I just came back from spending 3 months in Taipei, and while I was there, I had the chance to meet great people. One of them is Jimmy Beunardeau, a French photographer in Taiwan who has been and is currently working on very exciting projects.

We met for a few hours to chat (and snap a few photos) and I thought his projects were so interesting (and his photographies so amazing) that I had to learn more and share here with you, so I asked him a few questions to know more about his backgrounds, his currents and futur projects and some recommandation about Taiwan!

 

 

If you are in Taiwan (or in France) with a project in mind that involves the need of a photographer, reach out to him; you’ll be so happy that you did!

 

 

Jimmy, can you tell us about your background and how did you, as a French photographer, started working in Taipei? 

In 2014, I had just finished a long course of studies (Professionnal Masters at the University + two years of photography school), which put me in debt (especially the photography school), so I returned to my native region, the Perche in France, and worked for two years as an educational assistant in schools to pay off my student loan and build my future career as a professional photographer.

 

 

In 2016, I felt it was time for me to discover new horizons. My choice fell on Taiwan, simply because at the time (before covid, before the growing tensions with China, etc), nobody was talking much about it. I didn’t know anything about this country which, because of what I was reading about it, already fascinated me.

 

 

While researching Taiwan, I came across a video on YouTube of a woman who had dedicated her life to saving Taiwan’s bears. I added her to my contact list on Facebook, and I noticed that she was sharing photos of poaching incidents, which prompted me to contact her. She agreed to meet me (after I insisted!), at a conference in Taipei she was giving for National Geographic.

At exactly the same time, France was launching a Working Holiday Visa program with Taiwan, so I jumped at the chance, and was one of the very first people to go there on a WHV. I met this woman, Dr Huang Mei-Hsiu, who is the director of the Taiwan Black Bear Conservation Association, and we hit it off, then worked together. She entrusted me with the task of photographing the country’s largest wildlife sanctuary in Pingtung (PTRC). It has since become a book (bilingual – French & Mandarin), published by a Taiwanese publisher.

 

 

The book is available for $43, shipping cost included. To order it, contact Jimmy on his website: https://www.jimmybeunardeau.com/contact
or directly by email at jimmy.beunardeau@gmail.com.

 

 

During that time, in Taiwan, I also met Lou Camino, a French photographer who had since become a very good friend. Lou was part of an agency, which she advised me to contact, which I did when I returned to France. That’s how I joined the Hans Lucas photojournalism agency, of which I’m still a member today.

 

What other projects have you worked on or are planning to work on here in Taiwan? 

This documentary photography project, which became a photographic book co-written with Megan Kuo, a former shelter carer, took up an enormous amount of my time. After that, and as I often work for the French and international press, I was lucky enough to cover, for a children’s magazine, the story of Buni, Taiwan’s first bear cub to be rescued from the wild (his mother had disappeared), then rewilded and released back into the mountains. It was an incredible experience.

 

 

Then, last year, I was commissioned by a famous French nature magazine called « Terre Sauvage » to publish a 17-page feature (including the cover) on nature in Taiwan. It was a great experience and a beautiful showcase for my work.

 

 

Coming up in a few weeks, I’ll be following an incredible woman over the course of a day, who contacted me via Instagram! She’s a professional hiker, author and lecturer from Germany, and I’ll be following her on a hike to document her daily life and maybe even make the cover of her next book! I can’t wait, it’s going to be a great experience!

 

What’s your favorite subject when it comes to photography?

I’m mainly attracted by documentary photography in general, street photography and reportage. I wish to show the Anima, from the Latin « breath », « soul », from which comes the term « Animal ». An increasingly shaded part of our collective unconscious to which I constantly cling. That’s why I photograph humans exactly as I photograph other animals.

By participating in artistic residencies and by carrying out documentary or more personal projects, but also through my travels, my reports for the press, my books and my exhibitions; I wish to question the relationship between the human animal, its territory and those with whom it cohabits.

 

 

What kind of contract can you do here in Taiwan? Any specific projects you’d like to work on?

Whether in Taiwan, France or elsewhere, I’m exactly the kind of photographer you can’t pigeonhole, simply because I love to dabble in absolutely everything this profession has to offer!

I really see photography as a passport, which gives me access to a whole host of places, people, environments and territories that would never have crossed my path without this profession. It’s the way I’ve found to tell stories, shape atmospheres, show my vision of reality, and that’s what I’m passionate about.

 

 

I’m equally at home with press reports, weddings, portrait sessions, corporate reports, product photos, promotional reports for communication, assignments for NGO’s, etc.

In fact, there’s only one thing I don’t like about photography: sometimes I get frustrated when I don’t get enough orders, because I love working and that’s what keeps me energetic! So if you have any photo project, don’t hesitate to contact me!

 

I know you do photos for weddings in France. Would you do some here in Taiwan as well?

Yes, I’ve been doing a lot of weddings over the past 10 years, mainly in France, as I’ll be reaching my hundredth this summer! But it’s an activity I’d like to develop more in Taiwan too! Especially as my wife, Vera Sung, who is Taiwanese, has been training in photography and video for the past two years, so we’re very keen to work together!

 

 

She decided to add these two strings to her creative bow, as she’s initially an actress and performer. This double photo/video skill, combined with the ability to speak English, Mandarin and French, means we’re totally complementary and form a real crack team! Moreover, we have just created a dedicated Instagram account, which we need to update much more regularly!

 

 

What’s next in your plans?

I’ll be back in France at the end of April for several months, as I have an exhibition of my street photography from Taiwan, as part of the Travelling festival, at the Maison des Associations in Rennes. where I’ll be present on April 24 and 25.

Then I will have an exhibition at The American Center for Photographers from June 1 to July 27, 2024, in Wilson, NC, USA. It’s a collective exhibition, presenting the work of all the photographers who participated in the Eyes on Mainstreet artistic residency program in 2023.

Then I’m going to organize several exhibitions in France, as I’m always on the lookout for places, museums and festivals willing to host my photographs. I’m also looking for a gallery to represent my work.

Otherwise, I’m working on my next book. It’s a long-running series that I started in Taiwan, then continued in France, Vietnam and the United States, called « Entre chien et loup » (« Between Dog and Wolf »). It’s mainly street photography, where I try to open a breach in the half-light… when the sun goes down and nightlife emerges, social codes discreetly vanish and appearances loosen, and it’s at this moment that I go on the lookout for the cinematic atmospheres that inspire me. This book will be like a journey into a Taiwan of my dreams, or nightmares, as the case may be. I’m currently looking for French and Taiwanese publishers who would be interested in this project.

 

 

And last question: what are your favorite spots in Taiwan for the best photogenic places?

There are so many! Among my favorites there is certainly Taipingshan, with its magical forests and hot springs, Yangmingshan with its vast meadows in the heart of the volcanoes, and the impressive Taroko Gorges, the magical atmosphere of Alishan and its little train which takes us to the sunrise over a sea of clouds, Lukang, a charming authentic little town with temples charged with great spiritual force, Lanyu and its thousand-year-old aboriginal culture with flying fish fishermen, or even XiaoLiuQiu to swim with turtles!

But I’m probably forgetting a lot of them because the beauties of Taiwan are so rich!

 

 

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I could’nt agree more about Taiwan!

Jimmy is an amazing photographer and I find his photos have so much stories to tell; they move us, intrigue and fascinate us. And to add to this fabulous talent, Jimmy is a kind, smart and attentive person who knows how to capture people’s spark. If you get the chance to work with him, grab it, you’ll be so grateful that you did!

Here’s a few cliché he took of me on that lovely afternoon I met him!