I am Michael
I have come to photography late in my life and if there is a spiritual aspect to it I am coming to it comparatively slowly. Living my entire life thus far in the greater Detroit area I have worked in retail, food service and tech. I have been a graphic designer, illustrator and musician. I have spent years searching for somewhere to put my energy that intersects my want to be creative, my desire to serve and my need to understand the world and the people around me. With the support of my wife and partner Jessi (who supplied these photos of me with her iPhone 17) I hope this path will lead me to my final destination
Let's have some fun together along the way.
I operate out of the Madison Heights, Royal Oak and Ferndale areas with travel available to most areas of Michigan.
Why I do this
Photography is part of my therapeutic process. Somewhere along the way I lost touch with the world. Everything started to look like a photograph. To manage and focus that I started looking at the world through a camera and in doing so I found something that excites me more than anything has in a long time.
Of course I also love the process. From start to finish, photography is as much science as it is art and being at the center of the collision of those two perspectives brings me great joy.
And I'm not going to lie - money is nice. Money means I can keep taking pictures and meeting people. I wan't to build something I can sustain well into the next chapter of my life.
How I work
I see my role as a photographers as helping you present yourself authentically in the image. I can offer suggestions and use what knowledge I have to assist you in finding the angles and the lighting. I can frame the composition, but you will decide how you appear in it.
The client/ photographer relationship is a partnership - a symbiosis. As much as possible I encourage self direction and I will absolutely try anything you are inspired to attempt within the limits of safety and good taste.
These are your photos and they are only a part of your story. I'm only here to help you tell it. The best I can do is hold the camera right and then get out of your way.
Fun Facts about me
Currently shooting on the Nikon Z platform. Past works were captured on Apple iPhone platform with Reeflex and Neewer lenses.
When I'm not rocking out to moody shoegaze-adjacent or drone rock acts you'll find me chilling to various ambient or experimental electronic, trip hop or mid-century piano jazz.
Don't get me started talking about movies - it will absolutely burst your hourly rate.