Michael J Photography

Rocky Point

mikeslagter — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:01:38 +0000

This is def my favorite place to surf, and second favorite to photograph on the North Shore. To be honest though, I almost didn’t even shoot this day b/c I didn’t have any telephoto lens…only my trusty 50mm. But I soon realized that I needed to adapt to the situation and make the most of it…so I made it my goal to try out some new angles, and capture this infamous break from a fresh perspective. So stoked how they turned out!

2012 Update

mikeslagter — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:13:28 +0000

So excited to be back in Hawaii and serving full time with Surfing The Nations again! STN’s mission statement, if you’re not familiar with it, is basically to give communities, both locally and internationally, Christ’s message of love and hope through the sport of surfing and acts of selfless service. Another way to describe it would be to put a bible on the table…and then throw a National Geographic and Surfer Magazine on top of that. Check out Surfers Giving Back, a short film I produced for them last year about what we do here in Hawaii

Chris Rehrer - International Director at STN

"Ohana" Dinner (hawaiian for family)

The new internship crew (Theres 99 of us total including staff!)

Feeding The Hungry program (we're the largest on the island, feeding around 3,000+ people a week)

Ulupono Afterschool Thriving Arts Program

Waianae Surf Outreach (A program created for the youth at risk on the west side of the island)

Surfers Church

Breathe. Travel. Explore. Look. Listen. Learn. Love.

mikeslagter — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:22:18 +0000

“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”

Jon Krakauer “Into the Wild”

Hawaii Portraits

mikeslagter — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 03:04:29 +0000

Life is a journey…and you meet alot of amazing people along the way. Here is just a few people I met and got to know really well while working at Surfing The Nations in Hawaii. Alo)(a

Bridal Photoshoot

mikeslagter — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:31:56 +0000

I have to thank Evi Siskos so much for this one! She knew I was trying to get my foot in the door of the wedding photography industry, so not only did she set up and organize this whole thing, but she called up two of her good friends to help out as well. We stumbled onto a civil war reenactment while we were shooting, totally random I know, but it ended up working out great because they were more than welcome to pose for some pictures with us

Location: Ringwood Manor, NJ

Summer Bohemian Photoshoot

mikeslagter — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:06:53 +0000

This is my good friend Dena, and believe it or not this was her first time [modeling] in front of a camera. She did great though, and was a natural from the beginning!

Location: The Celery Farm in Allendale, NJ.

Cinematography Reel

mikeslagter — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:07:42 +0000

Two years in the making! This is my Travel / Action Sports / Timelapse demo reel. Locations include New Jersey, Hawaii, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Filmed with the Nikon D7000, Canon 7D, and the Sanyo HD2000. Edited in Final Cut Pro X. Pictures from all the locations here.

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

mikeslagter — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:14:21 +0000

Prepare to have your mind blown. This is Gimmelwald, Switzerland, a small mountain village (4,593ft above sea level) in the Swiss Alps. The town only has about a hundred people, and the only way to access it is by gondola. The area is one of the most popular extreme sports destinations for paragliding, hang gliding, BASE jumping, bungee jumping, skiing, and mountain biking in the world, besides New Zealand. Wow as a photographer, this is hands down the most picturesque place I have ever been. No cars allowed, cows and goats grazing everywhere, the most intense hikes you can imagine in every direction, and massive glaciers on every peak. I can’t believe I got to stay here for eight days!

Norway

mikeslagter — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:40:44 +0000

Two things come to mind when I think of Norway – EPIC and ridiculously expensive.

Amsterdam!

mikeslagter — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:11:41 +0000

Amsterdam…the home of windmills, wooden shoes, canals, marijuana, and thousands of bikers riding vintage beach cruisers. It has a very unique atmosphere here, as you would imagine, and is absolutely amazing for pictures and people watching. If you haven’t been here I highly recommend it!