CONTACT

Email: studio@michaelchristopherbrown.com

Instagram: @michaelchristopherbrown

CV: Download HERE

Commercial Inquiries: Melissa Schneider at hello@bespokeglobalagency.com

BIOGRAPHY (brief)

Michael Christopher Brown is an artist, National Geographic photographer, author, and filmmaker who utilizes and challenges the documentary image to spotlight some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian issues. Brown became known for pioneering smartphone reporting in war zones and his recent projects push the bounds of reportage illustration with AI-assisted reportage. He lived and worked for years across China (2005-2012), Libya (2011-2012), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (lived 2012-2015, working 2012-present), and Cuba (2014-2017), documenting the gamut of human experience. His first book, Libyan Sugar, drawn from iPhone coverage of the 2011 Libyan Revolution, won the Paris Photo–Aperture Book Award and the ICP Infinity Award for Artist’s Book; he was also the subject and a cinematographer in HBO’s Witness: Libya (dir. Michael Mann). Brown’s experimental project 90 Miles was cited as the first “reportage with AI”, exploring Cuban migration when direct photography was impossible. Earlier recognition for his boundary-pushing work led to selection into Magnum Photos. Today, as a father, he is writing a memoir and building Antaeus, an impact brand to empower inner growth.

BIOGRAPHY (extended)

Michael Christopher Brown is an artist utilizing and challenging the documentary image to spotlight some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian issues. His work spans from the chaotic rise of eastern China to the frontlines of the Arab Spring, from the wars of Eastern Congo (DRC) to the conflict in Israel and the West Bank, from socioeconomic issues in Cuba to homelessness in Los Angeles.

Born in Washington State’s Skagit Valley, Michael was raised in a healthcare-focused family. Taught photography by his father—a physician who documented his work overseas—he was immersed early in service and storytelling. His family’s humanitarian work took them to Mexican clinics, and their home welcomed dozens of exchange students.

Michael became known for pioneering the use of a smartphone in conflict reporting. His smartphone coverage of the 2011 Libyan Revolution culminated in his seminal first book and short film Libyan Sugar, which documents his near death experiences in the country and explores themes of resilience and transformation through the iconography of warfare. The book won the Paris Photo First Book Award and the ICP Infinity Award for Artist’s Book. While in Libya, he was kidnapped at gunpoint, ambushed and injured multiple times and saw his friends the renowned war photographers Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros killed.

In 2018 Damiani published his second book Yo Soy Fidel, which follows the cortège of Fidel Castro, former Cuban revolutionary and politician, over a period of several days in late 2016. In 2023 Michael released the novel and highly controversial AI reportage illustration work 90 Miles.

A photographer at National Geographic Magazine since 2004, and a former associate at Magnum Photos, he has over two decades of experience across six continents and brings a cinematic, authentic approach to both photography and directing—especially in complex locations with both actors and non-actors. He’s equally skilled in using natural light, working on live action sets, and directing video alongside stills.

Michael was the main character and a cinematographer for the Michael Mann directed HBO documentary Witness: Libya, and his film work was featured in several other conflict based documentaries including Hondros, Which way is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington, The Prosecutors and This is Congo. 

He speaks at institutions, festivals, and organizations worldwide, offering personal insights and lessons from the frontlines of human experience.

He lives in Los Angeles with his 6 year old daughter, Poppy.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Michael recently finished a draft screenplay for a feature film based on the story of Sgt. Madot Dagbinza, a friend and army commando that he and Horeb Bulambo Shindano, a longtime friend and collaborator, documented for The New York Times Magazine.

Horeb and Michael, with a combined 45 years of reporting and guiding experience in Central Africa, continue to lead seasonal, custom storytelling expeditions to the DRC.

Michael and Alyse Ardell Spiegel are co-directing a Cuba-based film that utilizes archival footage he made while completing the book Yo Soy Fidel and his forthcoming book Ondas, which will be published with the release of the film. 

Pulitzer Prize-winning Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha and Michael have released their book The Difference Between Bullets and Stones, which launched on Kickstarter in September 2025 to both fund the publication and to raise money for the efforts of aid organizations in the Gaza war.

Michael is writing a memoir, began in 2024, in the form of an extended letter to his 6 year old daughter, Poppy. The book is a sequel to Libyan Sugar, documenting his recovery from PTSD to fatherhood and outlining the grounding practices that led to him founding Antaeus, an impact brand making regenerative grounding products to empower inner growth.

CLIENTS

AARP. Aga Khan Museum. Al Jazeera. Amazon Music. Amnesty International. Bloomberg Businessweek. CSIS. Chopard. Conde Nast Portfolio. Conservation International. D La Repubblica. Der Spiegel. Eastern Congo Initiative. Economist. ESPN. Facebook. Financial Times. Fondazione Oelle. Foreign Policy. Fortune. FT Weekend Magazine. Front Line Defenders. GEO. Getty Images. Harper’s Magazine. Harvard Public Health. HBO. Hemispheres. Hyperice. IISS. Ishkar. Land Rover. Land Securities. Le Monde. Live Nation. Magnum Photos. Memac Ogilvy. Men’s Journal. Mobil. Moleskine. Monocle. MSNBC. National Geographic Magazine. New York Magazine. Newsweek. Nike. Nodle. Oprah Winfrey Network. PDN. Pipette. Polka. Redfitz. Save the Children. Smithsonian. Smith & Nephew. Sony. Stanford Medicine X. SYPartners. Tecno Mobile. The Atlantic. The Nature Conservancy. The New Republic. The New York Times. The New York Times Magazine. The New York Times Style Magazine. Time. United Nations. U.S. Army. U.S. Department of State. Vanity Fair. Ventiquattro. Vice. Vogue. Wall Street Journal. Wired. Young & Rubicam. YouthBuild.