Michael Russell

The Beauty of the Pacific Northwest group's April logo contest features work by artist Michael Russell. His image of Mt. Shuksan will be our logo for the month of April. For more information about Michael, his work, and the winning image, read on!



1) Tell us about your winning image- where it was taken, what camera you used, etc

Many people will recognize this image as the iconic view of Washington State's Mount Shuksan reflected in Picture Lake. This is likely one of the most popular photography locations in the Pacific Northwest and is easy to reach in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest along SR 542. With this image, however, I found conditions that were different than I've seen before. The scene was rather gloomy earlier in the evening with no sunlight hitting Mt. Shuksan directly, but for a while the clouds in the west opened up and we had nice light on the mountain with an interesting, nearly overcast sky as the background. I made this photograph using my Canon 7D and an EF-S 17-55mm lens at f/11 for 0.6 seconds.

2) Describe yourself as an artist

Well, I am a photographer and most of the time I shoot landscapes and nature scenes in Southwest British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest of Washington State. I am a wildlife opportunist - I will photograph them if they wander into the scene or are otherwise nearby. Occasionally I will photograph cityscapes - most often in downtown Vancouver, BC.

3) Describe the work you sell on FAA

The majority of the work I sell here are landscapes, with some wildlife and cityscapes thrown in.

4) Are you currently selling your work on any other sites?

Yes, I sell my work as prints and rights managed licenses through the Image Library on my own website (http://www.mrussellphotography.com/) and with the agency Alamy.

5) What is your favorite feature on FAA?

Admittedly I need to explore the features and groups of FAA a little more thoroughly, but I do appreciate that keywords, titles and descriptions are imported when a photograph is uploaded. Typing those things in, or even copying and pasting would be a lot of work otherwise. Not all sites give enough thought to that feature and it works very well here.


The second and third place winners are here:

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If you have images of the Pacific Northwest you'd like to share, please visit our group: http://fineartamerica.com/groups/the-beauty-of-the-pacific-northwest.html?tab=overview