Michael Strickland was born in the Great Plains of Western Kansas, where the wide open landscape inspired him to pick up the camera late in his teens. Art always played a large part in Michael’s life. He graduated high school from Interlochen Arts Academy and studied jazz in New York City before settling down and getting his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kansas. Being a mechanical engineer by trade, the technical aspect of digital photography came second nature to Michael, and soon he desired more. A few years into his career as a landscape photographer, he fully immersed himself in the analog world. He now works with an 8×10 large format camera, a medium format 6×7, and a 6×17 panoramic camera.
Michael’s colorful, limited-edition landscape photographs have been collected by individuals worldwide, and he has work hanging in the offices of some of the nation’s most prestigious art collectors. He prides himself on controlling the outcome of his work from concept to delivery. His work on 8×10 film has allowed him to create finely detailed images that resolve finer than any digital system to this day. The meticulous process of large format produces a well-planned, carefully crafted image that can take years to perfect.
Michael now resides in his home state of Kansas, where he has the incredible opportunity to photograph the beautiful prairie of the Great Plains on a daily basis. He enjoys photographing and exploring areas close to his home to study the light carefully and understand the landscape on a more intimate level. Though he enjoys traveling to exotic locations with cameras in tow, Michael always finds his way home to explore the places he knows and loves. Whether on the cliffs of Big Sur, in the backcountry of Yosemite, or on the plains of Western Kansas, Michael will always love the landscape he calls his home.
Michael works with a Linhof Technorama 617 SIII, a Mamiya 7II, and an Arca Swiss F-Line 8×10 and exclusively works with Fujifilm and Kodak color films and Ilford black and white films.
Toroweap is a very remote location located on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, roughly 90 miles from the nearest resources. In the heat of the summer, temperatures here can reach over 100 degrees for multiple days with little relief at night. We made our way out to Toroweap in August as a monsoonal weather pattern was headed back into northern Arizona. The location I shot from was probably one of the most frightening experiences of my life. With gear, I had to scramble down off the side of the cliff, aiming for a ledge that was about 2 and a half feet wide with a dropoff of nearly 4,000 feet, straight to the Colorado River. Then I had to scramble along this ledge to a platform that was probably about the size of a small car. What this did though, was allow me to photograph slightly below the rim, providing a pretty unique perspective. Worth it? I think so. Would I ever do it alone again? Probably not. Rope is now on my list to bring with me back to Toroweap.
Severe Thunderstorm, Seward County: 2013