Michael Wilson Is More Than Just A Photographer.

He’s a Master. A storyteller. A record-keeper. A history maker.

Michael Wilson has been making pictures* for nearly 40 years, and in that time he’s developed a look and feel that is instantly recognizable. When you see a Michael Wilson photo, on an album cover, in a magazine, or from across the room, you know that it’s Michael’s work – even if you don’t know why you know. Yes, the technical precision in his work is unmistakable. He mostly shoots black and white, and almost entirely in natural light, so there’s a consistency about his style. And sure, he shoots almost entirely with film, and processes his own film and prints in his darkroom. And yet…there’s still something indescribable about what Michael captures on film, that goes beyond just expertise or style.

Perhaps that same ineffable quality is the same thing that makes it hard for Michael to describe his work or the arc of his career. Because it just seems like something that had to happen. From “stumbling” into photography in high school (after deciding the french horn wasn’t quite his thing) to finding himself with an academic scholarship as an art major at Northern Kentucky University. Michael’s career arc has guided him as much as he has guided it. And lucky for us, he’s been willing to follow, or as he calls it “be shepherded by” that arc. And with a singularity of focus (no pun intended), Michael has perfected his particular approach to his craft over those nearly 40 years into something that can truly be considered art.

You can see it in the photos he shoots around his Price Hill neighborhood on the west side of Cincinnati. It’s in the occasional (and obligatory) corporate work that often pays the bills. And it’s unmistakable in the work he’s best known for: musical portraiture and album artwork, including iconic photos of a seemingly endless list of artists (click the links to see Michael’s photos):

* B.B. King

* David Byrne

* John Hiatt

* Jason Isbell

* The Replacements

* Shawn Colvin

* Emmylou Harris

* Rodney Crowell

* Steve Earle

* Sarah McLachlan

* The Black Keys

* Aaron Neville

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