Michael Castaneda, Featured Artist February 2019

“I was born and raised in the small town Ocala, FL. After high school I tried the college path but left early to pursue a career in the film industry. At the age of 20 I helped produce a full length feature film that was distributed nationwide, but didn’t exactly payout for me. Life’s hard lesson on that one found me washing golf carts 2 days a week at a local country club in my home town.  Within 2 years I was managing the entire operation and  had become content with my life. That all changed at the age of 28 when I found myself sitting on my back patio looking out at a pool I never swam in and a yard I never used. Even though I had experienced what I felt to be a lot, I knew that I hadn’t truly lived anything. The decision from here was surprisingly easy, I quit my job, sold my house and everything that couldn’t fit into my small car and started driving west. Along the way I forced myself to stop at various landmarks just to see what the world had to offer. It was that drive that changed my life forever and freed my mind. My photography is my attempt to showcase the places I seen that have changed my life.”