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Born and raised in New York City. In 1979, while still a student at the School of Visual Arts, he established his own portrait studio. He started photographing everyone and everything that interested him; friends, colleagues, musicians, concerts and artists. His portrait of Andy Warhol & Jean-Michel Basquiat with boxing gloves remains to this day one of his iconic photographs. His photo documentary projects include: The School of American ballet 1986-1991 and Nudes & Portraits of sex industry workers from 1991–96. Michael was Tour photographer for The Rolling Stones, documenting their 1981 “Tattoo You” North American tour, as well as AC/DC’s 1996 “Ballbreaker” and 2000’s “Stiff Upper Lip” tours. His fashion and portrait work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Time, Interview, Art News, GQ, Vogue, Life, and Self, among other publications. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the world. He has directed music videos, and ad campaigns for Pepe Jeans and Vodaphone. 2003 saw his first commercially released film titled SURF MOVIE: reels 1-14, followed by the fall 2005 release of SURF BOOK — a portrait of the contemporary surf culture through the people who have inspired and shaped it over the past fifty years. |