“I shoot to feel and always keep my mind as open as my eyes,” is the second thing that I read about this French photographer (courtesy: his Instagram bio) – the first being the utterly cute and drool-worthy photo series capturing his camera-shy girlfriend. 

With that project, no wonder Mikael Theimer has gauged the hearts of countless girls across the world. You might think I’m being way too generous with the praises, but hey! I’m just honest.

But, there’s so much more to this Montreal-based photographer who, surprisingly enough, started out as a bachelor in marketing and worked as a brand strategist for a few years before deciding to stop to ‘Try and figure out what I really want to do with my life.’

Which is why I got in touch with him to discern the other-than-romantic side of him. Here’s presenting the excerpts from my interaction with him. I bet you wouldn’t be able to complete reading them without a smile on your face.

Me: Tell us about the most photographic moment of your life.

Mikael: I think the most photographic moment of my life was one where I wasn’t allowed to use my camera… Marion and I were visiting a church in Chamula, in the Chiapas region of Mexico, where a small community has developed very unique traditions. The scene inside the church was a photographer’s dream, for what was happening, for how the place was decorated, and for the amazing light that peaked through the stained glass windows. But cameras weren’t allowed…

Me: Tell us about one of your clicks that you’ve never shown anyone, and have kept hidden for yourself.

Mikael: It’s a picture of a young Montrealer with a needle stuck in his arm. He wasn’t actually shooting up heroin, but he wanted me to take a picture of him looking like he had just fixed. I can’t share it because I want to protect the guy’s identity.

Me: The most memorable story that you captured in Portraits de/of Montréal?

Mikael: It’s definitely David and Diamond’s story. Here’s a documentary on the same:

Did I mention that Mikael is a huge fan of the Humans of NY page and that he created a of it?

Me: How have you evolved as a boyfriend through photography?

Mikael: I think Marion should answer this one… I honestly don’t know what to say here.

Ah! I’m heading to Marion’s FB page next. No brownie points for guessing why!

Finally caught her red handed, licking her plate! I've been wanting to photograph her doing that for a long time, but never managed to get it before. And the best part is that while she's licking the sauce off her plate, Moo is licking the back of Aragon. Double lick! — Je l'ai enfin eu la main dans le sac, en train de lécher son assiette ! Ça faisait longtemps que je voulais prendre ça en photo, mais je n'avais jamais réussi avant. Et le meilleur c'est que pendant qu'elle lèche la sauce de son assiette, Moo lèche le dos de Aragon. Double léchage !

A photo posted by Mikael Theimer (@mikaeltheimer) on Feb 25, 2016 at 6:38am PST

Me: Tell us about the Camera-Shy project? How did it start?

Mikael: It all started with the picture of the red garage door: I asked Marion if she could pose next to the door, but she really didn’t feel like it. So I asked very nicely again until she finally stood next to the door. But as I hadn’t specified how I wanted her to pose, she placed herself facing the wall. I thought that was quite funny, so I didn’t argue with her and took the picture.

I posted it on my Facebook page saying “My girlfriend hates to pose for me” and everyone seemed to think it was funny, so I thought I’d turn the “my girlfriend hates to pose for me” concept into an ongoing series.

I wanted to take a family photo but she didn't

A photo posted by Mikael Theimer (@mikaeltheimer) on Feb 18, 2016 at 6:49am PST

Me: Do you carry a camera to each one of your dates with your girlfriend?

Mikael: I carry a camera wherever I’m going, at all time. You never know when an opportunity for a good picture will show up, and I don’t want to miss it when it does.

Catatouille

A photo posted by Mikael Theimer (@mikaeltheimer) on Jan 25, 2016 at 5:54pm PST

Me: Tell us about your idea of the perfect date.

Mikael: Haha I am really not fit to answer that question… I’ve actually never been on a date in my entire life. Of course, Marion and I do stuff together, but I don’t consider it a date. We just enjoy our lives together. So the perfect ‘enjoying our life together’ would be quite simple: her and I traveling the world with two backpacks and no plans at all. Being completely free, experiencing life on the go, wherever it takes us.

Me: Did it ever happen that your girlfriend reprimanded you for posting any picture of her?

Mikael: I always ask for her permission before I post a picture of her, so no.

I heard someone say recently “A cat is useless.” But an animal, whatever it may be, doesn’t have to be of any use. Man is not above animals, it simply shares the same planet, nothing more. That being said, had that person shared their life with an animal, they would have found out that animals have the power to soothe your heart, because they love you no matter the circumstances. And by doing so, they teach us to, in turn, love unconditionally and with no judgement the people around us. In short, a cat makes humanity grow. — J’ai récemment entendu quelqu’un dire « Un chat, ça ne sert à rien. » Mais un animal, quel qu’il soit, n'a pas à servir à quelque chose. L’homme n’est pas au dessus des animaux, il partage la même planète, rien de plus. Cela dit, si cette personne avait eu un animal dans sa vie, elle aurait découvert qu'un animal a le pouvoir de te panser le cœur, parce qu'il t'aime quelque soit les circonstances. Et ce faisant, il t'apprend toi aussi, à aimer inconditionnellement et sans jugement les gens qui t'entourent. Bref, un chat, ça fait grandir l'humanité.

