Fine art landscape photography rooted in place, patience and print craftsmanship

Welcome to my online photography gallery. My name is Mickey Shannon and I am a self-taught, professional fine art landscape and nature photographer based in Wichita, Kansas. Over the past 25 years, I have been traveling both near home and far away in pursiot of creating beautiful images. What started as a passionate hobby eventually turned into an internationally recgonized print-making practice. With deep family roots spanning the American Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions, which includes Kansas, Colorado, South Dakota, Oklahoma and more, I have found my work changing quickly in the past decade. What started as just trying to take beautiful scenes of the places I traveled to has evolved into telling stories about the profoundconnections between land, history and a firsthand experience. This not only includes my love for traveling the American interior, but has consumed photography trips to Canada, Europe, Hawaii and other amazing destinations.

Today, you can find my signature series limited edition luxury prints and museum-quality work hanging in the homes of collectors, private residences, corporate offices and more worldwide.

Artist Statement: The Art of Visual Storytelling

My surname, Shannon, originates from the Gaelic word seanachaidh, which translates to "skilled storyteller." Long before I ever picked up a professional camera, I was drawn to creative expression, from drawing maps as a kid to studying graphic and web design as I grew older. Eventually, photography gave me the ultimate outlet to tell stories visually. It is no longer just about capturing a pristine landscape, but trying to convey how how it feels to stand there and experience the amazing fleeting moments of golden light or telling the story of the place I'm photographing.

When a collector views a piece like Solitude Amongst the Beauty, my intent is to evoke the historical emotion of a remote late-1800s Colorado cabin nestled deep in the San Juan Mountains during the gold rush. You can feel the golden transition of autumn while anticipating the isolation of the coming winter snow. Similarly, in Bellagio Bellezza, the imagery invites you to step onto the medieval cobblestone paths leading to Italy's iconic Lake Como, connecting with the countless generations who have walked those same steps over two thousand years.

While I certainly carry my own narrative into the field, the true magic of fine art landscape photography is that every viewer brings their own history, memories and emotions to the art they view. That timeless, shared connection is the ultimate goal of every photograph I capture.

My Career & Journey: From Exploration to Master Craft

My path into professional photography was a gradual, self-driven evolution deeply intertwined with a lifelong love for the great outdoors. Some of my earliest memories of framing nature began with my grandmother’s old instant Polaroid camera, documenting the mountains during family road trips. By my college years, I was carrying disposable cameras on annual camping and hiking trips to Rocky Mountain National Park with my dad and brother.

A true turning point occurred in 2007. I had recently gotten myself into much better shape and summited my second 14er, Mount Elbert, Mount Elbert which is Colorado's highest peak. I came away with some really good shots (or so I thought at the time) from the top. Not long after that, I was on a long hike with my brother down a lesser used trail on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park. My brother's suggested I invest in a "real" camera. Shortly after that trip, I did some research and purchased my first DSLR, a Nikon D80 with a kit lens. Shortly after this, I began intensely studying the masterworks of classic nature photographers like Ansel Adams, Galen Rowell and others. This was a fun time in landscape photography for me. Some of the bigger names of this generation were just emerging, and while many were still in the film space, digital photography had fully taken hold by this point.

In 2009, I undertook my first international expedition to the legendary Swiss and French Alps. I spent ten immersive days photographing iconic alpine wonderlands like Zermatt, Chamonix, Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. Standing in those grand landscapes, I realized very quickly that this was what I wanted to do.

Prior to that trip, I had started experimenting with printing my work and framing it. When I went on that trip, I took really large panoramics, in hopes of being able to print these images really large. That desire for the highest-quality print has stuck with me all this time. It was through those early print-making sessions and that big trip to Europe that I knew printing my work would be a major part of my photography career.

In May 2010, Lawrence Photo hosted my debut exhibition, Alpine Magic, featuring 40+ framed works from my European and Rocky Mountain travels. Gaining firsthand experience hand-printing, matting and framing every single piece in my basement permanently anchored my philosophy and how I view a photograph. I am always thinking about how an image will look as a large, physical print.

In 2011, I launched my commercial photography business and this website, steadily expanding my portfolio across diverse landscapes from my home on the prairies of Kansas to Kauai, the Pacific Northwest and the Canadian Rockies.

2018 marked a big shift. I went from offering smaller paper prints and mediums such as canvas and plaque mount to much higher end limited edition mediums such as acrylic and metal prints. In the time since then, my photography business has grown exponentially. In less than a decade, I have placed hundreds of large-format signature gallery pieces into fine art collections across the globe. From home-owners decorating their walls to offices, banks, medical offices and more, my work has found it's way onto the walls of collectors in more than 20 countries around the world. While my biggest prescense is my website, I also exhibit at art festivals and the occassional gallery exhibit.

In 2023, I released my first ever coffee table book titled "Kansas is Beautiful". I wanted something to showcase the beauty of my home state. The book was an immense success, selling 75% of the initial 1,500 copies of the book within two years. I have also begun work on my second book tentatively titled "America's Backbone", that will explore the regions of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains and how they are interconnected. This is a natural extension of my work and being able to tell more stories through my photography in an exciting way.

