Michael Van Auken: Artist Statement

Remember that guy in high school who always had a camera in his hands? That was me. I’ve loved photography for as long as I can remember. It was never a mystery that I would pursue a career in photography.

As a professional photographer I have been recording the history of people’s lives for close to four decades. Family portraits are more than keepsakes, they are a tangible history of our lives that will be passed down through generations.

“Grandma has a collection of photographs of her parents and her brothers and sisters when they were little. She also has photographs of her aunts and uncles, grandparents, and great grandparents. When we get together we all love looking through the family albums to look for facial similarities (Who do I take after?). But we also look for clues about personality (Was mom happy when she was a little girl?), interests (I didn’t know grampa played trombone in a band!), and family relationships (Look, dad didn’t like his sister even they were little!). And don’t even get me started about those outfits and hairstyles!”

Whether it’s a family portrait, a wedding, or a corporate event, it’s all about photographing people.That’s my specialty: photographing people.With a little magic I can bring out the best in even the most camera-shy individual. (If you ask me how I do it, I don’t mind telling you. It’s magic!)

The camera is magic. It stops time: a teasing look, a loving touch, a playful expression captured in a fraction of a second. It’s these little moments that become the big picture.