Hello, Michael! Tell me a bit about yourself. Where did you grow up?

Adelaide, South Australia. As a side note, Covid in Melbourne almost made me sell all my equipment; it killed off events and I didn’t shoot for almost 2 years. Doing personal projects to keep the flame alive. I have been winding up slowly and starting to look for more work and opportunities.

Yeah, Covid was ROUGH.


Did you play sports as a kid?

No, I worked for my father, a cabinet maker, but I rode a bike as often as I could.

Where do you live now?

Mordialloc, Victoria, Australia

Anything else you’d like readers to know about you?

I really enjoy helping others learn about photography.

Cool, me too! How long have you been a photographer? When did you start?

When I was young my father had a instamatic, a comet ii, and a super 8 video camera, and I loved to watch him film us. He was very animated which I am very much like. When I was young though I didn’t have much money so buying a camera or buying film to shoot with was not an option. I was married at a young age and started to work in an engineering field, which allowed me the money to buy film and experiment, from my first camera purchase, a Yashica point and shoot film camera, I realised I was limited by it almost in a week. I wanted to photograph fireworks and the camera was not capable. I was about 22. So I started about 1998.

A hard lesson to learn but one that I am sure a lot of us can relate with. What was your first “pro” camera?

The first SLR was a Canon 500n film camera. It come with two lenses, and I started to accumulate gear from the on. My first digital camera was bought in 2003.

What camera(s) do you currently shoot with?

Canon 5d Mark Iv bodies, and mostly simga art prime lenses.

Gotta love those Sigma art lenses!!


What makes a “professional photographer” in your opinion?

Someone who can get the work done, no excuses, they must be able to understand what the client wants and be able to deliver, when needed, they must understand their own limitations and their equipment limitations and be able to say, that’s out of my scope to the client if asked.

I love that. It's a unique answer. What was your first paid photography gig?

I had a photo of a car drifting printed in a magazine in 2004, I was paid $20 for the photo, and I still have not cashed the cheque!

Ha ha, that is awesome! A memento from your first paid shoot. What was your first paid sports photography gig (if different from the gig above)?

Photography of a drift event for a car magazine called Hot 4’s, the event was the G1 drafting at Mallala Motorsports Park in Adelaide.

What was one of your favorite events/competitions/games/matches that you shot?

I have way too many to list, so many amazing weddings, so many amazing events, but some highlights: 1) my first wedding, the groom's speech left no dry eyes. 2) In 2010 I was in Japan for a non-Japanese Drift Event, we were locked into a venue for 48 hours there was lots going on. 3) Being on centre stage at the 2017 Crossfit Invitationals and listening to the Pacific Teams video / anthem and being a very proud Australian.

Do you do your own photo editing?

Yes

Do you like photo editing? Why or why not?

It’s a necessary task and part of the process. I shoot in raw and jpg, mostly in Manual exposure, and changing light conditions in gyms, and venues with halogen lights means some tweaking is necessary, I generally will edit about 15% of the raw files. I do enjoy the process. And shocker, I don’t use lightroom, as my process flow started well before it existed,

Very interesting! What photography jobs do you have coming up and you are excited about?

I have been working with Awards Australia for the last 8 years, In Brisbane and now in Melbourne, their Young Achievemer Awards night is always one of the highlights, the stories behind the photos are amazing.

Super cool. What kinds of non-sports-related photo jobs do you take?

I have been doing some boudoir shoots, but I started a new instagram for that.

What is a topic related to photography in general, or more specifically sports photography, that you are really passionate about?

I have always said to new people who ask me about photography: photograph what you are passionate about, as your passion will shine through your photos, and that will make you see what is important in a photo.

Perfectly said! And so important for a new photographer to hear.


Who were/are your mentors?

I was mostly self taught. I didn’t tend to look to others for inspiration, I pushed the boundaries of the equipment by testing what it could do.

What would be an event/competition/game that you would love to shoot someday?

Olympic lifting at the Olympics.

What sport have you not shot yet that you would love to shoot?

There are many, but Tennis and Soccer are high on the list.

People can follow Micheal at https://www.photomcp.com/ and on Instagram. Anything else you'd like to share?

Yes, I also host and edit a podcast which is not about photography, we mainly talk about a community of people that play a mobile phone game.

We are on Spotify and YouTube “Ausnz HCR2 community podcast.”


Thanks so much for the interview, Michael! Stay tuned for the next interview on Thursday!

~ Wendy