STREET PHOTOGRAPHY WITH A DIFFERENCE
Presented by: Mikaël THEIMER
Monday, November 6, 2017
BIOGRAPHY: I never planned on becoming a photographer. In fact, my plan was to have a career in advertising, but after four years in this industry, I realized I was spending the greater part of my time with a company whose sole purpose was to sell stuff to people who didn’t need it or couldn’t afford it. Considering that I had always hoped to leave behind a legacy from my sojourn on this Earth, it didn’t seem like I was on the right track. On a quest for meaning, purpose, humanity and freedom, I quit my job to figure out what I might do with the rest of my life. I was inspired by the blog Humans of New York, which posts pictures of strangers in the streets and shares their life stories with viewers. I bought myself a camera and, with two friends, set out to create our own blog, Portraits of Montreal. I began my encounter with the "strangers" that populate the streets of Montreal. Each encounter slightly widened my perception of the world, and of its human diversity. I wasn’t making money anymore, yet I’d never felt richer. As I spent most of my time on the Portraits of Montreal, it broadened my approach to photography and I developed a true love for street photography. My life was an urban safari and the city was the jungle where I hunted for images of our contemporary lives. To better serve society, I started working with many community and humanitarian organizations. I accompanied some of them to Burkina Faso, Togo, Ghana, Haïti and Cuba. That really opened my eyes to the social and environmental issues of our time. By looking through my camera’s viewfinder, I became truly aware of the world around me. I was born in a tiny, highly privileged bubble of Western privilege in France called Neuilly-sur-Seine. Now, each of my photographs allowed me to reach out beyond the limits of that bubble. It’s not so much photography that inspires me, but the subjects I photograph - the people my camera allows me to meet; the places to which it leads me; the events it makes me become a part of and the stories it uncovers. It allows me to to keep my heart and mind as open as my eyes. |
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© Mikaël THEIMER
© Mikaël THEIMER
© Mikaël THEIMER
© Mikaël THEIMER
© Mikaël THEIMER
© Mikaël THEIMER
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