CONTACT

Email: studio@michaelchristopherbrown.com

CV: Download HERE

BIO

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.

A photographer at National Geographic Magazine since 2004, and a former associate at Magnum Photos, Michael 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 became known for pioneering the use of a smartphone in conflict reporting. His smartphone coverage of the 2011 Libyan Revolution culminated in the seminal book and short film Libyan Sugar, which documents a number of his near death experiences 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.

In 2023 Michael released the novel and highly controversial AI reportage illustration work 90 Miles.

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. In 2025 he finished a draft screenplay for a feature film based on the story of Sgt. Madot Dagbinza, a friend and commando he documented while living in the DRC.

In late 2025, Michael and Alyse Ardell Spiegel will begin co-directing a Cuba based film that partly utilizes archival footage he made while completing his book Yo Soy Fidel and his forthcoming book Ondas, which will be published with the release of the film.

Michael is collaborating with a Palestinian poet and the designer Ramon Pez to create a book of work from the West Bank in order to raise money for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and their ongoing efforts in the Gaza war. He is also continuing to write a memoir, begun in 2024, in the form of a letter to his now 6 year old daughter, Poppy, which documents his journey from PTSD to fatherhood.

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

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. 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.