C. Michael Graves
Photographer/Artist

Starting out in school I was rarely seen without a pencil in hand, always trying to rush through my studies to find more time to sketch out a new face or design. For years I strived to find the one thing that quieted the noise in my head that was screaming at full volume to be let loose. The first time I picked up a camera, the constant noise ceased and every since my camera hasn’t been far from my side.

I haven't any formal training and I specialized in the perfect mix of light and shadow. I worked as a photo lab manager, giving me a unique way to learn how to read light on film itself, thus learning how to manipulate the camera to do the things I visualized in my head. I left film behind at the turn of the industry and once again remastered the digital slr, willing the camera to do my work.

I use light and shadow in my classic art nudes, wrapping the light around people to accentuate the natural curves of the body. For me, this is the best way to show the body and all it's great forms. Light and shadow, when combined in the perfect mixture hug the body and show lines and curves that in any other light are invisible.

No matter the theme or subject matter, I hope that people see something in my work that they don’t see normally. All my vision, in most cases, remains just out of site, take the time to look and you will see the world the way I do, beauty surrounds us and is easily found, you just have to slow down enough to see it.