Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Newsted.
Michael, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I so clearly remember the first time I experienced the glee of good composition. Or more importantly, composing something I find to be particularly meaningful. I was 17, traveling with my family in Terrasini, Sicily, naively searching for relatives we assumed were still residing in the area. (*Very pre-Ancestry.com.) I haven’t visited since then, but I remember it fondly. Especially the feeling of satisfaction when I took a portrait of my grandpa Joe through an orange vase of pink flowers while he drank his morning coffee.
That was 2004. The next ten years… studying music in college, going deeper into Christianity and consequently deeper into the closet, performing in touring bands… my relationship to the camera was very hobby-ish. I always really enjoyed taking pictures. I just never thought I wanted to pursue it for work. Though, I would sometimes get a little cash here and there for the random senior portraits or a close friend’s wedding. Mostly, my focus was on performing, traveling, and socializing.
When I finally came out as gay at 24 in the fall of 2010, things actually/slowly began to shift. I remember beginning to see my friends, my family and my surroundings with new eyes. It was an extremely lonely and dark time in my life, but it was also very exciting and opportunistic and freeing. I think I found photography to be an especially safe and healing place of expression for me in those days because it was a purely emotional response to the world around me. I didn’t have to use words, or talk, or tell anyone who I am. I could simply see something that was beautiful to me- usually my friends/bandmates- and fucking run with it.
In the summer of 2015, after having toured and made records and performed on intercontinental grounds, I realized that I wanted to discover the depths of what being a visual artist could look like. So, bye band. Bye Michigan. Hello, art world. Hello LA. I have been working as a freelance photographer and art director since I moved here. It’s been an incredibly difficult and at times stressful path. But it makes me so happy to be a full-time artist. It’s my dream, dammit! 😉 I often look around and marvel at the fact that I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Has it been a smooth road?
I would say that the road has been semi-smooth. Definitely a winding one! And it often feels like I have blinders on, which, let me tell you, isn’t very helpful on winding roads. I have found it frequently challenging to attain new work and collaborate with new clients. I will also add that it has been difficult to find paying work. Trade work is in abundance, but paid gigs…
Tell us about your business/company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
It’s people. Because I am enthusiastic about so much of life, I still genuinely enjoy shooting landscapes, flowers, and products here and there. But people are far and above what inspires me the most. And I think that the way I capture the emotional display in my subjects is what sets my work apart from other photographers.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes! 100%. Sure, it’s competitive… frustrating at times… a big pond for little fish. But it’s so invigorating! If you’re up for the hustle and willing to be simultaneously patient, I think LA is one of the most hospitable environments in the world to be a visual artist.
Pricing:
- $400 hourly rate
- $1600 half day rate
- $3200 full day rate
Contact Info:
- Address: 5107 Hartwick St Los Angeles, CA 90041
- Website: www.michaelnewsted.us
- Phone: (269) 908-7814
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelnewsted/
Image Credit:
Bonnie Tsang, Jesse Chamberlin Marble, May Daniels, Samuel Hess, & Avelle Gallant
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
