Chris Michael Joins Chesapeake Focus
We are pleased to announce that Chris Michael has joined Chesapeake Focus.
Chris is a Southern Maryland wildlife photographer whose work is rooted in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and its estuaries. His debut collection is now available: 15 prints across 5 Limited Editions and 10 Open Editions — the first time any of his work has been available as an archival fine art print.
Grand prize winner, 2025 Maryland Natural Resource Photo Contest (Maryland Department of Natural Resources), for the river-otter photograph “Waterways Wanderer.” Also first place, Winter category; the winning image is on the cover of the 2026 DNR calendar.
About Chris
Born in San Diego, Chris has spent most of his life in Southern Maryland — across Charles and St. Mary's counties. He met the Chesapeake first as a sportsman: bass fishing the parks along its rivers and creeks as a teenager, then saltwater fishing and crabbing after meeting his wife, whose family brought him into it. The bay he photographs now is the one he says he didn't recognize or appreciate back then. His strongest connection to it today comes through the art, and through showing others the beauty he once passed by.
Photography found him unexpectedly. After school, his boss at his first warehouse job sold him a used camera and offered guidance when he asked for it. Chris taught himself on his own timeline. He started with portraits, then weddings, and still does some of both today. He believes that background — photographing people, waiting for the candid moment — is what shapes his eye when he turns the camera on wildlife.
The theme that runs through his work is connection. Chris gravitates toward images where a viewer can connect with the individual animal — most often through eye contact. An osprey observing from above. A duck uncertain about the odd-looking bush. A river otter deciding whether to trust what is sitting on the river bank. The Chesapeake's four seasons give him different subjects year-round: ducks in the snow, kingfishers in blooming trees, otters moving through the creeks, sunsets over quiet marshes.
Read the full profile: Chris Michael: Wildlife Photographer of the Chesapeake.
Featured Works
Waterways Wanderer (Limited Edition of 50) — A river otter raises its head from the water and looks straight into the lens, whiskers dripping. Just behind it, an arched back breaks the water as the animal moves. The 2025 Maryland DNR grand-prize winner.
Otter Snow Nap (Limited Edition of 50) — A river otter stretched out on a snow-covered kayak launch, chin down, snow falling around it. Chris names this the photograph that represents him best.
The Osprey's Stare (Open Edition) — An osprey meeting the camera straight on — the eye-contact theme that defines this collection.