AWE magazine recently gave me a feature story. The piece focused on my collaborative works with talented Staten Island artists and musicians. I was very happy with the article. The response from my family, friends, and fans was completely & utterly humbling. Thank you all for your continued support. Let’s go!!!

I must take some time to thank Ben Johnson and Rob Bailey from the Staten Island Advance. Without your continued support of the local creative communities, much of these artistic efforts might go publicly unrecognized and more-so, unpublished. Your efforts are appreciated, not just by me, for the fact that you give local readers geographically relevant stories worth reading. I know for a FACT, that AWE has given many Staten Islanders something to be proud of; a reminder that despite pop-cultural opinion, there are intelligent, articulate, open-minded, creative residents of this rock we live on. You both play important roles in exposing the efforts of those that exceed the chains of our stereotypes. And for that I thank you.

“With veritable terabytes of digital images featuring the people and spaces creating and housing art in Shaolin, Shane is one of the Island’s busiest and best documentarians. His work also helps put the borough’s burgeoning “new” arts movement on the map.

“My work reflects where I come from by proxy,” says Shane. “I rep Staten Island hard, and I’m happy to say that my portfolio is 90 percent local artists.”

“The best part about working with local artists or bands is that they’re hungry,” says the new Castleton Corners resident, who recently moved from his apartment near Stapleton’s The Cup so he could live alone for a change. “You’re giving them something they will definitely use, and you can learn from the interaction.”

Anyone who knows the sinewy, long-haired ball of energy can probably vouch for his ability to coerce or cajole his subjects into posing, precariously or not, in harmony with his own vision. And while not everything he shoots is gold, Shane seems to have some important attributes as a photographer: An insatiable appetite for using his camera, a fearlessness in getting the shots he wants and maybe, most of all, a love for his own surroundings.

To read the full article, click here: Meet Mike Shane

• December 18th, 2009
• Miscellaneous, Music Photography, People, Portrait Photography, Street Photography, Studio Photography, Tearsheets
• Comments Off
• #