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Julien GERARD

Born in Strasbourg in 1980, I was first a Marseille firefighter, then an ambulance driver in the private sector and at the SAMU. From this period I have retained a taste for others and the need to share. Self-taught, photography came into my life around the age of 12, when my uncle taught me the basics and regularly lent me his Olympus OM 10 (film). I took my first steps.

In 2008, I made photography my profession, and my career was launched. I embarked on a journey around the world, taking photographs for French institutions abroad and, on a personal level, projects focusing on human subjects. I take the time to immerse myself in the places and people I photograph. Attached to the people I meet, I return regularly to pay tribute to them and offer the portraits I have taken.

In 2009, I travelled to Benin in response to a photo assignment. Since then, I've been intimately linked with this country. Every year I go back, and in 2012 I circumnavigated the country by motorcycle, covering some 3,000 km. In April 2017, I settled there for 2 years. I now live in Nice and regularly travel to Benin and other countries.

For a customer's needs, I invest in a drone. Initially reluctant to use it for my personal projects, I quickly discovered the advantages of these devices, notably their very low altitude flight, which opens up new angles of view. The idea of a book about Benin then took shape.

In 2019, "SOUFFLE, le Bénin vu du ciel" was self-published. Given the book's success, with 780 copies pre-sold, I decided to found Editions MIWA to produce my next books, but also to publish other photographers.

Book:
- SOUFFLE, le Bénin vu du ciel, available since January 2019.

Exhibitions:
- Ganvié, cité lacustre du Bénin, Festival Photo de Bellème from June 7 to September 2, 2019,
- Africa Photo Festival New York from September 26 to 28, 2019,
- SOUFFLE, le Bénin vu du ciel, Guesthousse Maison Rouge in Cotonou from December 12 to 19, 2019.