Los Angeles based photographer Ray Mickshaw is a veteran of production photography and member of the Cinematographers Guild Local 600. Ray’s home away from home is on one of the many sets where he has honed his craft working with many of Hollywood’s exceptional directors, producers and actors. Ray’s story is anything but ordinary. After fleeing the pasteurized suburbs of Michigan with his single mother Bevery Jane to California, they landed in the multicultural and ethnic soup bowl of Glassell Park. Ray’s imagination was ignited when he saw his first low rider filled with Vatos and Cholitas. The sights and sounds of this new and exciting experience were enhanced when he moved to the beach community of South side Santa Monica/Venice where he was thrown headfirst into the Dogtown surf and Skate movement.

Wandering the streets and alley’s, he stumbled upon a discarded photo enlarger and rescued the orphaned equipment. A used camera was procured and the single bathroom was converted into a makeshift wonderland of toxic smells and cloudy images. The murky images cleared and the vivid scribing was finally clearly defined on the negatives. Amazed at the ability to stop time and preserve history, he became a wandering historian capturing street life and other seedy activities.

High school was another pivotal moment in his life as his best friend died in a tragic accident and left hime without purpose or focus. Leaving the streets behind, he fell into the curios world of theater arts and used the lessons to guide hime in his newly discovered passion. Rubbing shoulders with the celebrity laden students, he held his own and after graduating Santa Monica high school obtained a full scholarship to Stephens College, a prestigious private woman’s fine arts institution in Columbia Missouri. His extensive training in the arts garnered him a BFA and after graduation he headed back home to break into a seemingly impossible industry.

Immersed in the underground theater scene in Los Angeles, he teamed up with old friends and develop the Actor’s Gang Theater Company helmed by Tim Robbins and other notable misfits. Acting as the company photographer, he was back again using the skills he honed as a young artist. Ray found the blending of his photographic talents and his love for the performing arts melded seamlessly and carried him into the next phase of his career.

Having worked with and on a variety of high profile projects, he has become a solid fixture in the industry. None of this Hollywood hobnobbing has changed him much and you’ll find him the same approachable, gregarious Dogtown salt dog enjoying his family and friends and snapping pics along the way.

K.Duncan

Playwright, author and fellow

college alumni