We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michael Castaneda a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

When I was a golf pro in Florida, I actually used to be anti-nature and even went as far as thinking that we built cities to get away from nature. When I moved to California, I drove across the country and made it a mission to stop by a few landmarks just to see what the hype was all about. On that trip, I realized how wrong I truly was in my prior mentality and it became a mission for me from that point on to show off the landscapes that I was witnessing. I started with a cell phone, which 12 years ago wasn’t exactly what it is today so that led to me upgrading to a camera which only progressed as time went on. It was clear to me that my ultimate goal has and always will be to show others the world I was missing and hopefully push people had had similar mindsets like the one I used to have to give up on it and allow nature to become a part of their lives.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As noted in the prior question, I stumbled across photography by accident while making a life changing road trip across the country. As I started to realize that I was getting much better with my work, I knew I needed to try and differentiate myself from others by create a style that I felt was unique to myself. This is much harder than it sounds, but my ultimate goal was to be able to have someone recognize my work without ever having to look at who took the image. In doing so, I actually turned to some of my favorite painters in Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Kinkade and really dissected the reasons why I loved their work so much and find a way to create the same feeling in my own work. From that spawned the style that I currently work with which is very much a battle of lights vs shadows in all of my work with almost a dreamlike feel that makes the images look almost like a painting.

Scale is also an important part of my work specifically with brands because people are generally the primary target for marketing packages. To do this I often try to add a person to a scene so that they compliment the scene and show the size of the location rather than just having an empty location to itself. Those photos are better for hanging up on someone’s wall, not necessarily to connect with someone to visualize themselves in a spot.

I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve been able to use my passion for showing the world to others and not have to stray away to photograph genres I don’t necessarily enjoy just to make a living. I’ve lost interest in my passions before by allowing myself to do more of the things I didn’t enjoy rather than the things I did and photography was something that I vowed to never allow that to happen for me.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I’ve been heavily involved in the crypto market for a while now and even had fun playing with the NFT market last cycle. The thing is though, that was just touching the surface of what NFTs can and will ultimately become. As we move to a more digital world, NFTs can and should lead the way ad contracts for artists that offer all of the rights granted within the metadata of the NFT itself. I think there is a lot of improvement to be made in that ecosystem, but ultimately the groundwork has been set for what can definitely become the new future of ownership and rights among creatives and their partnerships.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

This is easy. When I had my son, my life went on hold. I went back to a more consistent day job and allowed myself the ability to be present for my family. Landscape photography requires a lot of travel and choosing between the two was an easy decision. Of course that doesn’t mean I disappeared from the game altogether, I was just much more selective in the projects I did which actually helped me grow more as a photographer since I really had to plan out my assignments much more intricately with no wasted steps. Being a father has been amazing though and I’m excited as he grows older to share these trips with him and really show him the world that I allowed myself as a kid to completely avoid..

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Michaelcastaneda.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/_mcastaneda_
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/mcastanedaphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcastanedaphotography
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/_mcastaneda_
• Other: https://www.threads.net/@_mcastaneda_