Michael Shainblum
Michael Shainblum is a landscape photographer and filmmaker sharing travel through timelapse films, aerial views, and photography adventures, from California fog to New Zealand rainforests.
At 100 nudges, fangea sends Michael’s team an official invite.
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Latest
Michael’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Overview
- Work
- Landscape photographer, aerial cinematographer, filmmaker, and educator
- Started professionally
- At 16, photographing portraits, concerts, sports, and weddings
- Breakout
- Mirror City, his 2013 kaleidoscopic timelapse film
- On location
- California, the Pacific Northwest, and landscapes around the world
Mini bio
How it started.
A summer darkroom class in middle school helped Michael fall in love with photography. At 16, when ordinary job applications went nowhere, he began photographing portraits, concerts, sports, and weddings. Landscape photography was initially his personal way to explore and unwind; sharing night-sky images and timelapses online brought attention and commercial offers.
A surprising breakout.
He nearly kept Mirror City private because he thought its kaleidoscopic style might be too strange for his audience. Released in 2013, it became one of his most popular and commercially requested works.
Films, commissions, and teaching.
His work ranges from California fog and mountain landscapes to mirrored city films. For Disney and National Geographic’s America the Beautiful, he captured timelapse and live footage for the Death Valley sequence and licensed existing clips. He also teaches through location workshops, tutorials, and individual coaching.
Creditschronological, newest first
Documentary
- 2022America the BeautifulDeath Valley timelapse and live footage; additional footage licensing
Independent films
- 2021New Zealand | 8K UHDTimelapse filmmaker
- 2018The WormholeCreator
- 2017Breath of the DolomitesTimelapse photography; aerial scenes by Andrew Studer
- 2013Mirror CityDirector, photographer, and editor
Awards
Quotes
There is something really special about altering time, whether it be through timelapse photography or slow motion photography.Michael Shainblum, Iceland Photo Tours interview
Discussing how timelapse reveals changes and patterns that are difficult to perceive with our own eyes.
Trivia
- He loved building with Lego and drawing cartoons as a child.
- One of his first landscape outings was taking a film camera to beaches around San Diego.
- He names Michael Kenna, Art Wolfe, and Jerry Uelsmann among his inspirations.
Find Michael
Follow his latest photographs, films, and adventures in the field.
Are you Michael Shainblum?
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