Mike MacDonald

Heron Mist

The studio of a commercial photographer is a place where subjects and setups can be selected and manipulated, where color and light can be precisely measured and controlled.

The great outdoors is the studio of Mike MacDonald, a place where one can only guess at what will happen next. It's a place of magic, wonder, spontaneity, inspiration, and peace. It's a place where patience and resourcefulness are rewarded. The fleeting moments, the excitement of never getting a second chance, the challenge to capture what may never happen exactly that way again. This is what lures Mike MacDonald into the natural world.

As a nationally published nature and wildlife photographer, Mike is making a name not by traveling and recording the world's most exotic places, but by making stunning images of the natural beauty that exists right under his nose. Most of his compositions are made in the immediate Chicago area, in the forest preserves of Cook and DuPage counties.

Mike is capable of finding a wealth of beauty in the simplest and most everyday of subjects. "Many people in Chicagoland are unaware of the amazing wild and natural beauty that exists right in their own backyards," he explains