Over mij–
Michel Stoffel is a fine art photographer based in Rixensart, Belgium. He developed a passion for photography in the 1980s when he bought his first camera, a Nikon FM2. From 1996 to 1999, he travelled with his wife in Africa. The largest part of their trip was in two extreme environments: 1) the equatorial rainforest in the Republic of Congo and Central African Republic and 2) the Namib desert in Namibia. After that unforgettable experience, several of Michel’s photos were published in international magazines such as Africa Environment & Wildlife, Discover Africa, Natural History and 30 Millions d’Amis. A photo of a lowland gorilla was also highly commended in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year 1998 competition.
These publications, subsequent travels and a move to the countryside inspired Michel in 2022 to do photography full-time after a 22-year career in the pharmaceutical industry as a medical doctor. This artistic medium allows him to express how he observes and connects with nature. He captures landscapes and wildlife in pristine environments as well as homegrown flowers in his specially designed studio.
Living in the countryside enabled Michel to set up a garden and greenhouse to grow many of his photo “subjects”. Fascinated by the beauty and diversity of flowers, he transforms them as a horticulturalist-photographer from seed to fine art. He uses a focus-stacking technique to obtain stunningly sharp images that reveal every bit of natural beauty, including imperfections, unseen by the naked eye. He cultivates species from around the world that meet his aesthetic ideals.
When not gardening or exhibiting, Michel travels to areas with wild and untouched nature, such as Nordic countries. He revisits the same places several times in order to get the best shots of nature at its finest. He is a nature and photography “purist,” avoiding any signs of humanity in his photos and keeping post-processing to a minimum. He upholds the standards of film photography to obtain authentic shots straight from his digital camera.