About Us ... Mike Halminski Professional Photographer

Photo of Michael Halminski by David Alan Harvey

My transition into shooting digital photography began when I bought a Nikon D1h camera in February of 2003. After more than 30 years of shooting film and doing all my own color, and black & white darkroom work, the time had come for a change. It was then that I was convinced that digital photography had attained the quality of film, if not surpassing it.

Undoubtedly the biggest step in the transition is the learning curve of this new technology. Much of the art is the same as in traditional film photography, yet there are countless new aspects with computer systems, related software and peripheral equipment. The advantages of shooting digital photography are numerous, including nearly instant satisfaction, ease of printing and archival quality.

As computer imaging technology changes and advances constantly, so does the learning and experimenting. There’s always something new to improve upon and learn.

My current camera equipment consists of Nikon D1x bodies, and a small quiver of Nikkor lenses including the 12-24 f/4, 20-30 f/2.8, 28-70 f2.8, 60mm f2.8 Micro, 70-200 VR f/2.8, and my trusty bird lens, a Nikkor 500 f/4 that I sometimes use with a 1.4 teleconverter. I have sold most of my film cameras, but keep a few for sentimental reasons.

Currently all the digital images on this web site are available in a variety of sizes. I can also make them as mounted, matted or completely framed prints. Please call or email me for details.

Michael Halminski began photographing the beaches, waters, and forests of the Atlantic maritime environment in 1973 when he moved to Hatteras Island, North Carolina. His work is marked by his skill as an artist and by his intimate knowledge of the people, animals, and landscapes of the string of barrier islands known as the Outer Banks.

Although most of his work has been shot on the Outer Banks, Mike's portfolio also includes, among other things, images from his travels to coasts and rainforests of Costa Rica. For two winters he worked as an oysterman on a sailing skipjack in the Chesapeake Bay, where he compiled a pictorial record of this vanishing industry. More recently, he has begun a photographic interest in the Everglades.

His work has appeared in international, national, and regional publications, including Newsweek, Orion Nature Quarterly, the Washington Post, Philadelphia Enquirer, Miami Herald, Southern Living, Outer Banks Magazine and North Carolina Sea Grant's magazine, Coastwatch. For five years, he was a regular columnist for Mariners Weather Log, published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Since 1997, Mike has been an official photographer for the annual George Bush / Cheeca Lodge Bonefish Tournament, a benefit event held in the Florida Keys. Recently Mike worked as an assistant to National Geographic / Magnum photographer David Harvey on an Outer Banks assignment. He is a regular contributor to The Nature Conservancy fundraiser auction at Nags Head Woods, and from 1983 up until 2000, was instrumental in the restoration of the historic Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station, a complex of buildings on Hatteras Island that date back to 1874. He also is a member of the North Carolina Aquarium Advisory Committee. Mike is represented by SuperStock, Inc., a Jacksonville, Florida based stock agency.

Halminski prints all his own work, which can viewed and purchased at his shop located in the village of Waves on Hatteras Island, or through this web site.

ALL IMAGES ON THIS SITE ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT. ANY REPRODUCTION OR USE OF THESE IMAGES IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT THE EXPRESSED WRITTEN CONSENT FROM MICHAEL HALMINSKI.

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