Michael is a California native, currently based in Southern California. His interest in photography was encouraged at a young age by his grandfather, who gave him his first Kodak Instamatic 100 and later a Nikkormat FTN. Michael took a brief break from photography during college, returning to it while in graduate school to fulfill a need for creative expression not met thorough academic pursuits.He enjoys capturing humanity in all of its settings—whether traveling or at home in Orange County and Los Angeles. The visual style of his black and white photography is inspired by the PyroPMK film processing techniques developed by view camera photographer Gordon Hutchings which seeks to capture detail across the visual spectrum. He has worked as a teacher and researcher at all levels of education for more than 20 years and now specializes in program evaluation and policy.