Anza-Borrego Layers, by Mickey Strider

I love the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in Southern California. I am endlessly fascinated and inspired by the landscape and you are never quite sure if you will get clouds or not or how the light will be affected. This was shot along the Great Southern Overland Stage Route between Agua Caliente Springs and Ocotillo, CA. The shafts of light coming through the clouds caught my attention. The way the light separated the mountain layers so vividly and the wonderful highlights on the pavement made it impossible not to get out of my car. I was so taken with the scene and stood there, in the middle of nowhere, with no one in sight and only the sound of the wind, that I almost forgot to take the picture.

Canon 60D with EF28mm-105mm | Exposure 1/500 sec @ f/4 | ISO 100 | Focal Length 28mm
Anza-Borrego Layers, by Mickey Strider

Award Winner: Photo of the Day | July 14
Award Score: 67.5 (Value 12, Clarity 13, Composition 17, Style 13, Skill 12.5)
Photo of the Day Award Category: Landscape Photography
Photograph Location: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California | The United States

Photographer: Mickey Strider (Encinitas, CA, USA) Registered
Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Mickey Strider got his first taste of film making by taking first runner up honors at the Baltimore County Film Festival with a stop motion animation short, “The Coo Coo Conspiracy” in 6th Grade. He later studied art at the prestigious Maryland Institute College of Art and an advertising career soon followed. First working as Jr Art Director, Mickey then moved into film production where he worked as an Assistant Cameraman and Assistant Producer on commercials, music videos, films and television shows.
In 1989, Mickey made the jump to New York City as a Producer at ad agency Bozell. There he worked on productions for Chrysler, Merrill Lynch, A&P Supermarkets, Valvoline, FEMA and Tyco Toys among others. While working on the Tyco campaign for their smash toy hit, The Incredible Crash Dummies, Mickey gained a credit on the FOX TV Saturday Special featuring The Crash Dummies- becoming the very first TV special produced entirely using CGI.
A move south to Richmond, VA followed, where Mickey eventually started up his own commercial film production company with friend and long-time collaborator and DP, Frank DeMarco (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”, “Rabbit Hole”, “Margin Call”, “BeerFest”). The directing duo, cleverly titled MICKEY+FRANK, helmed spots for agencies and clients from Atlanta to Charlotte to New York City. Mickey also worked on the HBO film “Iron Jawed Angels” starring Patrick Dempsey, Angelica Huston, Vera Farmiga and 2-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank. He also netted a brief cameo in the film opposite Ms. Swank. Mickey then contributed second unit camera-work on the 9/11 Documentary “Rebirth”, filming scenes in NYC on the One Year Anniversary. During this time Mickey also directed and produced the short film, “Zilch” with writer Brian Fox. The film went on to screen at over a dozen film festivals across the country including the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival, DC International Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, RiverRun Film Festival and the Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville, where Mickey and Brian also helped lead a panel on screenwriting. “Zilch” was also screened at the famous Anthology Film Archives in New York City and was awarded First-Runner Up at the James River Film Festival.
Winston-Salem, NC and advertising shop Mullen was the next career stop, where Mickey took over Head of Production duties and shepherded campaigns for Wachovia Bank, CSX Transportation, Sealy Mattresses, Marshall’s, LaQuinta Hotels and TJ Maxx, which garnered a Shortlist nod at Cannes. Mickey currently resides in San Diego, CA and as Director of Broadcast at ViTRO, he has produced TV and Web campaigns for Asics (Cannes Silver Lion 2012, One Show Bronze Pencil 2012, FWA Site of the Day 2012), Newcastle Brown Ale (Cannes Shortlist 2010, FWA Site of the Day, 2011 Webby Award), IHOP, Kwikset, Alaska Communications, PF Chang’s and Quickie/Lysol.
Mickey also continues his art and photography pursuits as well. In the past year his photographs have been selected for exhibitions across the country including the 1650 Gallery in Los Angeles, Linus Gallery in Pasadena, CA, Rockport Center for the Arts in Rockport, TX and has been included in two exhibitions at Maryland Federation of Art’s Circle Gallery in Annapolis, MD. He has also been featured in several online exhibitions, including Still Point Art Gallery and the Light
Space and Time Gallery where he was awarded Special Recognition. Mickey was a Finalist in the International Juried Printmaking and Photography Exhibition 2012 at Artspace in Richmond, VA and had three photographs and one sculpture as finalists in competition at the 2012 San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, CA. Mickey also had photographs selected and published in the Photographer’s Forum Magazine Best Of Photography 2011 Annual and also in the Best of Photography 2012 Annual. Mickey’s artwork has recently sold to buyers in New Jersey, Ohio, California and Japan.

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