Michael Stampone is a man with too many hobbies; just ask his wife. His home is filled with all manner of interesting and obscure collections (clutter) that he can, and will, explain to you in great detail, whether you want him to or not. Fountain pens, old camera equipment, pocket knives, wrist watches, sea glass, and art books to name a few. Mike has a bit of a problem. It's not entirely his fault though. You see Mike is endlessly fascinated about the world around him and loves to collect, categorize, and evaluate everything to better understand it. He probably could have used these attributes to become a fabulously wealthy scientist, but alas he inherited the genes of an artist. For Mike, art has always been about communication. Be it music, writing, painting, or sculpture, he sees art as a way of taking the intangible within ourselves and sharing it with others. Mike decided to take his obsessive nature and put it into photography. (Lots of shiny toys!) Not wanting to be just another starving artist however, he chose to attend the nerdiest, most OCD, photo school he could find: Rochester Institute of Technology. There, he got a Bachelor's Degree in Advertising Photography. In 2004, after college, he took the next logical step and started working as a photo assistant in NYC. Being as meticulous as he was, Mike gravitated towards still life photography. He quickly moved up the ranks, and took on the responsibilities of digital tech, second shooter, and onset retoucher for several busy NYC studios.
Following the birth of his first child, Mike made the transition from photo assistant to retoucher. He has worked in a wide range of creative environments, including advertising agencies, boutique retouching studios, onset at photoshoots, and side-by-side with CGI artists. As a retoucher, he is expedient, versatile, and meticulous. From color and cleanup, to keyart and multi-image composites, he has a great deal of experience in many facets of digital imaging. Drawing from his background in studio photography, Mike brings a strong eye for evaluating images. He also can communicate with photographers and agency creatives to help achieve highly polished final artwork.
When Mike isn't over-analyzing an image to find errors no one asked him to look for, he is likely wandering the office showing everyone pictures of his impossibly cute daughters, or discussing vintage punk rock, or podcasts, or beer, or the philosophy of art. …but don't worry, he means well.
Clients:
