Mobile Photography Intimate Interview with Anita Elle from Paris, France
Our eighty second interview in this series of mobile photography intimate interviews is with talented mobile photographer and artist Anita Elle from Paris, France. You may know her from her popular Instagram accounts @hipstanitaelle and @anitaelle. Elle is a street photographer and this interview enables everyone who views it to wander around Paris, pictured through her lens. Enjoy!
To read the other published interviews in this series including artists, Adria Ellis, Rino Rossi, Mehmet Duyulmus, Alexis Rotella, Lou Ann Sanford Donahue, Irene Oleksiuk, Kerry Mitchell, Filiz Ak, Dale Botha, Lisa Mitchell, M. Cecilia Sao Thiago, Deborah McMillion, Rita Colantonio, Amy Ecenbarger, Jane Schultz, Anca Balaj, Joyce Harkin, Armineh Hovanesian, Kate Zari Roberts, Vicki Cooper, Peter Wilkin, Barbara Braman, Becky Menzies, Sukru Mehmet Omur, Sarah Bichachi, Michel Pretterklieber, Alon Goldsmith, Judy Lurie Wahlberg, Andrea Bigiarini, Sean Hayes, Oola Cristina, Kathleen Magner-Rios Linda Toki, Deb Field, Emilo Nadales, Lydia Cassatt, David Hayes, Jean Hutter, Frederic Deschênes, Mark Schnidman, Fatma Korkut, Fleur Schim, Rob Pearson-Wright, Dieter Gaebel, James Ellis, Marco P Prado, Jeronimo Sanz, Manuela Matos Monteiro, Bleu Chemiko, Manuela Basaldella, Stefania Piccioni, Luis Rodríguez, Marilisa Andriani (@mitrydate) Mayte Balcells (@artofmayte), Nicole Christophe, Jennifer Graham, Cathrine Halsør Paul Toussaint, Carol Wiebe, Julie Denning, Kim Clayton (@berleyart), Karen Messick, Serap Utaş, MaryJane Rosenfeld, Paul Suciu, Susan Latty (@pause.and.breathe),John Nieto, Phyllis Shenny, Joy Barry, Max Lies Derdonk, Rita Tipunina, Violet Martins, Nizzar Ben Chekroune, Lynette Sheppard, Paul-Andre Hamel, Rejane Rubino, Susan Detroy, Rosalie Heller, Wayman Stairs, Cintia Malhotra and myself, go here.
All images ©Anita Elle
What was your earliest childhood ambition?
I wanted to become a secret agent. I was fascinated by adventure games and mystery resolution. Today, I just look at spy movies and books. It’s less dangerous !
First recognition
When I was 11 years old, I was singing in a group and a teacher was seduced by my voice and wanted I join his school to sing in a choral and take part in a concert.
First job
I was sixteen and I taught a child how do their homework. I was very well paid for this job as a schoolgirl !
Private or State School
State, private and state !
University or work
I studied law at the university for five years.
Who was or still is your mentor?
I don’t have a mentor but I always look for people who have the same ideas or vision of the life as me. And sometimes I find them and it’s very appreciable.
How physically fit are you?
I try to pay attention to my diet and I try to be active.
Ambition or Talent. What matters more to success?
Ambition and talent but it’s not the right approach. I think it depends on what is your objective. To do what you want and what you love or to be just animated by the success? The success is often the result of good communication.
How politically committed are you?
My first value is freedom with a limit : the liberty to stop or start that of others. And after that I have dreams : fight against injustices, peace, love, and save the planet. What is this ideology ? UTOPIA !!!
What would you like to own that you don’t currently possess?
I would like to open an artist’s studio.
What is your biggest extravagance?
My last extravagance was not a choice but an accident. I was walking along the edge of a parisian canal for a photographic shoot and I fell in the canal !
In which places are you happiest?
Everywhere !
What ambitions do you still have?
I want to be able to express my creativity.
What drives you on?
Hope.
What is the greatest achievement of your life so far ?
My two children.
What do you find most irritating in other people ?
Foolishness. And I often meet it, unfortunately !
If your twenty year old self could see you now, what would she think ?
Time flies !
Which object that you’ve lost do you wish you still had ?
My first pendant necklace.
What is the greatest challenge of our time ?
Saving our planet.
Do you believe in the afterlife ?
No, unfortunately.
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Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
