About Mike
A quiet practice in the natural world.
Listening and writing with a lens
Mike has spent the better part of the last decade moving slowly through landscapes — mountains, coastlines, forests, and open plains — waiting for the light to arrive and the world to reveal something true about itself. Immersing himself in nature, becoming one with the environment, and waiting for nature to reveal itself. He recently gained a new-found appreciation for poetry and realized this could provide a valuable addition to his photography. It allows the viewer/reader to better appreciate the story behind the photo, which is usually only known to the photographer...to experience what the photographer experienced.
He calls this practice Poetography: the art of making photographs that carry the weight of a poem, or poetry that is told through a series of photographs. Not documentation, but feeling. Not capture, but conversation. Although Mike came up with the term and concept on his own, he didn't invent it. He later realized that it wasn't a new concept, so he can't lay claim to it. But that doesn't stop him from pursuing it.
The approach
Great light, and nature, rarely arrive on schedule. Mike often returns to the same location dozens of times before the image he imagined finally appears.
The camera is secondary. The first act is simply being there — fully, quietly, without agenda — and letting the land set the terms.
Every image in the portfolio is one of hundreds made in a single session. The edit is as important as the exposure.
The work continues.
Mike is a lifelong resident of New England, one of the best areas with a wide variety of terrain and weather. In New England, residents are treated to all four seasons...sometimes in a single day. He gets out to enjoy and photograph nature as often as he can.