atlanta photography month
Michael Belk: Profile of an Award-Winning Christian Photographer
By his own admission, Michael Belk has lived a blessed life. As a fashion photographer in the world He was one of the best. His articles have appeared in Vogue, Elle, GQ and Vanity Fair. And his customers were a constellation in themselves: Nautica, J. Crew, Polo, Christian Dior – namedrop a few. But thata € ™ s just a part of what he has accomplished in his life.
The combination of its gift for photography with a sense of physical sales, hea € ™ s created advertising campaigns for many well known names in the apparel industry. For over 30 years, he was the man behind the camera, the creative director and account executive – one stop shop for advertising fashion.
â € œIt has been intense, â € he said, â € œbut it was great fun … not so much work as he was playing something I love – traveling the world and working with many of the major models and crews in our industry. "Not bad for a self-taught photographer who has never picked up a camera until he was 20. Born in Orlando and Ocala to grow, Michael was considered a different life for himself when the photograph hanging on his soul. â € œWorking Retail clothing in high school and college I became interested in the garment industry and had no idea Photography. €
But somewhere around his 20th birthday, he and his brother hired a photographer friend to photograph them as a gift for their mother. Michael had specific ideas and run â € œon Locatione € photoshoot. â € OEI was fascinated by the whole process. I bought a 35mm camera and began shooting pictures of almost € everything.â
Each life has the final milestones. One of Michaela € ™ comes with one semester left in college, when he heard about an opening for a sales position with Gant Shirtmakers. Gant was the phenomenon of clothing â ™ € 60 and it would work for a seasoned veteran, not a 22-year-old novice. Yet, Michael arranged a meeting and managed to convince glove to take a chance on him. A few weeks later, he traveled as a sales executive. But, he notes, â € OEI always had my camera on the front seat beside me.a €
Three years later, while attending a sales meeting Gant, Michael was not impressed by the presentation of advertising agency. â OEI just didnâ € ™ € t feel that the agency understood that we were.â € Back in Florida, he photographed a friend wearing glove samples and created images that he felt portrayed the look Glove required. Then he took the pictures for New York and presented in Ganta € ™ s management and design. They liked the look, moved their account to a new organization and created a new campaign entitled, â € OETH Glove Attitude.â €
With its â € œstyleâ € validated, Michael began to photograph his line entire sample, using his friends as models. In a makeshift lab, he created a book of 8 x 10 photos to use as visual aids in presenting the line to retail customers. â € OETH response to this presentation was so strong, I began exploring the idea of these â € ™ € ™ booksâ Look for other companies for their € salesmen.â its business plan was so promising that he resigned glove and headed to New York in August 1976.
It nip and tuck was the first year until he has landed an account whose order has exceeded the average order seven times. As his business and his reputation grew, Michael was asked if he could create printed brochures in addition to œlook € â € books.â Eventually, this led to the creation of advertising campaigns. â € OEI Would Create a company ™ â € ™ € Search booksâ and end up being their listing agency.â €
In 1989 he moved his business to Atlanta for the next stage unexpectedly. â € œWe were on a company $ 2 million, do an outstanding job for many small accounts.â € Russell Athletic, a giant in the industry, bought one of these accounts. The direction of Russell loved the work of Michael produced for others and asked him â € € œpitchâ advertising for one of their largest divisions. He won the account, and Michael Belk & companyâ € ™ s business jumped 400 percent. â € œWe were the kitchen! Press campaigns, TV commercials and a series of other accounts, I didnâ ™ € t feel at home if except on an airplane or in a hotel. €
At 42, his life was great excitement, tremendous success, but very little substance. â € œOutwardly, my life was full. Inside, I was riding empty.â € Physically and emotionally, it slows down. â € œYou can redline, your engine only so many times and mine had soared Out. € Michael was in a very dark place. â € OEI thought I could get out of this abyss, but it just wasnâ € ™ t happening.â € Awakened one night, completely sure of his fate, Michael had a visitor.
â € œYou think about these things and wonder if they really happened, but I remember distinctly the absolute presence of God in my room. He asked me if I wanted to continue doing things my way or maybe try them His way. I knew I couldn t ™ € out of this situation on my own, and realized it was time to try his way.â € From that moment Michael said, his life began to change. â € œIt is always a difficult time. God did not intend to fix all at € once.es In the coming months (and years), incredible people came into his life, Michael says, providing all information that could reshape its life in a € OETH only God had wanted me all for € along.â
In 1993 he decided to take a break. He closed his company, remaining a consultant on two accounts, began to build his house of English style country on 80 acres in North Georgia and began working on an idea for a book. â € OEI had this idea of creating a book that could be used as a marketing tool for a wide company.â € He began writing and requesting an appointment with the industry giants. Finally, Reebok, Champion Sportswear and Kodak agreed to see him. â € œReebok liked the concept, Kodak was indifferent, and to my surprise, Champion has decided to support the idea.â € Champion, as part of Sara Lee would be an Olympic Sponsor that year and saw great potential in Michaela € ™ s book, which is exclusive to them. The book, â € œBeyond sport, victory inside, â € telling inspiring stories about America € ™ s Winter Olympians, featuring the largest such as Peggy Fleming, Scott Hamilton and Eric Heiden. Michael has not only created the photos, he also wrote. Twenty-five thousand copies were sold.
However, if he thought the book was published it overflowed, it was nothing compared to being reunited with his college-sweetheart the same year. â € œIt must be divine intervention, â € he said. â € Oesh was 400 miles away and I had not seen in over 21 € years.â When they met in Pensacola, Florida in April, it was love at first sight second. They both knew what their future held and they were married five months later. â € œSince Cheryl and I married, both of us experienced exponential growth in our relationship with the Lord. It is the center of our lives and that He has blessed us so. "
Michael and Cheryl spent one years building their home in northern Georgia. But after four years of living in a remote area, they sold the farm and returned to their beloved North Florida. His two children, Michael, who considers his own, are grown and married, and Michael loves being the grandfather of four boys.
These days, while Michaela € ™ s life took a much more contemplative, his schedule is as hectic as Usually, after spending the past one and a half years and create travel with the Messiah. â € œAlthough Journeys is in its infancy, I plan for it occupies much of the coming years. There are so many directions it can go.â € He returns to his life as an adventure incredible – full of lessons learned.
About the Author
Henry Longman is an expert on Christian art prints and other Christian framed arts. He has written numerous articles surrounding the subject photography throughout the years. Michael Belk is one of the foremost Christian photographers–traveling to serene locations throughout the world for his work.
Dynamic Vision Photography & Design | JOURNEY Live in Atlanta
