An interview with Montreal’s award-winning interior & architectural photographer - Felix Michaud
“Inspiration comes from everywhere, really. From websites specializing in architecture, but also from art photography in general, whether street or conceptual photography. I give a special place to improvisation and to unprovoked errors during shootings and post-production of the images. The resulting style is therefore a blend of unexpected events and found inspirations of all kinds.”
All photos by Felix Michaud - Words by Pete Helme & Felix Michaud
It was great to have Felix Michaud for our takeover recently and it was great to have a bit of time to chat and get to know him a little better. I was drawn to Felix’s work and style due to his dark moody tones and striking compositions.
Felix is a Montreal based photographer dedicated to architecture and interior design photography. Through his practice, he seeks to build on architectural concepts by offering an intimate interpretation of the places he photographs.
Active since 2005, his work also translates into a marked interest in black and white photography and medium format film.
2020 Canadian Architect Photo Award of Merit.
2020 A+ Awards finalist.
Hi Felix, I hope all is safe and well with you and many thanks for taking the time to share with our community.
Can I congratulate you on a wonderful portfolio, I love the striking impact you achieve in your work. I’m so glad I came across your work recently.
Congratulations also on your recent Canadian Architect Photo Award of Merit and A+ Awards finalist. Could you tell us a bit more about that and what has been keeping you busy recently, and have you been effected much in the last year?
Hello Pete, thank you for having me on the occasion of this takeover, I really appreciate it!
The pandemic has affected my work in a number of ways, not just negatively though. A number of photoshoots had to be postponed. This allowed me to put some energy elsewhere, in particular to participate in the two competitions mentioned above with two personal projects: one of an installation by Valerio Olgiati, photographed at La Biennale 2018; the other with photos of the MNBAQ’s Pierre Lassonde pavilion in Quebec, a building designed by the firm OMA.
These are two projects that I had never put forward enough at that moment and this unexpected free time allowed to do it well. Evil for good, then, while great projects are now on the horizon again.
Could you tell us a bit more about your past, your ethos and how you approach your work currently?
I chose to study photography quite young. My grandfather was a professional photographer himself (portrait photographer) and he found me an old Yashica 35mm rangefinder when he knew I made this choice myself. A few years later, I graduated from Matane college (2003).
I have also liked architecture a lot for a long time. This led me to capture, before becoming professionally interested in architectural photography, several - abandoned or not - industrial buildings sites . Always on film, because that's the method I learned. It took me a long time to go digital. Today, it is obviously a tool that is part of my daily life.
However, I keep several elements of the old school in the way I work. It is a slow work, contemplative, in the discovery of this new space to photograph, on the lookout for a particular moment to capture.
I’m a big fan of the rich tones and mood you create in your imagery, has this been something that has evolved over time or something that has always been part of your practice?
This is something that has been part of my practice for a while, but that I left out for a long time. I must say that I got to architectural photography through real estate photography. So yes, it has evolved a lot over the years even though it’s been a part of me for a long time.
Similar path to me, I’m learning to step back more and tell the story of the light and not just the space.
There seems to be an abundance of talented photographers out there all pushing for the top work, do you see the future of photography changing as more platforms enter the forum or do you feel traditional methods will remain?
Indeed, there seem to be more and more new photographers, talented and less talented too. Today's easy access to the right tools for achieving great technical success democratizes the practice of photography, in my opinion.
Anyone can risk it and many succeed admirably. The needs in terms of quantity of photos have also exploded. Or is it the increasing amount of photos available that seems to increase the number of publications that request these? I don’t know where that spiral can end…
Having said that, I don't believe that traditional methods will go away. In fact, they seem to work wonderfully together with recent technology in order to get the best of both worlds. Some tools of the past (analog film photography for example), threatened to disappear not long ago, are back in force today with all their relevance. The essence of photography remains the same, regardless of the time and manner. Light - or the lack of light - remains the only thing that really matters when taking a photo.
Yes, it is true that there is an abundance of photos and that there is one for everyone. This not excluding what has been true for almost 200 years now.
