“Wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must and we will.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

Meet the photographer

My name is Holly Michaels, and I am a native East Coast photographer. I’ve been photographing wildlife, nature, and portraits since I was a little girl. My father was an Army photographer, shooting on the traditional AE-1 before passing it down to me years later. My first memory of wanting to photograph my surroundings was when I was in Girl Scouts, traveling to DC for the very first time. I begged my parents for a point-and-shoot for the trip, and ever since I was hooked.

After that, I spent years photographing birds and animals in my backyard in Central PA on my parents’ Rebel t3 until my mom told me to “Buy a real camera so you can stop using mine,”. So I did. I started my photography career my junior year in high school, building and launching my own business in 2016. I graduated in 2019 with a degree in Fine Arts & Photography, jumpstarting my passion for seeing my work in print. I’ve photographed people all over the US, but my heart lies with nature and wildlife.

People protect what they care about - my goal is to photograph nature and wildlife in a way that inspires people to not only travel to view it, but also to put in the effort to protect and preserve it. I’m fighting to protect a legacy that my grandchildren can enjoy one day, the same way I do.

What I love

Stamps on my passport. I’ve traveled to 5 countries, the US included, 19 states, and dream of traveling to more

An overcast day - better for photographing than a sunny one

What I shoot on

Canon R5 & Canon R6 mkii
RF 100-500
RF 28-70
RF 14-35

Favorite field snacks

I always seem to have a bag of Twizzlers on me when I travel. There’s nothing better to munch on while waiting for wildlife.
Snyders Seasoned Twisted Pretzel Sticks. I seriously love any type of pretzel.

My favorite things