Backstory
I grew up in Olympia, WA, where I got into photography and started taking photos of my friends skateboarding around town. This is a photo of downtown Olympia.
As a teenager I started working in Seattle as a freelance photographer. One of my first big jobs was documenting the Zune launch for Microsoft. This is a BTS photograph from the job of Bill Gates.
Antarctic and 1965 Records paid my way to photograph the PNW leg of a late 2000s Brian Jonestown Massacre tour. After watching Dig, the award winning documentary, about the band, this job was the most exciting opportunity ever presented. This photo is from their sold out Vancouver, BC show.
In the early 2010s I moved to New York where I started working for Vice Magazine, now Vice Media. This photo is from an early job documenting the festivities surrounding the Coney Island Mermaid Day Parade.
I worked as a photojournalist for Vice documenting music and culture, along with illustrating an array of editorial work created by their staff of writers.
Die Antwoord, the South African rap-rave music duo, performing their first US concert, as a part of the Vice and Intel Creators Project.
Die Antwoord backstage after their show.
I worked a range of freelance jobs a documentary photographer that took me around the US to almost every state and the White House twice. This is from a 4th of July party held for service members by the president.
Through my work I was able to meet and shake the presidents hand on two separate occasions.
I ended up moving to LA for a change and working as a product photographer for Helen Ficalora, a gold charm jeweler. Creating all of the photography needed to build their successful e-commerce site.
While in LA, I moved on to work with a Motorcycle Leather jacket brand called 5-Ball, working with the owner to scale the brand by creating a marketing and sales strategy.
Photography from a 5-Ball Leathers ad
I freelanced as a photographer working on random projects in LA for awhile. This photo is a Chris Pontius from Jackass. His team hired me to create some fun promotional photography for his podcast.
This is a portrait I shot of Conor O’Malley in LA before I left. I think he’s one of the most entertaining comedians and writers. I went to one of his comedy shows and asked to take this photo.
I left LA and went back to NYC for a job. For two years I worked for Jomboy Media helping to build up their video capabilities. Working there with the founders, Jake and Jimmy, was a great experience. They helped me get into baseball, which has been a fun new interest. I regularly got to work on collaborative projects with the Yankees organization and their broadcast team. This a photo of myself with the Aaron Boone, the manager of the Yankees.
Years back, when I first started with Vice, I photographed for their street fashion editorial called the Dos and Donts. Documenting street style has always been fun for me. When last living in NYC and working for Jomboy, I was very busy. I barely had time to photograph, but still found some for a little instagram photo project called Where the Pants Meet the Shoes. I have always been pretty entertained with all of the personality in that area of fashion.
I left my job in NYC to come back to Washington state and be close to family. When I got back, I went out to Eastern Washington to photograph this demo derby. I started shooting skateboarding and through working with Jomboy I got into a wider range of sports. So I thought I would focus on sports moving forward since I may be able to get some gigs in it. Still trying to figure out what’s next for my photography work, but that’s always been the case and one of the reasons I think it’s so rewarding.
Thanks for reading and message anytime.
Best regards,
Mike Deleon