Occhi Contemporary Art Gallery is proud to represent photographer Michael Dooley. Following a degree in Photography from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Michael worked for many years as a still photographer and a chief lighting technician in the film and video industries. His second degree in Environmental Geology led him into a successful career as an environmental consultant, embarking on excursions into the jungles of the Amazon, the foothills of the Himalayas, the ruins of Guatemala, and other exotic habitats worldwide, with his camera. We had the pleasure of speaking to Michael about how he came to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology, his years in the film and video industries, and his body of award-winning work.
How did your personal journey with photography begin?
When I was in my early 20s, I had a good friend who was a gifted artist. I was impressed with the pleasure he got from the creative process. I tried sketching but I didn’t have that kind of talent. But I was visual, I realized, and visual talent could be corralled through photography.
What was your experience like at FIT?
As a young guy, I moved from the family home in New Jersey to California and then from California to New York City, where I immediately bought a 35mm film camera and took a night course in photography at FIT. My teacher, Irving Schild, gave us themed assignments. No matter the theme, Professor Schild said, my images were consistently compelling. He thought I could become a gifted photographer, and he offered to vouch for me so I could attend FIT full time, even though I didn’t have a portfolio. I owe him a debt of gratitude for this. I took him up on his offer, studying not only photography and the history of photography but also art, art history, advertising and design, three-dimensional design, and more. On weekend nights I drove a yellow taxi to support myself.
What were your first jobs in photography?
After graduation I took whatever paying photography jobs came my way, but I still had to drive a cab to support myself. Back then, as is the case now, photography was a very competitive field. I managed to come by several clients wanting black and white photos, and as I was able to develop the negatives and photos in the small darkroom I had in my apartment, I could deliver the work in a timely manner. Through word of mouth, I was eventually able to start a freelance business, albeit not a very profitable one.
I did a lot of portraits, headshots for up-and-coming actors, rock/punk bands, and some event photography. I took photos of my landlord’s kids to submit for a job taking portraits of young campers at a summer camp on Long Island, for their parents. I got the job. I could never bring myself to do wedding events, though I did pro bono weddings for friends, usually as a second photographer. I also worked as an assistant to some well-known photographers in the city. I worked with one photographer on an assignment in Pittsburgh, photographing products and furniture for a department store. The furniture had been delivered to a football stadium for the shoot. During what seemed to me to be a very professional endeavor, that photographer asked me to give him the henway. What the heck is that? I said to myself. Finally, I asked him. He said ‘a hen weighs about five pounds.’
Who were your earliest influences?
During my time at FIT, we talked about notable photographers from the past—Matthew Brady, Alfred Stieglitz, Man Ray, and others. My biggest influence though was watching slide shows of the work of painters—from the Renaissance to the Impressionists. I learned so much from them, about subject matter, composition, light, and color. I learned that there are different ways to look at images, such as Pointillism and Cubism. My studies emboldened me to shoot abstract photos, close-ups where you can’t really tell what the subject really is. I subscribed to the Life Library of Photography by Time-Life Books. Every month, I would get a new photo book in the mail. One of them was entitled, Great Photographers. I admired so much of the work in that issue, from black and white to color. Throughout my life, I have found myself studying the work of graphic designers, architects, anyone with a creative mind.
How did photography lead you into becoming a lighting technician in film?
After a two-month tour in Europe—for which I brought about 30 rolls of film, some black and white, and some color slides for my Nikon camera—and three lenses, I came back to the U.S. wanting to expand my horizons. I decided to try to get into the movie business, as a lighting technician. I thought that would be a good fit for me with my background in photography. Of course, you can’t just walk in and say, “I’m a lighting guy, hire me.” To get your foot on the door you have to start as a production assistant and learn the process of filmmaking as you go. Sometimes I got work as a still photographer on small productions.
You’re one small gear in a large machine when you’re working with film. One of my first jobs was as a prop assistant on Saturday Night Live. I had never watched SNL as I usually drove a cab on Saturday nights. Working in props was interesting. I got to meet a lot of the early SNL cast, and some of them were really funny. I worked on “Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video,” which turned out to be too risqué to be on TV, so they made it into a feature film.
