Beyond Boudoir's Back Story

Thanks for reading my story!  My friends just call me Dr. Mike, since I had a long career in health care before retiring at the age of sixty in 2015.  My field involved the human eye, so perhaps it is no surprise that I have a fascination with photography.  

I learned old fashioned chemical photography in my early teen years, a natural consequence of having a photography teacher for a father.   Being a nerdy kid, I was happy to spend hours in the darkroom as a high school yearbook photographer.

In my early adulthood, I enjoyed scenic photography.  Waterfalls were my specialty.  I hiked into remote places with heavy camera gear and once again I found myself spending many hours in various darkrooms.   I had a couple of travel articles published, but mostly my photos were for my own enjoyment.

At age 39, I found myself single and free to learn more about human sexuality.   I met great people in Portland who were part of what I will loosely call the “sex positive” community.    They helped me develop a healthy and non-judgmental attitude about sex.   Some volunteered to pose for me and helped me develop my nude photography skills.   

My switch to digital photography arrived in 2002 when affordable digital cameras came close to the image quality of 35mm film.   The digital equipment I have now provides image quality that far exceeds what I could achieve back in the days of film and chemicals and gives me much greater freedom of artistic expression.  

But for my kind of work, the most important thing about digital photography is that I don’t need a commercial photo lab.   This allows me to have complete control over my client’s private images!

Beyond Boudoir Photo is my retirement gig.  It's motivated by my love of photography and people.  

I try to maintain the highest technical standards consistent with being a one man shop.  I also strive for high ethical standards.  If I don't feel I'm the right photographer for your needs, I will tell you up front.  If I promise to keep your personal images private, then that is exactly how it will be.  Since I work solo, I have full control over all aspects, especially making clients feel comfortable during their photoshoots.  The downside to solo work is that I'm limited in how many clients I can accept and I can't take on jobs that need multiple crewmembers.

Besides making beautiful images, my goal is to help people feel better about themselves and celebrate their sexuality.  Questions are welcome if you want to know more.

You may have noticed that I don't have a photo of myself here.  If we start exchanging messages, I can easily send you one, so feel free to ask.

Last updated: February 2023