About Michael Peres September 1986 I was hired as an instructor in the Biomedical Photographic Communications department, now the Photographic Sciences department. I served as the program director from 1989 until the summer of 2010, when I became the associate director of the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences. While at RIT, I have taught many undergraduate and graduate courses. I have also taught workshops including Digital Imaging using a Light Microscope in Stockholm Sweden that ran consecutively for twenty years. You can see photographs from my numerous visits to Sweden by following this link. During that time I was chair of the Lennart Nilsson Award nominating committee. The courses I teach investigate applied scientific photography and visual communication. I love using the classroom as a learning laboratory and subscribe to experiential learning as core principle of my teaching. Teaching highly motivated and talented students for more than 3 decades has given me great joy. I often feel as though I have learned more than I have taught. Experiences in the classroom have led to numerous presentations and publications created during my 40+ year photography career. A sampling of my publications can be found on this link. I have produced 11 books. In particular, I love light microscopy and have a wide range of practical experiences photographing many unique and interesting subjects. A re-occurring theme of my work for decades has been photographing barely visible things. You can see some of my photomicrographs featuring #tinythings by following this link. In 2013, I spoke at a TEDx Allendale Columbia School event where I shared my passion for photographing #tinythings using a microscope. In 2012, The Forward Thinking Museum produced a video sharing my unique work and in 2003, I became obsessed with photographing snowflakes during Rochester's long, snowy, and cold winters. July 2016, Patricia Cost and I published Michael Photographs a Snowflake. My work has been featured by CNN, by Time by Popular Photography and Mashable. I was also featured by Musee Magazine, Colours Magazine, and Buzzfeed. My career has provided me with many wonderful and often unexpected opportunities. I have come to appreciate how fortunate I am and I have come to believe it's not the destination but rather the journey that has been most important to me. I have met so many generous and inspirational people who opened doors for me along my life's journey. A few special projects I conceived and led are the RIT Big Shot, the Images from Science project, and the Faces of Jewish Rochester project. I also enjoy sharing science photographs in non-scientific environments. Seeing how my work functions on Instagram continues to fascinate me. During my career, I have been recognized for several professional achievements that i am very proud of including the RIT Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching; the College of Art & Design Gitner Prize for outstanding achievement in the graphic arts; the BioCommunications Association Schmidt Award presented for lifetime achievement in the life sciences communications; and the Frank J Romano Innovation in Graphic Publishing prize. I began taking pictures in 1973 when I bought my first camera with money earned from bagging groceries at a local supermarket. My life changed profoundly after discovering photography. Examples of my earliest work can be found in my Utica, New York - 1973 project. You can see other examples of my photography by following this link: Galleries. In 1983, I married Laurie S. Peres and have 2 children, Jonathan and Leah who inspire me every day. |