Biography

Michael E. Gordon

Michael E. Gordon is an award-winning fine art landscape photographer best known for his black and white impressions of California's deserts which, said Broughton Quarterly, portrays “stunning ethereal beauty from terrain where others see only a bleak landscape.” A lifelong student of nature and wilderness, Michael’s intimate relationship with the natural world yields quiet images of depth and discovery.

Michael's photographs and articles have been published in and on the covers of numerous magazines, calendars, and textbooks, with publications and clients including LensWork; Elements; Medium Format; On Landscape; Outdoor Photographer; SHOTS; Backpacker; B+W Photography (UK); Arte Fotográfico; View Camera magazine; Rangefinder; The Wilderness Society; and many more. His fine art prints are held internationally in the private collections of the United States Embassy, Kaiser Permanente; Milken Family Foundation; The Wilderness Society, and many others. Awards and recognition include International Photography Awards, Prix de la Photographie, Paris, and Black & White Spider Awards. In early 2015, Michael was a featured on-camera Death Valley expert in an NHK Japan full-length documentary film.

Michael E. Gordon in Death Valley National Park

Michael's love for and commitment to the preservation of imperiled landscapes in California and the American West reaches beyond his photography. His 20-year service as volunteer ranger in the San Gorgonio Wilderness earned him a President's Gold Volunteer Service award. He has served on the Board of Directors for the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy. His photographs have been instrumental in the campaigns of The Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club, Campaign for America’s Wilderness, and National Parks Conservation Association and have helped to shape wildfire management; public lands policy; renewable energy policy; and Wilderness and National Monument designation and expansion.

Michael owns and operates Death Valley Photo Tours - Death Valley National Park's leading photo tour company - and Great Printer Profiles, the leading provider of custom printer profiles for photographers and print makers. He annually leads numerous photo workshops and tours for photographers of all levels, is co-founder of Visionary Photography Workshops, and is a staff instructor for The Los Angeles Center of Photography. He lives in a house in Southern California, with his wife Shauna, held hostage by beautiful feline companions.