My name is Michael Nilsen. Ever since I was little I’ve been drawn to photography. I remember getting my first point and shoot camera. A small 35mm camera with the American flag on it. It was given to me while a family vacation on the Oregon coast. I must have been 8 years old or younger. But I remember being so excited that I gathered everyone in a group and took my first photo. But I didn’t fully understand how film cameras worked and I wanted to look at the negative right away and see what I just took. Before anyone could stop me I popped the back of the camera open ruining my first photo.

I think back to that time and how younger generations will probably never have to make that mistake again. Ansel Adams truly was a visionary and his work will always be something to strive for in my own work. Digital photography came and changed the world of photography forever. I remember the first time I saw a DSLR in person. It was during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pointing out the camera of one of the press to my dad. Such an amazing thing to be able to take a photo and see it immediately on the camera. And then to be able to load it up on the computer and quickly share it with anyone. And since then cameras have changed even more and the technology to share has gone beyond what I could have imagined.

I grew up in Utah and still call it home. And although Utah has been my home for my whole life I never really took advantage of what the state has to offer. Yes, growing up my family would travel all over Utah, mainly southern Utah. But it wasn’t until recent years that I started taking photography more seriously and even then haven’t made the time to truly fall more in love with Utah. Even when I worked for a camera store right out of high school I still barely ventured out with my camera. I dreamed about it so many times but hardly was able to do it. But now I’ve made a promise to myself to truly get out and explore the great outdoors more often and share the adventures with you all.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions. Also you can also keep up with some of my work on my Instagram and on Facebook. But I am planning on having a lot more content here on my website in my blog, which is where I’ll be sharing my adventures and things I learn and everything else that comes up with this next step in my life.