The annual French celebration of contemporary photography is back. The Arles 2015 Festival has kicked off in the South of France with 35 photography shows, key figures like Walker Evans and Stephen Shore and an interesting programme that explores photography’s romance with architecture, music and cinema. Here’s a visual journey with some of our choice images.

Edward Weston Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles 2015

Edward Weston ( 1886 – 1958), Cabbage Leaf, 1931, tirage Brett Weston 1951, épreuve argentique, don de Jerome Hill, 1970 © Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona Foundation/ ADAGP, 2015

Stephen Shore Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles 2015

Stephen Shore, West Ninth Avenue, Amarillo, Texas, October 2, 1974, from the Uncommon Places series. Courtesy of the artist and 303 Gallery, New York

Henri Cartier-Bresson Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles 2015

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), Simiane-la-Rotonde, 1970, épreuve argentique, don de l’artiste, 1980 © Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos

Las Vegas Studio Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles 2015

Las Vegas Studio – Venturi & Scott Brown, Big Donut Drive-in, Los Angeles, 1970. Courtesy of the artists and Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, Inc., Philadelphia.

Paolo Pellegrinn et Alex Majoli Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles 2015

Paolo Pellegrinn & Alex Majoli, 2012, Congo. Majoli/Pellegrin/Magnum Photo. Courtesy of the artists and Cherry Tree Gallery, Megève.

Omar Victor Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles 2015

Omar Victor Diop, Ikhlas Khan, from the Diaspora series, 2015.Courtesy of the artist and MAGNIN-A gallery, Paris.

Richard Avedon 1923 - 2004 Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles 2015

Richard Avedon (1923 – 2004), Igor Stravinsky, c.1959, épreuve argentique, don de l’artiste en 1965 © The Richard Avedon Fondation 

Toon Michiels Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles 2015

Toon Michiels, Desert Isle Motel, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1979. Courtesy of Luïscius.

William Klein Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles 2015

William Klein (né en 1928), Cinecittà, Rome, Italie, 1957, épreuve argentique, don de l’artiste, 1965© «Cinecittà», avec l’aimable autorisation de William Klein, 2015

Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles will take place until sunday 20 september 2015.

You can check the details of the programme here: https://www.rencontres-arles.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=ARLAR1_213_VForm&FRM=Frame:ARLAR1_275