Mike Fitelson has explored the world through photography for over 20 years.
Fitelson, 42, first picked up a camera with professional intent after taking several anthropology courses at the University of California at Santa Cruz. This led him on a photojournalistic journey, including the last nine years at Northern Manhattan’s weekly bilingual community newspaper, the Manhattan Times, which he ran until stepping down as associate publisher in July 2011. His editorial work has also appeared in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, and Listín Diario, based in the Dominican Republic. His photography at the Manhattan Times won several awards from the New York Press Association.
As a freelance photographer, Fitelson has been hired by corporations, organizations, and individuals for promotional, documentary, and event photography. He has expanded his photography business to include design and layout work, including annual reports.
Fitelson’s personal work, often underscored by an abstract or fantasy element, includes projects on the European Grand Tour, people’s fascination with water, the American Flag, self-portraits in New York City, and his ongoing work investigating Northern Manhattan where he lives. In 2009, Fitelson was awarded an Artist Grant from the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance to begin a project photographing Northern Manhattan cityscapes from area rooftops at sunrise and sunset. In 2010, he received another NoMAA grant to document area artists.
For the past several years, Fitelson has worked with other artists and community leaders to build the arts community in Inwood and Washington Heights, helping to lay the foundation for the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, founded in 2007. June 2012 will feature the tenth annual Uptown Arts Stroll, which he co-founded. Fitelson views these efforts as a way the arts and business communities can work together to strengthen Northern Manhattan.
Fitelson was born in Oakland, CA, and has studied photography at UC Santa Cruz, UC Extension, Columbia College Chicago, and LaGuardia Community College. He lives in Washington Heights in Northern Manhattan with his wife and two children.
Email me at mike@mikefitelson.com.