A photo posted by Mikael Theimer (@mikaeltheimer) on Mar 20, 2016 at 7:42pm PDT

Me: What is her way of getting back at you?

Mikael: Sometimes I’ll really want to take a picture of her but she just really won’t let me. And I mean she won’t just hide her face, she’ll move away from me so that I can’t capture the scene I wanted to capture. But it’s not so much that she’s ‘getting back at me’, it’s just that sometimes, she’s really not in the mood for a picture, in which case I just let it go.

Me: Are you camera-shy? Tell us about any of your camera-shy moments that were captured. (Share the picture with us, if you wish.)

Mikael: I’m not really. I really don’t mind being photographed, if it’s for a good reason.

Me: In your opinion, what makes a relationship picture-perfect?

Mikael: An authentic complicity between the two partners. That’s all it takes to get a perfect picture of a couple.

Mama thinks I'm trying to take her picture, so naturally, she hides. Little does she know that this time, it was the two lovers behind her I was interested in :p — Mama pense que j'essaie de la prendre en photo, donc naturellement, elle se cache. Mais elle ne se doute pas que cette fois, ce sont les deux amoureux derrière elle qui m'intéressent :p

A photo posted by Mikael Theimer (@mikaeltheimer) on Jun 8, 2016 at 9:19am PDT

Me: Very often, lack of confidence and body-positivity makes women camera-shy. As a photographer, what do you say about that?

Mikael: You’re entirely right, and that’s the reason why Marion doesn’t like to be photographed. I think it’s also why the series got so popular: you only ever see the pictures of the people who love the camera. So when you don’t, the web must be a lonely place… I think this series was refreshing for all of the camera shy people.

But my vision of human beings is that everyone is beautiful, and everyone can get a beautiful picture of themselves (and find themselves beautiful on it). To get that, you need to photograph the person, not it’s appearance. That means you need to make a connection, and take the picture as you’re connecting. So the viewer doesn’t simply look at someone’s face / body, they feel like they’re having a moment with that person. And that’s beautiful.

This response of his makes me want to gift him a few pebbles from my precious collection. The man’s thoughts are beyond beautiful!

Me: Most of your photos on Instagram are black and white. Any peculiar fancy/story behind this?

Mikael: Not really. I’m just a sucker for black and white photography. As I like to shoot moments of life, I find that colors are a distraction; they add too much visual information that takes the focus away from what’s really important: life unfolding.

La tête dans les nuages — Head in the clouds

A photo posted by Mikael Theimer (@mikaeltheimer) on Jun 24, 2016 at 1:53pm PDT

Me: One life lesson that you learned from your project ‘Humans of Street’?

Mikael: No one, and I mean no one, is safe from ending up homeless. Our society is frail; the ground can tumble down under anybody’s feet, quicker than you can imagine.

Also, it takes love and kindness to get someone off the street, or off an addiction. Not money, not an apartment, not a job, not social pressure, etc.

Me: One stereotype about homeless people that you wish to break?

Mikael: Homeless people are not all responsible for their situation.

Yes, for some, it’s a choice. But for most, it’s a nightmare come true.

Sometimes it’s because they’ve suffered too much to function normally. Sometimes it’s because they’re just not fit for the way our society works. I don’t think David will ever be able to live a normal life; he’s just not capable of following society’s standards. It doesn’t mean that he has no standards; they’re just different than those of most people. He still deserves a decent life, but society only gives that to those who step into the mold.

Me: Homeless women are the most vulnerable of all. Do you want to show us a picture that reflects the vulnerable strength of these women?

Mikael:

Yesterday I had one of the most emotional encounters I've ever had on the streets. This young woman shared her story with me, and as she cried, so did I. She's a beautiful soul in a terrible situation. If you're the curious type, you can read the story she told me below.

A photo posted by Mikael Theimer (@mikaeltheimer) on Feb 2, 2016 at 11:22am PST

Me: Tell us about one of your dreams-in-the-making.

Mikael: I dream to have visited every country in the world, one day. I wish I could live off my photography entirely, just going wherever I want to go, whenever I want to go and live off the prints I would sell, and the exhibits I would host. Right now, I have to take photography jobs that take much of my time, for cash, but for little personal interest. Jobs that don’t bring much value to this world.

I want to photograph the margins of society, take people places they never knew existed, make them meet people they’re never going to meet otherwise, tell them stories they couldn’t have imagined on their own. I want to show people how beautiful, how diverse, and how unfair the world is so that they come to love it more, and strive to make it better in the future.

I guess my dream is that my pictures will change the way people live their lives. And I’m happy to know that it’s already done exactly for some.

Picture Courtesy: