Artist/Photographer Member Michael L. Young

Photographic imaging is my passion.

The path for photographic expression is my obsession.

I was born in Texas, and being a Texan and an American has contributed strongly to my belief and sense of freedom: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to be who you are meant to be, and the freedom to pursue one´s passion.

I follow my freedom, passion, and obsession in the creation of my images. This freedom allows me to create images that fit the intended purpose at the moment in the time the camera clicks. Be it a crime scene, a classic portrait session, or a photographic exercise to stretch the mind and/or medium in order to explore the limitless paths of this journey we call life.
I subscribe to no particular school of photography or art. I enjoy all manner of visual expression and I would encourage the world as a whole to liberalize its embrace and pick up on the good vibes to be had in such an open embrace. My images might be labeled an eclectic smorgasbord, running from the "real" to the surreal.

One might ask, why place the word "real" in quotation marks?

The answer is simple. By the very physics of photography, no photograph can be real; it can only be relatively real. A photograph is a two dimensional representation of a four-dimensional object or subject; therefore, it is not real; it is relatively real or surreal if you please. It can have varying degrees of reality but never truly be physically real thus the "real". This given physical characteristic of this medium with its subsequent freedom from true realism allows us to explore the world visually from as "real" as the camera can capture to as surreal as the imager´s mind´s eye can envision. This allows the photographer to embrace the diversity of the visual environment with the freedom of a medium with variable realism.

My personal History or Biography is as eclectic as my tastes in photography, music and art.

I received my first serious introduction to photography in high school as a newspaper and yearbook photographer.

I studied photography, art, history, engineering, and architecture at Texas A&M where I graduated Class of 77.

My career has been as varied as my tastes in photography. I was an engineer for 15 years, during which I photographically chronicled engineering and construction projects, shot corporate brochures, and photographed forensic equipment failures for my employer.

For the past 17 years I have had the privilege of serving in law enforcement as a Crime Scene Photographer and Accident Reconstructionist.

I am in partnership with my wife Lesa in a photography business, Youngs Photographic Imaging (www.y2photo.net).

I am also a member of The Texas Professional Photographers Association and the Professional Photographers of America.

Michael L. Young, 2009