My grandmother was a very keen amatuer photographer and I use to spend many an hour in her dark room. It was such a magical place to be, the smell, the red light, watching the photo appear in the trays. There is such romance about the process.
What is the interior and architectural scene like in your area? Is this where do you do most of your work?
There are a lot of talented architectural photographers in my area. I would even say that this is where the largest proportion of photographers with this specialization in Canada seems to be found.
Most of my work is in the Montreal area. But, for the reasons mentioned just before, I am looking to work across the country as well as outside.
Always nice to travel a bit with work. I wish you all the luck with it.
As a photography community we love a bit of gear talk, could you tell us what equipment you have in your bag and enlighten those who aren’t familiar a little bit more about your process.
As I said before, it took me a while to adopt digital photography. When I set out to do this, the idea was to be able to use the lightest and least bulky gear possible. So I turned to Fuji. Today I use the x-t3 model, alternating between 10-24mm and 35mm f / 1.4 lenses, among others. I love the latter and the possibility that it offers to isolate details without requiring the tripod.
I also have in my bag a Mamiya 645 mainly mounted with the 50mm shift lens. Again, the choice of a smaller medium format camera was important. I believe that it is essential not to feel overloaded in order to have maximum pleasure in my work.
Now that is a man after my own heart. So light and minimal, I love it. I have the Fuji XT2 I bought a while back now to accompany me on holidays and I love it. Such great image quality and I love the colour balance. The years of carrying around heavy bags of equipment have taken its toll on my back.
As my own personal work progresses, I look around at others work and see so much incredible work! Do you have any advice for keeping motivated and pushing yourself forward?
Precisely, seeing the exceptional work of other photographers is a source of motivation. These days it’s easy to browse the very best in architecture, especially on websites like Divisare.
I’ve never heard of Divisare, I’ll check it out.
Where do you draw your inspiration from and how do you go about creating your stylised look?
Inspiration comes from everywhere, really. From websites specializing in architecture, but also from art photography in general, whether street or conceptual photography.
I give a special place to improvisation and to unprovoked errors during shootings and post-production of the images. The resulting style is therefore a blend of unexpected events and found inspirations of all kinds.
It’s funny that the little accidents and errors can be the source of inspiration. Do you have a favourite thing you like to shoot and why?
No. I'm just tracking the light. Until there are no more…
Tracking light…nice. I’m going to steal that one.What would say the highlight of your career would be to this point?
From my point of view, I would say that this is the visit to La Biennale 2018. That moment when I went through the installation of Valerio Olgiati called Experience of Space. It was disarmingly simple and I stayed there for over an hour watching the golden light brush against the columns and walls inside the Arsenal building.
This moment and the photos I took there are a turning point in the way I observe architecture and how I process images in post production now.
Great work and congrutalions. What an esteemed honour.
Do you have any favourite photographers that inspire you and anyone you think we should be keeping an eye out for?
Yes, absolutely! My favorite way to discover new photographers is by browsing through their books. This medium forces you to take your time and pay attention to details. This is how I was able to discover in the last year the work of Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, Mark Ruwedel and Grégoire Pujade-Lauraine. They are not architectural photographers, but they seem to place architecture at the center of their practice.
Södrakull Frösakull by Mikael Olsson is another essential book that I couldn’t get away from.
Already mentioned previously, Divisare is a primordial architectural atlas (please go and support them!), favoring a slow web and also editing a collection of books. These are excellent and I must point to Rory Gardiner who is particularly inspiring to me.
I would also like to mention the work of Petra van der Ree and Eline Willaert. But, these are just a few names and there are plenty more worth mentioning…
Great advice and yes, I adore Rory’s works…just some simple yet stunning.
Lastly, what has been your favourite takeaway in all the lockdowns?
The last year has changed things to such an extent that it was suddenly possible and natural to reset every counters. This is a rare opportunity that I appreciate despite/because of these particular intense circumstances. So, time to reset was my favorite takeaway. I wish everyone could do it.
Felix Michaud - 2021