About Mike

Hi there. I guess you can blame social media for my entry into photography. I never thought much of how photos were composed, or what a picture was trying to say. I for sure never thought about trying to express myself in a nonverbal manner (I have a big mouth after all). That is until I found a need to do just that, and social media provided the needed platform. Let me try to explain….

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I never really worried about taking photos of anything other than my daughter. Even those photos were just to capture her stages of life for later review. Then an amazing opportunity came knocking. I was asked to take a job assignment in England. I was 40 something, and had never been outside the U.S. Heck, I didn’t have a passport.

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A friend told me to make sure I took lots of pictures so that they could share in my experiences. I said I’d do my best with the cheap point and shoot I had, and then they asked me to take their camera. It was much nicer than what I had. A fixed lens camera with some decent zoom. I gracefully accepted, and committed to take them along with me as best I could. Armed with this new fancy camera (fancy to me), I set out for adventures unknown.

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During the first week in England I took dozens of photos. The following week dozens more. I posted them as quickly as I could on Facebook to share my experiences. My friend and several others commented on how they loved seeing what I was seeing. I then started to travel to other areas, and other countries. I photographed everything…the countryside…interesting architecture…hundreds of years old castles…the people. I took hundreds of photos everywhere I went and posted everyone that I thought would help someone experience what I was experiencing. I started getting more comments from people. Some I had not spoken to in years. Before you knew it, I had close to a thousand pictures online.

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I started really paying attention to what I had shot…and they were okay for the most part. However they needed to be better than okay. I wanted to let the people who said they were living vicariously through me experience what I was experiencing. Not just see what I was seeing. I realized finally that a truly good photograph isn’t something for just the eyes. I truly good photo stirs up a feeling inside. I went out and bought a higher end entry level camera, and a few lenses. I didn’t have the money to invest in a truly professional setup (and even if I did, it’s less about the arrow and more about the Indian).

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I don’t take pictures to make a living. I take pictures to inspire others to get out and explore, and for those that may have limits on the places they can go to have a way to experience these places. There’s a huge world out there on our little rock, and I just want to help people experience it. If a photo I take stirs a feeling in just one person then I have succeeded in capturing a good photo.