Each Monday, we’ll highlight one indie photographer whose body of work deserves special recognition. Please enjoy their photography here, and make it a point to enjoy the rest of their work on their website.

Erik Michael is a Cross Junction, Virginia, United States based photographer.  He principally shoots  outdoor photography – just about everything he photographs  is outdoors, rarely does he shoot subjects indoors.   Within this style, nature is what Erik really enjoys most and his favorite process is HDR – landscapes, botanicals and wildlife. Erik also enjoys photographing pets, people, and concerts. Concert photography probably the one subject he frequently shoots that takes place both indoors and outdoors.  His workhorse is a Canon Rebel XTi. but he would love to upgrade to a full sensor body, such as the Canon 5D Mark III. He recently had the pleasure of borrowing this body from a friend of his, and let’s just say he didn’t want to give it back!

Because of his subject range he has  2 favorites lenses, for landscapes, it would be his Canon EFS / 18-55mm for getting wide angle shots. For pets, people, botanicals and concerts, he chooses his Canon ES-62 / 50mm, it provides  him with the ability to shoot high depth of field and works well in low light.

Erik shoots 99% of the time in natural light with the exception of the limited indoor photography that he does.  Even then, if it’s during the day, he’ll use as much natural light as possible.  He then imports his work into Lightroom 3 and immediately backs it up to his external Drobo.  Erik  then does his first round of cuts by eliminating the shots he knows he’ll never use. Then he goes through and does a second round of cuts tapering down to his favorites. From there, Erik does  his post processing using the Develop tools in Lightroom, NIK software for his HDR and Black and White processing – and lastly Photoshop CS3 for any finishing touches.

Erik has a number of locations he’d love to shoot.   Within the United States, high on his list include travel to the western states and photographing national parks and places in Utah (Salt Flats), Arizona (Slot Canyons), Wyoming (Yellowstone National Park), Tennessee (Smoky Mountains), and Maine (lighthouses). Outside the United States, his wish list is endless, but being of the Italian and German heritage, those are two places he would love to visit and photograph most  someday.

Erik’s favorite technique is HDR photography.  Erik says “HDR has taken the photography world by the lens cap”.  He advises that HDR starts on the camera. In his methodology he advises:

• Bracket your shots, minimum of three exposures – more if you can or wish.
• Shoot at a high f-stop, f/11 to f/22 to capture as much detail as possible, subject, situation and what you’re looking for in the shot will dictate your range.
• Use a cable release mechanism, or if you don’t have one, use the timer on your camera, this will eliminate any vibration.
• During the processing phase, regardless of your choice of software (NIK HDR EFX, Photomatix, etc.), don’t fall for the presets and be happy with it, work with the settings and make it your own.

TIP: (which segues from the last line in his HDR process) “This is more on a personal level than a must. There’s a fine line when processing in HDR. Personally, I like to see the final image maintain a natural feel, yet instilling fine art flair. Keep it as real as possible but give it your own little extra flavor. I won’t say too much on this because it all comes down to personal taste, but just a little tip to keep in mind when working with your next HDR process.”

A few years ago while on a shoot Erik stumbled across high depth of field while trying to adjust his settings in order to get the shot. This resulted in a shallow focal range, with one area of the subject being in focus and the rest of the subject way out of focus. Erik has now mastered this technique and uses  a lot, especially when shooting concerts, pets, portraits of people, or in nature when he really wants to zero in on a particular element and let the background blur out.

Erik goes old school and new school in naming two photographers whose work he admires.  His first is Ansel Adams of whom he says, “Easy choice I know, but his work has inspired me since I was a teenager. The contrast and detail of his landscape work is what has driven me to photography, and all with the equipment he had available. Just imagine what he could do with today’s technology!”  The second photographer he names is one that all of us who admire HDR photography know, Trey Ratcliff.  Erik opines  “Trey’s work is just incredible. He just makes everything so magical. The composition, color, detail – it makes me sickly inspired!”

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google+
• Pinterest
• Gmail
• reddit

Erik has not yet had the opportunity to shoot a motorsports event but it is high on  his list.  He is a fan of racing, cars and motorcycles, and already has his equipment packed to get out and photograph any type of motorsports.

Erik’s work can be found online at:

• http://www.erikmichaelphotography.com
• http://www.facebook.com/erikmichaelphotography
• http://www.twitter.com/emichaelphoto
• http://www.flickr.com/people/erikmichaelphotography/
• https://plus.google.com/105937090412134071827/posts