Member Profile: Michael Hart
All photos © Michael Hart

How did I get started in photography? Well, I took photos at an NBA game when I was 7 years old; the rest, as they say, is history.

I lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the 50's, and before they moved to Detroit, The Pistons were in Fort Wayne. I was the proud owner of a Brownie Starflash, via my First Communion celebration, and at the time my dad worked at the Coliseum, where the games were played. I saw the photographers there on the floor, and decided I should be able to do that as well. Well, dad made the arrangements, and at halftime of the next game I was ushered onto the floor to take my place next to the newspaper photographers with their 4X5 Speed Graphics.

By the time I was in 7th grade, this time in Elkhart, Indiana, I took my new Kodak Super 27 to a basketball game at school, remembering how I had done 6 years or so earlier. Someone on the yearbook staff saw me, mentioned it to the yearbook advisor, and I was asked if I knew anything about photography ("No"); Well, would I like to learn? ("Sure, if it'll help get me out of study hall")

I worked on yearbooks through junior high and high school, first in Indiana, then a year in Baton Rouge, and finally in Houston. I did numerous paying jobs, for the local country club, an industrial company, the local United Way....I even filmed the Indy 500 time trials on 16mm B&W for the local station in Elkhart...all by the time I was 16.

Along the way I got sidetracked with music; Hey, The Beatles changed our world! After finally putting down the guitar in 1973, I drifted back into photography, leaving Austin to return to Houston, and a job at Gittings.

After a short time there, I helped Heinz Kugler open his portrait studio, in which I was a partner for 4 years. I moved to my present location in 1981 to concentrate on commercial work.

The last 20 years have seen me go from trying to do a little bit of everything, to concentrating on what I seem to do best, location/people...or is it people/location? Oh, I still do the occasional studio job, but it's always of people. I leave the product to those in town who are so much better at that, probably because they are so much more patient than I am.

I've been in ASMP for over 20 years...aside from the invaluable information source, both nationally and locally, it has given me an opportunity to meet and get to know photographers in Houston.

Some I looked up to and tried to emulate in one form or another, and have been honored to learn to call friends. Others have been photographers who "came up" about the same time I did, and so many of them, immensely talented in their own rights, have become friends. I have been lucky to have learned from the various assistants who have worked with me over the years as well, many who have gone on to great careers on their own, and some who are about to.

These last 20 years have seen many changes, both in the industry, and in my personal life. The last couple of years in particular seem to have been a rollercoaster, with the tremendous changes in the stock industry, the digital revolution (which I am joining rather late, and in small steps), divorce, a flooded house in Allison, the list goes on.

And I feel myself becoming one who is wondering where the road is now going to lead....and exactly what part photography will play in navigating that road.

But, hey, I've gotten to meet and photograph a lot of interesting people, go to a lot of interesting places, learn about any number of industries, work for some really great people....and maybe a few not-so-great. And I would hope that, over these last 20+ years, I've helped some clients visually tell their story in a clear and concise manner, that the hits have outweighed the misses. Remember, "...only the mediocre are always at their best!" --