Michael (Mike) Ferris (he/him)

I enjoy art in many forms and I’ve been an artist my entire life.

I was born and raised in Frederick County, Virginia,and am a proud lefty living in a right-handed world. Born in 1979, I am a Xennial…it’s a small micro-generation that bridges GenX and Millennials…it’s really the best of both generations. Basically, I was a child that grew up a bit wild and learned to adapt to new technologies and ways of doing things. As a child, I had dreams of being a Disney Animator or an architect. Those childhood dreams were developed by memories of my Dad and Grandmother; both very artistic. Some of my earliest memories are of my grandmother, Evelyn. I was very young when she passed, but I fondly remember her. She was an amazing landscape and portrait oil painter. To this day I remember the smell of her art studio - linseed oil, turpentine, and oil paints. Canvases lined up on the walls. Brushes in cans and glass jars. Tubes and tubes of oil paints in boxes and drawers. Her palette and easel ready to go. It’s funny how things stick with us and work to form who we are.

My Dad is a life long carpenter. He spent a little time in his younger years painting and carried his sketching and drawing skills with him into the construction industry. I spent a lot of time with my Dad building houses, decks, cabinets, installing trim and hardwood flooring, and the occasional project that involved making something for a church play or the Boy Scout Troop I belonged to. Every summer, day off of school, and holiday break you could find me on a job site doing something to help build a house. I like to tell people I was born with a hammer in my left hand and a pile of nails in my right hand. In my younger years, I didn’t understand the values and skills this was instilling in me. Looking back at everything now, those experiences helped me form a deep love of building something with my hands and seeing your progress. In most cases, we built everything from a set of paper blueprints and piles and piles of wood. It was the ultimate Lego kit. Those experiences also helped build my foundation of hard work, dedication, and seeing my artistic visions come to life.

Photography is an art style I picked up in my teen years. I got my first camera somewhere around the time I turned 16, the Canon Rebel G. I took pictures of everything for months and months. I even had a few of my images of flowers printed and displayed in the local photography store in our mall - Ritz Photo. Somewhere around the end of high school, I discovered computers, networks, and building websites. Unfortunately my childhood dreams of being an artist and my love of photography took a back seat to a rapidly evolving world of technology. I earned a Computer Science degree from James Madison University and began my professional career in information technology.

Over the years, I dabbled in feeding my artistic soul. I would sketch occasionally and do a few watercolor paintings. Somewhere around 2018, I stumbled up Procreate - a digital art application that ran on an iPad. I was hooked. I had ALL of the art medium at my fingertips on a portable tablet and required NO messy clean up. For me, digital art was a perfect marriage of traditional media in the digital space that I love. Smartphones emerged with cameras that were ever present and convenient. They weren’t as good as a ‘real camera’ but the convenience was hard to beat. Right around this time, my wife and close friend took an introductory photography class that covered the basics of composition and learning to manage the manual settings on a camera. As I listened to them both, I started to get that itch - I was going to get my own ‘real camera’ and get back into photography. Shortly thereafter, our close friend and I took a local waterfall photography class. I rediscovered my love of photography from the moment I setup my tripod, composed my shot, pressed the shutter button, and reviewed the image on the back screen. I haven’t looked back.

As I’ve grown and matured, I’m very aware of just how precious life and everything around us is. Photography is a way for me to share how I see the world and the people in it. One of the things I love most about photography is capturing raw moments when people don't realize what I’m doing and aren't posing for the camera. When I’m not working full time at my current desk job, you will find me behind a camera lens capturing my family, friends, nature, wildlife, and my daughter in her volleyball era. I love to find little details in the mundane that others overlook. From a cool shadow in the living room to the elephant carving on a bench at Disney World, I see the world with wonder. I love to capture the raw emotions of athletes competing. I love capturing the essence and spirit of a place. I love capturing the world around all of us and sharing it. 

If I have piqued your interest and you want to know more, please take moment or two and visit our Contact us page. From there, we’ll reach out to discuss options. I would love to spend some time capturing memories that matter to you - from athletes competing to individuals wanting to express themselves, families and/or senior portraits. I also work to capture the spirit of a home or business property that entices and connects new buyers to those feelings.

I look forward to meeting you and creating photographic art that you can share for generations.