Michael Kahn

Born in 1960, Michael Kahn is a lifelong resident of Chester County, Pennsylvania. During his childhood, his family summered on the coasts of Maine and Topsail Island, North Carolina. This is where his love of the sea and sailing originated. After high school, Michael apprenticed in a portrait studio where they used Hasselblad cameras with a square 6×6 cm film format. Here Michael received hands on training in film handling and black-and-white printmaking. Several years later, the owner of the studio changed the business model and became a commercial advertising photographer. Michael stayed on as an assistant, learning skills in advertising, product, and editorial photography. From there, he branched off on his own, shooting for magazines and other commercial clients. In 1990 he published a book of black-and-white photographs of the Brandywine River in southeastern Pennsylvania. In the mid-’90s Michael took his first sailing photograph of a small boat in the fog on a lake in the Adirondacks. This image launched his nautical photography career. Michael made the decision to stay with his film cameras instead of going with the new trends in digital equipment, and continues to make handmade photographs in his darkroom. His work has been exhibited in over 50 solo and group gallery and museum exhibitions throughout the United States, Switzerland, Scotland, France, Bahrain, and Nepal. Books published on his work include Over the Dunes (2015), The Spirit of Sailing (2004), and Brandywine (1990).