Olivier Lei: The Melancholy of Passing Moments

Olivier Lei

The Melancholy of Passing Moments

“My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.”

– Steve McCurry

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Olivier Lei is a French street photographer whose work explores the poetry, mystery and emotional nuances of everyday urban life.

For him, photography is a way of expressing what words cannot say. Guided by instinct, movement and an intuitive search for visual harmony, he wanders through cities, observing their rhythms, atmospheres and hidden stories. His approach is spontaneous, driven by an attraction to fleeting encounters, unexpected details and the quiet beauty of ordinary moments.

His photographic universe is deeply rooted in the aesthetics of melancholy, where solitude, nostalgia and emotion meet. Light, colour and composition are primordial elements of his visual language. With a particular sensitivity to shadows, reflections, silhouettes and geometry, he transforms fragments of reality into atmospheric, carefully balanced images that often leave their stories open to interpretation.

His passion for colour and light, inspired in part by the work of Saul Leiter and Ernst Haas, has shaped a distinctive photographic style in which aesthetics and emotion coexist. Whether capturing the vibrant energy of urban streets or moments of quiet solitude, he seeks to reveal the extraordinary within the ordinary.

His work has received international recognition, including a Gold Medal at the Paris International Street Photo Awards in 2024, a winning selection by Life Framer, and recognition from LensCulture and The Independent Photographer. In 2025, Leica selected him as one of 100 photographers to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

His photographs have been exhibited internationally and featured in publications including Musée Magazine, Woofer Magazine and Docu Magazine, as well as by Leica Camera, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Elle Italia.

Through his photography, Olivier Lei invites us to slow down, look beyond the obvious and discover the poetry hidden in fleeting moments.

The Beginning of a Photographic Journey

Ana: Olivier, let’s begin at the beginning. How did your journey into photography first unfold? You are not only a photographer but also a passionate traveller, whose work has received remarkable recognition, including the Gold Medal at the Paris International Street Photo Awards 2024, recognition from Leica Camera Spain, and a feature at MoMA. Looking back at your journey, what would you say lies at the heart of your passion: the art of photography itself, or the people, places and fleeting moments you encounter along the way — those fragments of life you feel compelled to capture and immortalise?

Olivier: To be completely honest, I no longer really see myself as much of a traveller, or at least, I am not the traveller I once was. Between the demands of everyday life, stress, and a lack of time and financial means, setting off alone to a country or a city and spending an extended period immersing myself in its atmosphere has become something of a luxury over the past three years. In fact, the vast majority of my photographs are archival images dating from 2022 and 2023.

If I had to sum up what fuels my passion, I would say it is a combination of many things. Photography is a wonderful way of creating connections: even when we don’t share the same language or culture, it acts as a truly universal language. And then, I am deeply in love with photography because of its almost magical ability to freeze time. Perhaps it sounds a little cliché to say so, but it is nonetheless true. The ability to capture a single, precise moment and preserve it forever is something I find absolutely fascinating.

The World through a Photographic Lens

Ana: Your photography takes us on a fascinating journey through cities and cultures, from the streets of Lebanon and New York to the vibrant landscapes of Morocco, the energy of Hong Kong and the timeless charm of Paris. Each place has its own rhythm, character and visual language. Among all the cities and scenes you have captured, which have left the deepest impression on you? Was there a particular moment, encounter or street scene that captivated you so profoundly that it has stayed with you long after you pressed the shutter?

Olivier: Without a doubt, Lebanon is the place that left the deepest impression on me, perhaps also because it was my very last journey. It is a land of heartbreaking beauty, blessed with breathtaking natural landscapes, unforgettable flavours and an extraordinary generosity of spirit.

Everything there is so rich, vibrant and full of contrasts that, at times, I found myself overwhelmed, unsure of how to frame a scene or which focal length to choose to capture it successfully.

There were many suspended moments, but none stands out in my mind more than another. My memory is rather fragile, and once I have taken a photograph, the moment seems to fade from my mind almost immediately.

I find it difficult to become attached to my own work, most probably because I am a perpetual perfectionist and struggle to love my own images.

Capturing the Soul of a City

Ana: Every city has its own soul, rhythm and atmosphere — an identity shaped by its people, architecture, culture and everyday encounters. How important is it for you to preserve this distinctive sense of place through your photography? And how do you translate the spirit of a city into a single frame, ensuring that your photographs capture not only what a place looks like,but also what it feels like to be there?

Olivier: This is a particularly difficult question for me, because I don’t approach a place with the intention of documenting it or adopting a journalistic perspective. What I try to do instead is create images that feel timeless, detached from any particular era, although, to be honest, I fail at this 99% of the time.

In my view, capturing the entire atmosphere and complexity of a city in a single photograph is an almost impossible challenge, and I have never really managed to do so. This is why I prefer working in series: I need at least four photographs, if not more, to establish a visual coherence and rhythm, and to convey at least a little of what one experiences and feels when being there.

The Influence of Cinema

Ana: Photography and cinema share a unique ability to tell stories through images, light, composition and emotion. Are there particular filmmakers, films or cinematic movements that have influenced your photographic vision? And if so, how do you think this cinematic language finds its way into your work, especially in the way you frame a scene, capture light or create a sense of narrative within a single photograph?

