Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Bonwell.
Michael, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In 2013, my father-in-law bought my wife and I a camera for Christmas, a Nikon D60. It was my first real camera. I never had bought a camera or really used any camera besides those disposable cameras that were popular in the early 90’s.
I took my first photos with a DSLR camera in January 2014. I still have the images, they were beachscape shots of Del Mar. I never thought that I would try to make a career out of photography, I saw it as an outlet and a way of getting back in touch with the ocean.
As a 12-year-old growing up in Encinitas, the beach was part of my young life. I grew up bodyboarding, and even when it was time to culturally switch to stand up surfing, I stuck with bodyboarding. The reason I bring this up is because surf photography is what got me really into the love of photography. So in my mid-twenties, I stopped bodyboarding for good, and I just fished. I’m not sure why I stopped bodyboarding or why I didn’t switch to surfing but I just lost touch with it. I fished all the time though so I was still around the ocean I just didn’t go in it anymore. But being on the ocean and being in the ocean is completely different
It wasn’t until March 17th, 2014 when I shot surf for the first time. I shot a few images of my friend John Fay at Seaside. I used my Nikon D60 with a Quantaray 70-300 manual focus lens I bought for $60. This was my first surf photography session, and really my 2nd or 3rd time really shooting anything, and I was hooked!
So I would spend any time I had back at the beach, just shooting. I think why I enjoyed shooting surf so much is because I felt like it put me back in touch with what is important. At this time I was going through some trials in my life. I had been dealing with severe panic attacks, I mean totally disabling panic attacks. But through photography, I was able to gain control and take charge of my attacks. I was soon back in the water, but this time shooting empty waves and surfers with a GoPro. Or on the beach doing solo missions to Blacks or the Wedge Even though I wasn’t totally healed, I was able to manage because I would let things go through my new creative outlet.
I tried to learn different techniques over the last few years, but I never tried to specialize in just one thing. That was my Achilles heel. I thought I needed to know everything about photography and be able to shoot any type of medium. So I would shoot a wedding, or an event. Then I wanted to start shooting portraits and family’s. I did still life, street, sports, and night photography. I thought I had to be good at everything photography in case I was commissioned to shoot something. Just recently, within days of writing this, I found my niche. It was Ocean Photography, it was what I first learned and first loved to shoot.
I have been really blessed to have met many people through photography. In October 2017, I put up my first art gallery. It is at Pipes Cafe in Cardiff, Ca. I am so thankful to one of my best friends, John Fay, who put me in touch with the owners of Pipes, Tim and Karen. They trusted me to style a very large wall with my own images, Wow! I am truly blessed. Where I am today is basically a full circle, just a more experienced and better photographer. I want to specialize in sharing my photography of everything ocean with people. I hope to soon have my own small gallery in Coastal San Diego.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Some struggles along the way were:
#1 Experience- I will say I am self taught, meaning I didn’t attend school or have any classes in photography. Everything I learned was from reading and doing. Or I looked to fellow photographers for advice and inspiration. Going from taking photo to downloading photo to organizing photo to editing photo to printing photo was a huge struggle. Not to mention all the rules of photography. I still have some of my first images with a very very crooked horizons.
#2 Gear- It cost $$$$$$, which I didn’t have to spend on cameras and different lens. It also goes hand in hand with experience, but I don’t care who you are, having better equipment will yield better photos.
#3 Self Doubt- I’m an introvert, maybe people think I’m bi-polar, but I just an introvert. I cant walk up to people and just start chopping it up. It hindered me in asking to be part of surf trips or surf sessions with they guys I would tend to shoot. I also always second guessed my images, sometimes I still do. I am working on owing that and promoting myself more.
#4 My aforementioned panic attacks- This was so hard to deal with. Imagine me walking down to blacks or taking a trip up North to shoot, what if I had a heart attack or a stroke and died… These were my thoughts, I missed a lot of opportunities because of this.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I go by Michael Bonwell Photography. I used to hide behind a pseudonym, MiguelBwell. I did this because I didn’t want to own anything to my name. What if someone I knew didnt like one of my photos…… It wasn’t until one of the guys I shot posted one of my photos of him on Instagram. He, David Suhadolnik tagged me not as @miguelbwell but as michael bonwell. From that day forward I changed my Instagram to @michaelbonwell. Thanks Dave!!!
I specialize in Ocean Photography. I sell my images of waves, beach and surf-scapes.
I try not to always follow the rules of photography, mainly because I don’t see my images that way until I shoot or edit them. Art is SUBJECTIVE. I like to create interesting and beautiful imagery. And I know that I do because it sells. 🙂
What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was an introvert, and still am. I am tall,, 6′ 5″ so I stand out when I don’t want to. This adds my my lone-wolfism.
I was into sports growing up, mostly basketball. But I wasn’t a “Jock” . I was still very involved with the beach, I loved going on surf trips to Mexico in high school and into my twenties. One of my favorite trips of all time is when a few of my friends and I drove to Scorpion Bay. The Best! I also fished regularly, loved fishing
Contact Info:
- Website: www.michaelbonwell.com
- Instagram: @michaelbonwell https://www.instagram.com/michaelbonwell/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/michaelbonwell/pins/
Image Credit:
David Suhadolnik, Kyle Crompton
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