Professor Michael Peres, RIT specializing in biomedical photography and photomicrographyand m

My website began in 1996 as a simple way to share my work and learn about new technology. Since that time much has changed in my life and photography has undergone a complete transformation from film to digital. I am a professor of biomedical photographic communications at R•I•T and my specialization is photomicrography, biomedical photography, and laboratory photography used to gather and preserve visual information. The Forward Thinking Museum featured my work in a short video that can be seen by following this link. I currently serve as the associate administrative chair of the world renown School of Photographic Arts and Sciences.

I was first hired as an instructor in the Biomedical Photographic Communications department in September 1986. I served as the department chair from 1989 until the summer of 2010. While at RIT, I have taught numerous undergraduate courses for 27+ years as well as a variety of workshops. Digital Imaging using a Light Microscope is one such workshop sponsored by KTH and Karolinska Institutet located in Stockholm Sweden - the home of the Nobel Foundation. You can see photographs from my numerous visits to Sweden by following this link. I also served as the chair of the Lennart Nilsson Award nominating committee from 1998 - 2011, also affiliated with Karolinska.

The courses I teach investigate applied scientific photography and communication problems. These explorations have resulted in various presentations and publications during my 30+ year photography career. A sampling of my publications can be found on the following publications link. In 2007, I served as the editor-in-chief of the Focal Encyclopedia of Photography-fourth edition. I love microscopy and have a wide range of imaging experiences using equipment produced by Nikon, Olympus and Zeiss. Sometimes I am interested in photographing snowflakes using microscopes during the long, snowy, and cold Rochester winters.

My career has provided me with many extraordinary opportunities and I have been fortunate to have met many generous and inspirational people who opened doors for me that created life changing experiences. A few of my photography projects include the RIT Big Shot, the Images from Science exhibition, and the Faces of Jewish Rochester. I also exhibit my photography and I enjoy producing/sharing science images that operate in non-scientific environments. Several professional achievements that I am proud of would include being the recipient of the 2003 RIT Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching; the 2003 and 2008 RIT College of Imaging Arts And Sciences Gitner Prize for outstanding achievement in the graphic arts; the 2007 Schmidt Award presented by the BioCommunications Association for lifetime achievement in the life sciences communications; and the 2010, Frank J Romano Innovation in Graphic Publishing prize for my work as the advisor of the BPC Bulletin.

I began taking pictures in 1973 when I bought my first camera with money earned from bagging groceries at a local supermarket in my hometown of Utica, New York. 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 wonderful children, Jonathan and Leah.