ from those of male photographers. At a time when most women were convinced that their place was in the kitchen and certainly not in the dark room, some were struggling to surpass their male counterparts and work towards gaining respect and recognition for their work.
Gaëlle Ghesquière (French photographer and journalist 1978-) has achieved fame photographing pop-rock artists on stage such as Madonna, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Marianne Faithfull, Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz, James Brown, and many more. Rock photography is far from being a vocation for this native of Maubeuge, holder of a DEA in Literature on the Ethnolinguistic Aspect of the Walloon-Picard dialect.
Gaëlle Ghesquière interned alongside her art preparatory course in the media department of Figaro/France Soir in 1995. Her career can be summed up in two words: Happy Coincidence. In 1995 Gaëlle Ghesquière was inducted as a Zénith photographer by accident by the band members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were intrigued by her spontaneity. She was noticed by Philippe Manoeuvre and collaborated with Rock & Folk, as well as many other media. Thanks to her ability to capture emotions, many artists have crossed the photographer's lens at some point: Bob Dylan, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, and Patti Smith.
In 2014 Gaëlle took memorable photos of the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen in Lisbon. She was exclusively chosen by Nagui to cover the 30th anniversary of the cult show TARATATA, which came out as a book in November 2024. The artist has also designed album covers for: NTM, Deftones, and Phil Collins. Some of her books include: The Rolling Stones (Editions Plon, 2022), NTM "That's My People" (Editions de la Martinière, 2019), Rock With Me (Editions de la Martinière, 2016), and many more. She was elevated to the rank of Officer of Arts and Letters by Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, in July 2024.
Gaëlle Ghesquière has been holding exhibitions of her artwork for over 20 years and her passion for photography is always evident. Her next show will take place in Paris, from November 6, 2025, to December 29, 2025, with exclusive photos from Madonna's Celebration Tour. Gaëlle Ghesquière immortalizes concerts and musicians, in a way that it's both intimate and majestic.
For me photography is above all a souvenir, a memory, something that remains of incredible moments: I am happy to have a trace of Michael Jackson, Charlie Watts, David Bowie etc.
We will continue talking about female names that left their mark on photography and about contemporary female photographers who are still to emerge. There are a lot of female photographers out there deserving of praise and we can only hope to cover as many of them as we can. Please follow this space to find out more.
