Mayeul Akpovi was born in 1979 in Cotonou, Benin where he grew up and studied.

Real touch to everything, from childhood he discovered his passion for drawing, which he practised until the first cycle in college. The world of video games later led him to become a computer scientist. In search of creativity, he signs up for visual communication. In 2006 he moved to France and having spent 4 years in Paris as an IT developer (where there is a lack of time for almost everything), he returned to live in Besançon (the city which had welcomed him when he arrived in France).

The love story of Mayeul Akpovi with photography was born on his return from Paris when he realized that he had no photo of the Parisian landscape. Which led him to buy his first professional camera (a Pentax K5) with a few photo lenses. And anxious to keep track of his wonders, he photographs the landscapes that touch him and takes care to immortalize the city of Besançon. Then that of Paris in its series “Paris in Motion”, then Marseille, then Lyon,…

Since 2013, Mayeul Akpovi works as a freelance photographer and collaborates with large groups such as Viparis (2013), La Protection Civile de Paris (2015), Paramont Pictures (in “The Big Short: le Casse du siècle”) (2015), Maroc Telecom, Le Monde Afrique, Jeune Afrique to name a few.

Back in Cotonou at the end of 2014, Mayeul Akpovi launched a photography project (in timelapse and in hyperlapse) for the big African cities. He is the author of “Cotonou in Motion”, “Lomé in Motion” and “Abidjan in Motion”. Lover of urban landscapes, he dreams of continuing his work on African cities.