Mike Kelley

Associate Editor, Architecture & Interiors Photographer http://www.mpkelley.com +Mike KelleyFacebook
I'm currently a Los Angeles-based architectural and interiors photographer. I graduated from the University of Vermont with degrees in environmental science and digital art, and after graduating, I moved to the Lake Tahoe area to follow my dreams of becoming a professional snowboarder. While I was fortunate enough to have traveled all over the world competing, injury eventually forced me to consider a different career. Shortly after, a chance encounter led me from full-time hobby photographer to full-time working photographer (funny, this life). I had always been interested in photography, but never imagined that I would be working as a full-time photographer, and I'm very excited to be able to share my knowledge of architectural photography, lighting, compositing and retouching with everyone who reads Fstoppers.

[News] And the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography Goes to…

Massoud Hossaini, who is also the first Afghani to win a Pulitzer Prize. Hossaini’s work captures the horrors of violence that occur in Afghanistan on a regular basis. The photo was captured just as a suicide bomber took his own life and that of many others in the vicinity. A girl dressed in green screams as blood runs down her face, and she is surrounded by bodies of the wounded and dead.
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[Pics] Awe-Inspiring Photos of the Last Flight of Space Shuttle Discovery

As Fstoppers’ resident aviation dork, I felt compelled to share these incredible images of the last time Space Shuttle Discovery will take to the air. Discovery was recently retired, and has been ferried from her home in Florida to it’s final resting place, the Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. Not only is the entire process of ferrying a shuttle a technological marvel in and of itself, the photos that Nasa takes aren’t half bad, either. [more]

[BTS] The Anatomy of a Luxury Interior Shot

When it comes to interior and architectural photography, there is often much more involved than what meets the eye at first glance. In order to create a photograph that is realistic and enticing, careful planning, staging, lighting and a healthy dose of patience is imperative. In this Fstoppers Original, we dive into a luxury interior shot and see what it takes to construct a mouth-watering interior photo from the ground up. [more]

[Video] Breathtaking Timelapse of an Insane Asylum

There are some styles of photography which have been beaten into the ground. Take, for example, the trip to an old asylum; it seems like we’ve all seen a thousand HDR images of the local loony bin. Graffiti-covered walls, derelict operating rooms and spooky wheelchairs ad-nauseum. But every once in awhile, something comes along which makes my jaw drop and revisits what is possible in an ages-old subject. Drew Geraci’s Asylum is exactly what I’m talking about.

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[BTSV] Blast from the Past: Creating a Nat Geo Cover in the Studio

National Geographic recently released this video of the creation of one of their cover shots. While there is no exact date on it, I’d bet that it was shot sometime in the early 2000s or late 1990s guessing from technology being used. Some real ingenuity was at work here, as evidenced by the custom-built pneumatic jaw, the hand-cast Tyrannosaurus skull, and not to mention what appears to be at least ten cameras all triggered at the same time via laser in an effort to capture the decisive moment. [more]

[Video] The Miracles of Science: A Pill that Increases Productivity and Creativity

At long last, the scientific breakthrough many of us have long been waiting for: A pill that we can take to get us out of an editing slump, increase creativity, or help us deal with clients. But beware: side effects may include high blood pressure, insomnia, color blindness, neck pain, and occasional dizziness.

[BTSV] The Making Of Canon’s 5d Mark III Promo Video, Radball

You may remember Canon’s promo video for the 5d Mark III that I posted a couple of weeks ago, which showcased the, ehem, interesting sport of Radball. Love it or hate it, I think we can at least agree that it was pretty entertaining. Canon recently released a companion to the promo video which goes behind the scenes into the filming of the piece.

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[BTSV] Tyler Stableford’s Incredible Photoessay On The Modern Fighter Pilot

I know that we’ve experienced a pretty big spate of aviation-related posts over the past few weeks. Anyone else getting sick of them? No? Good. Me neither. Here’s another one that is just too cool, and makes me way too jealous.
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[Inspiration] Otherworldly Images Of The Phenomenon Known As A Murmuration

When I had first seen this video a few months ago, I was left in utter disbelief. Growing up on the east coast of the United States, I’d never seen anything like it. Every year in certain areas of Europe, thousands upon thousands of starlings gather in what is known as a murmuration; their movement resembling that of a school of fish swimming [more]

[BTSV] The Incredible Environments of Disney’s John Carter

The new Disney flick John Carter certainly seems like a breath of fresh air to movie-goers everywhere. A unique concept, interesting storyline, and dazzling special effects are all coming together to make this one movie that I know I’ll be seeing on the big screen. Check out a behind-the-scenes video detailing the special effects handiwork that went into making this story a reality after the jump. [more]

[Wildlife] Amazing, Intimate Shots of Lions In Their Natural Habitat

Brothers Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas make quite the team. They’re wildlife photographers based in Britain who have devised some clever means to get closer to some of the world’s most dangerous animals. In 2009, they created a remote-controlled camera nicknamed BeetleCam and set out to photograph animals in their natural habitat. Armed with the knowledge they gained from the first trip, they went back a second time, and their results are nothing short of stunning. [more]

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