Hi there,

I'm Michael.

I am a California native, currently based in Southern California. My interest in photography was encouraged at a young age by my grandfather, who gave me my first Kodak Instamatic 100 and later a Nikkormat FTN. I took a brief break from photography during college, and I returned to it while in graduate school to fulfill a need for creative expression not met through my academic pursuits. I enjoy capturing humanity in all of its settings—whether traveling or at home in Orange County and Los Angeles. As a "day job", I have worked as a teacher and researcher at all levels of education for more than 20 years and now specialize in higher education program evaluation and policy.

Photography is a passion and in my photographs I try to capture life. No matter whether I am in the studio or out at an event, my goal is to capture individual personalities and emotions. I want the humanity of the people I photograph to shine though.

My personal photography projects can also be seen on Instagram @hill_michaels.