Michael Sullivan

Michael Sullivan is a humanistic photographer located in Madison, Wisconsin. As a child, Michael recalls there being Polaroid and Instamatic camera’s used to capture special moments and every day happenings. Seeing his youth preserved in a candid, unposed way left a lasting impression on Michael. When he picked up a camera again, he began photographing and documenting life in this same candid, unposed manor.

In 2011, Michael began photographing marches, protests, and rallies in Madison. Baring witness to a time of political and social unrest had a profound effect on Michael and his photography: He was not only documenting his own life, but preserving a moment in history. With the rise of social media, Michael could allow people outside Madison to see what was happening there.

Michael had his first solo show at the Rangefinder Gallery in Chicago, Illinois in 2014. His photo, ‘boy listening to the man reflected in the window’ was selected in the People category in Black+White Photography magazine’s Black+White Photographer of the Year 2016 competition. Michaels work has been selected for inclusion in multiple group exhibitions in galleries and online in the United States, London, and Budapest. His work has appeared in several publications including books, newspapers, periodicals, and a record album.

Michael believes in the fortuitous circumstance of capturing a moment as it is happening. His ongoing project ‘people on the bus’ is a collection of environmental portraits taken candidly in an intimate, yet public space. The essence of Michael’s photography is to capture exceptional images in conventional environments.