“With the web and social media, imagery is more important than ever. When I was a Congressional press secretary, I probably shot 10,000 frames of just one person (itself a challenge). But imagery sticks in the minds of viewers – and my goal is always to accurately show people whom my subject truly is. Through imagery, I’ve tried hard to convey that. With artists – an accurate image showing their passion and talent is worth well more than a thousand words. “ Mitch Traphagen
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We’ve had the great pleasure to get to know Mitch Traphagen through his photographs and films taken at Artists Without Walls’ Showcases and now with his photo work on the Artists Without Walls/Charles R. Hale production of a short film, “A Moment.”
Who is Mitch? Mitch is a photojournalist, a former Congressional press secretary, and a former systems developer and senior executive for a Fortune 30 corporation.
He’s based in both the NYC and the Tampa Bay area. He is available to performing artists and for editorial, feature and documentary services — both photography and the written word. For artists, he will work to not only document their unique talents but will also work within their budget.
Since 2011 he has primarily gone to Leica for documentary photography with both the Leica M240 and the Leica M Monochrom cameras. In addition, he has a full compliment of professional Canon gear for both still photography and videography. His equipment also includes full professional audio recording capability and a full video editing suite.
Over the years, Mitch has documented hundreds of lives, places and events. He works hard to ensure the images and words he uses accurately portray the subject. Borrowing from Gay Talese, he tells the truth in an interesting way.
Since 2002, he has won more than 70 awards for excellence for editorial writing and photography from the Community Papers of Florida, an organization of newspapers with a combined readership of nine million people. Mitch is a member of the National Press Photographers Association and the Society of Professional Journalists.
You can learn more about Mitch and see his work by clicking here.
You can contact Mitch at:
Tampa: (813) 426-4177 (text message preferred)
New York: (646) 926-7309 (text message preferred)
