We had the good fortune of connecting with Mike Williams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started a photography business to expand my creativity, reshape the way I look at the world and capture stunning views of the amazing places I plan to travel to. I went to school for engineering and then business management and over time my role in the large corporations I’ve worked for became less about engineering and design and more focused on project management and business giving me less opportunity for creativity in my work. In parallel, camera technology on cell phones improved dramatically allowing anyone with a cell phone to take high quality pictures. Over time I started to take more and more pictures with my phone and found that it was something that I really enjoyed. After a few years of taking tens of thousands of pictures a year I realized that I had changed the way I looked at the world and was actively seeking opportunities to take amazing pictures. This lead me to buy a hobby drone and eventually upgrade to a mirrorless Canon R6. When I realized the improvement in quality over a cell phone I decided that I wanted to share my experiences with my friends, family and anyone interested so I started my company. I named my company Explore and Explained because that’s what I’m passionate about. I’ve always loved to travel. I’ve traveled all over the world including China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and numerous locations in Europe and the Caribbean and don’t plan to stop anytime soon. I’ve also been curious about how things works (hence a mechanical engineering career) since I was a kid. This passion to learn directs my photography to things that I find interesting that are also fascinating to photograph.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art, which is photography, has a personal connection to me. In some senses I feel that my art is an extension of who I am. When traveling, my wife and I are explorers! We don’t like to go to all inclusive resorts and sit on the beach all day drinking cocktails. We like to find new, exciting places to travel and see as much as we can while we’re there. We are the classic couple that needs a vacation when we get back from vacation because we’re constantly on the go to see as much as we can while we’re there. As we visit new places we always do research about where to visit and what to see, now my focus in on the best places to take amazing pictures and capture lasting memories of the places I’ve been. When we’re not traveling my focus is on different animals, plants and other interesting things about the place I live. In a way, photography has engaged me to be more proactive to seek out and learn about new things. On weekends, I try to always find a new place or topic that we can travel to and capture some amazing photos. Last weekend we went to Plymouth, MA and captured some drone footage of the coastline and learned about a few new birds that I captured in Plymouth Harbor. My goal with my business is to travel, learn and share with others. I have the luxury to not have to make decisions that maximize profit and instead make decisions that maximize my excitement with the location or topic I’m focusing on.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The mountains for sure! For me, as a photographer, the views of the mountains are stunning. If I was going to going to spend a week I would certainly move around to see as much as possible. In Colorado, there’s definitely a difference between the summer and winter if you’ll visit the mountains, but either way, driving along the I-70 corridor making stops in Steamboat, Loveland, Breckenridge/Frisco, Vail and Aspen would be a must. The number of mountains and possible angles along the I-70 corridor could keep me busy for a long time!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My inspiration for my creativity is my wife. She’s made a career being an artist making stained glass at first and now she’s making stickers and keychains our of her stained glass designs. As an engineer I spend a lot of my life being logical and making what seem to be black and white decisions but her artwork has inspired me to find a way to expand my creativity. She pushes me to do things I like AND for the right reasons. This allows me to have a business that’s not solely focused on profits like my job in large corporations. Being employed full time gives me the flexibility to run the business in a way that I enjoy vs ensuring I profit enough to support my lifestyle.

Website: www.exploreandexplained.com

Instagram: @exploreandexplained

Facebook: Explore and Explained

Other: TikTok @exploreandexplained_

Image Credits
All images I’ve submitted or shared on my website or social media are taken by me. I am intentional to only use photo’s I’ve personally taken.

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