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Café du Cycliste
Café du Cycliste
Anja Niemi
March 27, 2026
Norwegian photographer Anja Niemi produced the advertising campaign motifs for the 2025 summer collection of Café du Cycliste, a premium cycling apparel label and sports platform based in the south of France. With her own unique style, Niemi staged “performance, outdoor and lifestyle collections for bold men and women” – as described on the company’s website. The photographer spoke with us about how she develops her ideas for her own projects, and how the Café du Cycliste campaign came about.
LFI: Can you talk a bit about how you set up your personal work?
Anja Niemi: Film has always been a source of inspiration for me, and partly what shaped my approach to storytelling. I often use narratives similar to moving images, but with no clear beginning or end and usually without the support of dialogue or music – much like a slow, silent movie. It always starts with the initial idea, that I turn into sketches. I then begin collecting costumes and scout the locations that are essential to bringing the character to life. I have a small shed outside our house that I turned into a studio. It’s filled with old storied objects that all, in some way, have worked or will work their way into a story. As it fills with garments, hair, objects and fabrics, the place slowly starts to feel like my characters. Once ready, I take everything with me to produce the photographs.
What was the concept behind the series for Café du Cycliste?
They had the concept of Play for their SS25 line, where elements of play were integrated into the kontext of the bike clothes.They wanted the images to be playful, and not all about biking, which is what gave me the idea of including the horses.
In contrast to your personal work, how do you prepare for commissioned work; how do you develop your concepts?
Every project and client is different. Right now I’m working on a commission for a jewellery artist, a really personal collaboration where we try to merge our two visual worlds together. It’s such a lovely way to discover more about someone, looking at objects they love and learning what lies behind their work, usually so much more than what first meets the eye. I also recently created a series of images for the Norwegian National Opera House, where the brief was very open for me to interpret. They were familiar with my work and wanted me to create something for them from my perspective. Other clients have a more set plan before we start. In that case I want to see if I can catch their point of view. Then it’s all in the conversations and the exchange of ideas.
Carla Susanne ErdmannLFI: Can you talk a bit about how you set up your personal work?
Anja Niemi: Film has always been a source of inspiration for me, and partly what shaped my approach to storytelling. I often use narratives similar to moving images, but with no clear beginning or end and usually without the support of dialogue or music – much like a slow, silent movie. It always starts with the initial idea, that I turn into sketches. I then begin collecting costumes and scout the locations that are essential to bringing the character to life. I have a small shed outside our house that I turned into a studio. It’s filled with old storied objects that all, in some way, have worked or will work their way into a story. As it fills with garments, hair, objects and fabrics, the place slowly starts to feel like my characters. Once ready, I take everything with me to produce the photographs.
What was the concept behind the series for Café du Cycliste?
They had the concept of Play for their SS25 line, where elements of play were integrated into the kontext of the bike clothes.They wanted the images to be playful, and not all about biking, which is what gave me the idea of including the horses.
In contrast to your personal work, how do you prepare for commissioned work; how do you develop your concepts?
Every project and client is different. Right now I’m working on a commission for a jewellery artist, a really personal collaboration where we try to merge our two visual worlds together. It’s such a lovely way to discover more about someone, looking at objects they love and learning what lies behind their work, usually so much more than what first meets the eye. I also recently created a series of images for the Norwegian National Opera House, where the brief was very open for me to interpret. They were familiar with my work and wanted me to create something for them from my perspective. Other clients have a more set plan before we start. In that case I want to see if I can catch their point of view. Then it’s all in the conversations and the exchange of ideas.
All images on this page: Anja Niemi: Café du Cycliste, SS 2025; Models: Lucas Mendez & Mathilde Mougin
EQUIPMENT: Leica Q2 Monochrom with Summilux 28 f/1.7 Asph
LFI 2.2026+-
The portfolio A Naturalist Guide to Magic by the photographer can be found in LFI Magazine 2.2026. More
Anja Niemi+-
Born in Haugesund, Norway in 1976, the visual artist and photographer studied at the London College of Printing and the Parsons School of Design in New York. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at Photo London, AIPAD, Fotografiska, Stockholm and Tallinn, MAAT, Lisbon, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, and the Des Moines Art Center, Iowa. The recently-published A Naturalist Guide to Magic is Niemi’s fifth monograph. More
