He was born, raised, and grown out of Los Angeles. Having spent the better part of his adult life as a community organizer in LA's working class neighborhoods, his work focuses on documenting real people and the things they do to survive. He is also deeply passionate in landscape, long exposure, and backcountry photography. In 2017, Mike paused his career of 12 years to hike 1,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.