Eventually, I started working in the lighting department for film productions. There are a variety of different kinds of lights in movie-making, and they draw power from a few hundred watts up to 10,000 watts of light. Obviously, you can’t plug these lights into a regular electrical receptacle. You need to learn about electricity and power balance and be able to run your own electrical system from the electrical service panel or from a large-capacity portable generator. I got into NABET, which is a union for TV film technicians. I worked as a film electrician and then worked my way up to gaffer, which is the chief lighting technician. I worked on music videos, TV commercials, documentaries, indie, and low-budget films, and some high-profile feature movies. During a union strike, I went back to college and got a degree in Environmental Geology, but I never stopped shooting photos.
How has access to photo enhancement software changed you as a photographer? And did it take time for you to accept such software in your work?
When digital photography first came out, I thought the image resolution was so inferior to film that it wasn’t worth investing in. As digital resolution improved, image quality improved too. So I got a small point-and-shoot Nikon to see what it was all about. Its image quality and software were not that great, so I kept shooting film with some digital here and there. I made the leap into digital photography seriously when I purchased a Nikon DSRL (digital single-lens) camera, which accommodated the Nikon lenses I used for film. Image quality and software had improved so much by then that I gave up using my film cameras altogether and shoot exclusively digital now. At first, I used Nikon photo software and then tried other types. Who could have imagined that you could have a complete darkroom on your computer? Digital photography today has bypassed film. The images are alive and vibrant, especially with some minimal software manipulation, although Kodachrome slide film could compare.
Today if you have a smartphone you can be a photographer. But as millions of images a day are shot, it’s hard to stand out unless you have incredible visual skills or a unique point of view—and some tech-savvy. Otherwise, you are just taking snapshots.
Do you have advice for photographers just starting out?
My old photography teacher used to say photography is painting with light. He would remind us that when shooting you should always look at the edge of the frame, not just the center, to see where is the light is coming from. And of course, there is composition to consider. The difference between a snapshot and a photo is point of view. You’re looking at a 3D image that will be presented as a 2D image. But you can add depth to the photo by choosing the right angle.
Not everything looks best in color. Color can be converted to black and white with a simple click of the mouse. Another great thing about working with today’s technology is being able to do what I call a blast of colors, in which colors are purposely over-emphasized. I like using lots of reflections, whether on water or through glass or in mirrors and sometimes adding a blast of color can make the images even more abstract.
What is your favorite kind of photography?
I considered myself a versatile photographer. I like shooting different subjects and I can change styles to work in both traditional and abstract formats.
Working with clients, of course, you don’t get to choose what you want to shoot, so you take what you get and handle it as creatively as possible and pay attention to what the clients’ needs are and what they are trying to sell or project. On the other hand, when photographing for my own projects, the sky is the limit. I love travel photography because you get to experience places over and over again by documenting them with incredible images. I enjoy meeting people with my camera in hand, and I’ll often ask if I can take their picture. Travel is great on its own, but being a photographer gives it an additional purpose and adds another dimension to travel memories.
But you never have to wander far to find something to photograph. New Mexico, where I live, is a great place to photograph—from the local zoo and botanical gardens to the lush mountains and colorful desert with its incredible rock formations and bursts of colors. Also, there is a quality of light that happens in New Mexico that surpasses the light range of most places. It is the Land of Enchantment, truly an amazing place. I recently purchased an iPhone 12 Pro, so that I can have a state-of-the-art camera on me at all times, though I still carry my DSLR when I travel.
Anything else you would like to say about your life in photos?
The power of photography is profound and somewhat magical. Sometimes in the wonder of nature, or while documenting an event, or recording a dark moment that maybe shouldn’t be forgotten, an emotion can actually be frozen; the photo can contain a living memory. I believe that photography can reveal hope in a world that can sometimes appear hopeless. Through my photos, I try to create a vision that has something to do with the beauty of life.
Where can readers learn more about your work?
https://michaeljdooleyphotography.com
https://www.instagram.com/mickeydools/
https://www.viewbug.com/member/mickeyd
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