Areas of Expertise & Fine Art Production Mediums

Every photograph I release is envisioned, composed and captured with large-scale physical printing as the final destination. I specialize in producing ultra-high-definition, large-format fine art prints that retain impeccable detail, depth and color fidelity even at museum scales. My core production mediums include:

• Signature Series HD Acrylic Prints: The pinnacle of modern art presentation. This multi-layered process utilizes a silver halide print face-mounted to museum-grade acrylic, creating an unparalleled 3D depth, vibrant color gamut and a brilliant pearlescent quality that seems illuminated from within.
• Signature Series HD Metal Prints: Infused directly into specially coated archival aluminum sheets via dye-sublimation, resulting in a lightweight, scratch-resistant, hyper-vibrant presentation with a striking modern aesthetic.
• Museum-Grade Archival Paper Prints: Traditional, beautifully textured fine art loose prints utilizing acid-free cotton rag papers and pigment inks to ensure centuries of longevity.
• Premium Custom Framing: For collectors seeking a master-class traditional presentation, I offer some of the best framing possible with ROMA Moulding. My signature series HD acrylic and metal prints can optionally be paired with ROMA frame styles crafted from sustainable woods in Tuscany and hand-finished by artisans in Italy.
• Triptych & Panel Art: Need help designing out a unique look for your art? I can help you create a beautiful presentation with triptych (three-panel), four-panel or more pieces of art to achieve the look you desire.
• Interior Design & Art Placement: From mockups of artwork on walls to help with interior design, I can help create the best presentation for your walls.
• Photography Workshops, Tours and Education: Throughout the year, I offer a number of photography workshops, tours and more to help photographers learn how to use their camera.
• Kansas Photography: Being from Kansas, I've traveled the state extensively for more than two decades, from the Flint Hills to the chalk pyramids of western Kansas to my search over a number of years to find over 100 waterfalls across the state, I've spent a great deal of time photographing the Sunflower State and offer fine art prints from these adventures.
• Colorado Photography: My love for Colorado started practically when I was born. I've traveled there pretty much every year of my life. Between family who have lived in the mountains for decades to my grandfather being born on a farm there, it's always felt a bit like a second home to me. When I picked up a camera for the first time, it was the place I gravitated towards and that has never wavered. I never miss a autumn out there, and love to explore and photograph the state in any season. Colorado is my largest photography gallery, with hundreds of images from across the Rockies.
• Corporate Art: In addition to selling direct to customers, I work with many businesses and corporations to outfit their offices with artwork From banks to dental offices and hospitals to financial advisors, I've worked with many different clients to elevate their office spaces through beautiful fine art landscape photography.

International Awards, Accolades & Milestones

Over the course of my career, my work has been recognized globally by prestigious photography institutions, international juries and travel bureaus. Below is a selected timeline of career milestones and honors:

Fine Art Photography Awards and Career Milestones

Past Gallery Exhibitions & Legacy Shows

Before transitioning primarily to juried national art festivals, my collections were displayed in prominent regional galleries and solo spaces. Below is a look into my exhibition history, featuring an exclusive 20-minute behind-the-scenes gallery walk of my solo exhibition at MarkArts:

Past Art Festival Exhibitions

In 2020, I began exhibiting in art festivals across the country. Here are a few important regional and national art festivals I have exhibited in:

For upcoming exhibits and art festival schedule visit the event schedule page.

Featured Press, Media Appearances & Image Licensing

My fine art imagery and travel insights have been widely featured across print journals, digital news columns and commercial publications. Below is a curated directory of verified interviews, guest columns and editorial publications featuring my work:

Commercial & Editorial Image Licensing Gallery

In addition to fine art prints, my native landscape photography is regularly licensed by high-profile magazines, tourism boards and corporate entities to represent the spirit of the American wilderness.

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Verified Press Features & Guest Publications

Kansas Travel Bureau Official Feature: Honoring Kansas' Finest Filmmakers & Photographers B&H Photo Video National Insights: Mastering Night Sky Landscape Composition KLM Airlines International Feature: Capturing the Dark Skies of the Great Plains (Insert links to your additional guest blog columns, newspaper profiles and feature interviews here) Swiss Magazine in Feb. 2020 - go back and look Holland Herald OKC Art magazine Recent Steamboat Springs - hceck on that

Corporate Art Consultation & Interior Design Services

Mickey Shannon Photography works hand-in-hand with professional interior designers, corporate art consultants, luxury hospitality brands and healthcare facilities to curate striking, large-scale visual installations. Whether designing a single, commanding focal piece for an executive boardroom or executing a multi-room cohesive collection for a luxury residential property, we provide dedicated trade pricing, advanced digital wall mockups and tailored fulfillment logistics to meet the exact architectural requirements of your project.

Philanthropy, Conservation & Non-Profit Art Initiatives

From the inception of my photography business, a core pillar of my mission has been giving back. I am deeply passionate about funding the critical fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery, and I actively donate a portion of my business profits to leading non-profit organizations operating in this space.

I also believe that high-quality art should be accessible to organizations doing vital work on the ground. Mickey Shannon Photography offers substantial, specialized discounts on fine art prints to registered non-profit organizations and charities dedicated to combating human trafficking or promoting the conservation of our natural wild places. If your organization is seeking inspiring imagery for your facilities, please contact me directly via our inquiry form.

A Commitment to Reality in the Era of AI

Every single photograph displayed on this website is captured from real moments, in real places, experiencing real earth elements. I maintain a strict commitment to photographic honesty: I do not use artificial intelligence (AI) to generate imagery, fabricate fictional compositions or alter landscapes beyond traditional darkroom-style techniques.

Like landscape masters have done for generations, I utilize professional modern tools to refine contrast, color depth and tonal balances so that the final printed medium authentically reflects the spectacular emotions of the physical world rather than what a cold camera sensor alone recorded. My work is shaped by miles hiked, quiet mornings in freezing alpine winds, missed conditions and returning to the exact same location year after year until the light is right. In an era of automated fiction, real-world presence is everything.