ABOUT ME

First and foremost - I love what I do.

I feel privileged to be able to make art every day and to share it with my clients. My goal is to make images speak, exposing "how it feels".   I try to achieve in my work: balance, beauty, consistency and continual growth.

I began shooting at age 13. My passion for photography stems from my grandfather who was from Germany.  He later immigrated to Montana, and then started his own family in San Francisco. My brother and I spent every other weekend flipping through old black and white photos in the basement of their home. I would follow him into his dark room and watch him mix chemicals onto paper - images would appear. I thought he was a magician.  Those childhood years shaped me into the nomad traveler I am today. My grandfather taught me to look at life from all angles through a lens.

I’ve been a full time professional photographer for 15+ years. What kind of photography do I do? Everything. My main focus is wedding and fine art landscape photography. I freelance with various travel magazines which feeds my obsession with the desert. If it's a local road assignment, be sure to keep an eye out for my travel companion, my dog, "The General" - he's visited 28 states.  I've currently shot over 900 weddings and again - blessed to have met some of the most unique clients that chose me to capture their special day. My approach to wedding photography has a very photojournalist style to it. I do pose my clients to an extent. Meaning I find that it's best to let people be themselves while shooting. Laugh, giggle - enjoying each other. Those "candid" shots end up being the best shots because they catch the essence of what was really happening at that very moment.

When I'm not shooting weddings or landscapes, you will also find me available for family portraits, maternity photos, corporate events, commercial, food photography, product photography, couple portraits, band portraits and anything else you can think of that requires photography. I will travel anywhere and love to meet new people. With that said, I have had numerous clients book me to fly out to other states for their weddings. I'm in California, you are in New York? Of course I can work for you. It would be an honor - let's talk.

Let me tell your story through my lens.

If you'd like to know what I'm up to or tag along my travel photo assignments, you can follow me on these social networks. Instagram: @michaelkeelphotography  Facebook: michaelkeelphotography

AWARDS and Published Work:

Silver selection for two photos at the NVAL Gallery 2016 International Juried Photography Show in Redding, CA. Two photos won to be featured in the Landscape Exhibition 2016 at Blank Wall Gallery in Athens, Greece.  Honorable Mention in two categories Landscape/People for the ND Photo Awards 2015,  Monochrome Awards 2015,  and the 4th GREEK CIRCUIT 2016 contest.  Finalist in Landscapes for Photographer's Forum Magazine 35th Annual Spring Photo Contest. Honorable mention for Shoot The Frame Landscape contest 2015.

My latest work has been featured more than once online or in Lonely Planet Traveler UK magazine, Brides Magazine, WHOA Magazine, National Geographic Kids Magazine, Outdoor Photographer Magazine, North Bay Biz Magazine, gopetfriendly.com, I Shot It, Turkish Airlines (Skylife Magazine), N-Photo Nikon Deutschland Magazine, Sigma Cameras, LikeCroatia.com, San Francisco Magazine, Hitchhikers Handbook

These last six years I have been focused on our two young boys that keep our household busy. Juggling the family life with my photography ventures from beautiful Sonoma County CA. Just recently I started getting my landscape work back into the art gallery game. In the past they've been accepted for display in galleries, became finalists, or won contests online,  at Black Box Gallery OR, Wonderland SF Gallery, Capture the Nature, Life Framer, Exhibitions Without Walls FL, 1650 Gallery LA, Shoot the Frame, NVAL Gallery Silver Award Redding CA, Better photo, Matrix Fine Art Albuquerque NM, Blank Wall Gallery Athens, Greece and more.

***If you are interested in hiring me for any of my photography services, have questions, or want to purchase prints, please send me your info through my contact page.***

Fun Facts:

- Music of choice while in the field making landscape photos, and road tripping: The Cure, Mark Lanegan, Tom Waits, Chris Cornell, Katatonia, Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Concrete Blonde, Johnette Napolitano, Anathema, Nightingale, Dan Swanö, Peter Gabriel, Bowie, and Sting.

- I was in the restaurant world for years and a chef for awhile, but now only cook for family and friends. I absolutely love learning about different cultures ways, food origins, history, and so on. But absolutely hate the restaurant business.

- I used to record, tour and play in bands all over the US, and have played guitar for 33 years. I still play and have been working on a solo guitar project for years. But ever since the kiddos came into our lives. It's been a struggle. Still happening though - slowly but surely. My project name is called Ashen Divide.

- X-Files fanatic, big Westerns fan, and major Sci Fi geek in general. Mostly the darker stuff like Blade Runner.

- Current drink of choice is Laphroaig Quarter Cask Peated Whisky/Scotch.