Olivier: Cinema has had a profound influence on the way I see the world and construct an image. Cinematographers such as Greig Fraser and Linus Sandgren are major sources of inspiration for me, particularly for their sense of composition, the way they work with light, and the richness of their colour palettes.

The list of people who inspire me would be endless. What I seek to achieve in the streets is to create compositions that resemble still frames from a film — photographs that make the viewer feel as though they have stepped into the middle of a story already unfolding.

Teaching the Art of Seeing

Ana: As someone who leads street photography workshops, you have the opportunity to share not only your technical knowledge but also your personal way of seeing the world. How do you approach teaching this fascinating discipline? How do you guide students in training their eyes to recognise beauty, emotion and extraordinary moments in the ordinary flow of everyday life? Are there particular exercises, techniques or ways of observing that you encourage them to practise in order to develop their own photographic language and visual sensitivity?

Olivier: My approach to teaching is deeply rooted in human connection, far removed from any kind of academic framework. I believe that the people who come to me already carry within themselves that way of seeing, that delicate ability to recognise the extraordinary in our everyday lives. I have no desire to assume the role of a teacher who dictates what is right or wrong, or what makes a good photograph.

I would much rather be like a friend standing alongside them, encouraging them to persevere and believe in their own vision, because it is uniquely theirs. The only real advice I give them is to keep photographing what genuinely moves them, without trying to please others or worrying about the subject matter.

The Poetry and Fantasy of Photography

Ana: Photography is often about capturing reality, yet the most compelling images can also transport us into a world of imagination, mystery and fantasy. What does the element of fantasy mean to you in photography? Do you consciously seek to introduce a sense of the surreal, the unexpected or the dreamlike into your images, or does this poetic dimension emerge naturally from the way you observe and interpret the world around you?

Olivier: To be honest, I’m not particularly fond of the word “whimsical” when it comes to describing my work. I’m not trying to create something unreal, nor do I deliberately construct my scenes to make them appear poetic. If some people find a poetic quality in my photographs, I find that touching and it makes me happy, but it is never something intentional or calculated.

What I seek to bring to my images, rather, is a sense of mystery. I like a photograph to leave a question lingering in the viewer’s mind, to deliberately withhold certain elements, sparking their curiosity and inviting them to imagine, interpret and question what they see.

Lebanon on Film: The Beauty of Nostalgia

Ana: I must say that Lebanon on Film is one of my favourite series of yours. There is something particularly evocative about its aesthetic — a beautiful, almost nostalgic quality that recalls the atmosphere and imperfections of analogue photography. What drew you to this particular visual approach? Why did you choose the Meoca Mini to achieve this distinctive, vintage film effect? Was it a deliberate artistic decision to evoke a sense of memory and nostalgia, or did the camera’s particular character unexpectedly shape the way you experienced and captured Lebanon?

Olivier: It’s a real pleasure to know that the series on Lebanon resonates with you. To be completely honest, it was the very first time in my life that I had ever shot on film, something I had been wanting to try for quite some time. Why did I choose the Leica Mini? Quite simply because it was the most affordable point-and-shoot camera I could find in a shop before setting off!

There was no preconceived artistic intention behind that choice. Lebanon is an extraordinary and fascinating country, naturally imbued with a deeply poignant sense of nostalgia. As for me, I had no particular agenda. I simply wanted to be present in the moment and, in my own modest way, create memories that I could hold on to and never forget.

Nostalgia as a Photographic Language

Ana: Nostalgia seems to weave its way through much of your work, particularly in the way you capture places, people and fleeting moments. How important is nostalgia to your photographic language? Are you drawn to photography as a way of preserving something that is slowly disappearing — a particular atmosphere, a memory, a feeling or even a way of life? And do you believe that a photograph can evoke memories of a past that we may never have personally experienced?

Olivier: I’m not sure nostalgia is the word that best defines my work. I would be more inclined to speak of melancholy. I’m not a particularly happy person in my everyday life, so photography becomes a way of trying to find some form of solace in my sadness.

More than anything, it is also a refuge from my own memory, which has become increasingly unreliable over the years. Photography is my way of preserving traces of my own life, of keeping memories from fading away. As for whether a photograph can evoke nostalgia in someone for a time or a place they have never known… I honestly have no idea. All I can say is that it has never happened to me.

The Beautiful Art of the Unexpected

Ana: To conclude, I would love to hear about one of those magical moments in photography when everything comes together almost by chance. Looking back at your work, what has been your favourite photographic accident — an unexpected encounter, an unplanned composition or a fleeting moment that resulted in an image you particularly cherish? And, most importantly, what is the story behind it?

Olivier: I genuinely believe that the more time we spend walking and taking photographs, the more opportunities we give ourselves to let fate take its course. Ultimately, it’s simply a matter of probability.

But even after countless outings, I’ve never experienced one of those magical scenes where absolutely everything falls perfectly into place within a single photograph, as though all the stars had aligned.

Since I don’t really experience those happy accidents, I’ve learned to put things into perspective and be content with very little. The only times I feel that chance has given me a beautiful gift are when a clear blue sky is adorned with dense, white clouds. When that particular atmosphere presents itself, it’s more than enough for me.

More about the photographer:

Official website: https://olivierlei.com/

Instagram: @olivier.lei

Olivier Lei

The Melancholy of Passing Moments

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

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