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In 1977, after a stint simultaneously playing drums in a BeBop jazz band, bussing tables in a restaurant and doing personal photography, Michael decided he was a better photographer than a drummer and hung up the sticks. It was during this time that he started riding his 1971 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead (which he still owns) and photographing bikers.
In 1979, Easyriders started to publish Michael’s photography. He photographed a number of smaller events specifically for them, proved his abilities and was off on his third trip to Sturgis in 1981, now on assignment for Easyriders, for whom he has returned there ever since. Also in 1981, he had a solo exhibition of his work at the Gallery of Photography in Dublin, Ireland, which was boycotted by the League of Decency. Afterwards, he stopped publicly exhibiting his photographs in favor of publishing his motorcycle work in Easyriders and simultaneously began developing his career as a commercial advertising and corporate photographer. By 1982, his studio was open in Boulder, CO. It wasn’t long before he developed a clientele that included companies like IBM, Sun Microsystems and Kraft Foods.