EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press. — — —

ESCANABA — Michael David Hall is a self-taught photographer whose career began to form in Seattle, before he relocated to Escanaba and made a name for himself capturing scenes of the Upper Peninsula.

MDH Photography, part of Black Iris Studio and housed inside Dream Day Event Center on Escanaba’s Ludington Street, is the business that evolved to now shoot weddings, portraits, and more; participate as a vendor at events like the Waterfront Art Festival; teach photography classes; and serve as program photographer for Players de Noc.

As a musician, when Hall was in a band based in the Seattle area, he used to bring a simple point-and-shoot camera with him to shows and on tours. He recalls “taking pictures randomly” during travels to and through Sturgis, Florida and Hawaii.

“And then one year, my wife Jacqueline decided to take a bunch of my photos and blow them up to like 8 by 10 and make a book for me,” Hall said. “I was kind of surprised how they looked, you know, in that format. …Sometimes, when you take a photo and you crop it a certain way, it becomes something new.”

That Valentine’s Day gift triggered a realization and inspiration. 

Hall bought himself a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex camera), and from that point on, he took a different approach to snapping pictures. 

“Once I started getting into it with the newer camera, I was really focusing on seeing the world in a whole new perspective,” he said.

He started his own business, MDH Photography, in 2005. He printed out some of his work to sell at cafes around Seattle and did a few small exhibitions. All was on the side while he worked for a paratransit company.

One of the first images he intended to shoot — a seaplane flying near the Space Needle — is an example of the need for flexibility in the field and the value of the ability to find beauty in unexpected moments.

“I went down there and specifically found a spot to kind of capture that. But what happened was — a big storm came in, and so I got all these really great storm pictures,” Hall said. “That’s what’s fun about photography, is that you might have a plan, but you can be adaptable and make whatever happens in front of you try to work out.”

Hall’s wife — tattoo artist Jacqueline Beach — is from the Escanaba area, and when she would return to the area to visit family, there always seemed to be people interested in getting tattooed.

Deciding to go where the jobs were, the couple opted to leave the West Coast. Beach opened her tattoo operation first, and Hall brought MDH Photography to Escanaba a year later in 2011. The name “Black Iris Studio” is overarching, applying to both of their creative businesses.

Hall began in Delta County with wedding photography, which he still does and offers a number of package options.

“It took a little while to get noticed, but I just kind of put my head down and went to work and got some jobs as a wedding photographer,” Hall explained, “and then, having a studio here, of course, led me to come up with ideas for the mini shoots and mini sessions and or bringing people in for portrait work, because I’ll do anything from like, pin-up to passports.”

Some furniture and other items for set scenes have been used in the studio of MDH Photography to stage various portraits, boudoir photos, baby pictures and more. Lately, Hall has been taking photographs for dance groups, which he enjoys and hopes to do more of. He’s found AI (artificial intelligence) tools to be useful to create different backgrounds.

The shutter often clicks outdoors, too. Sometimes, it’s for family photos – Hall said that people are often more relaxed outside as opposed to in a studio with artificial lights on them; plus, if pets are involved, being in a park allows for dogs to run around and burn off some energy.

Other times, Hall goes places alone, shooting scenes that may then be printed and sold at events or make their way into a calendar. There are three trees in Ludington Park he calls “the three sisters” and has shot many times: “Every day is a little different,” he said. Even one location shot from the same angle can make for a range of images and moods, depending on the time of year, the weather, and post-production edits.

“Wintertime is my favorite time, because the snow makes a nice blanket on the ground, and you get all that light and everything reflecting,” Hall continued.

Over the years, he’s gotten to know many people and organizations in the area, and became involved with the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center, the East Ludington Gallery and more. Locally, one of Hall’s photos won second place at Northern Exposure; other images of his have graced the pages of international magazines.

One time, when Hall was working with Taylored Weddings, Mitch Taylor suggested that MDH Photography – so named because of Hall’s initials – could also stand for “making dreams happen.” The saying has since been adopted as a slogan of sorts.  

When going to events like the Waterfront Art Festival – which this year will be held Aug. 2 – MDH Photography usually brings prints both small and large to sell. The smaller pieces, printed on quality paper from a photo lab and packaged in plastic sleeves, sell best because of the affordable price point and give the buyer the option to frame later. Larger prints are often on canvas or metal, but there’s another format Hall has found he likes the look of.

“Lately, most of the stuff I’ve been printing is on a thing we call a ‘standout’ print,” Hall said. This style features the printed image adhered to a mounting board that gives the print some depth and are ready to hang. It’s not textured like canvas nor reflective like metal.

“Of course, I can get the canvases a lot of times for less money, but I end up liking the quality of these new prints better, and I think it’s better to offer a better-quality version,” Hall said of the standout print.

Right now, a few of Hall’s works are on display in the Bonifas – there are two pieces in the membership show, which runs until Sept. 4; and in the studio gallery, the Bonifas is hosting the East Ludington Invitational, also until Sept. 4.

Hall will be teaching a photography class at the Bonifas on Sept. 20.