The Decent

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Mike Manikowski lives in the suburbs of Detroit. Originally going to school for Commercial art, he was required to take a photographic darkroom class. That’s where all the trouble started.

As time went on he began to pick up his pencils less and less, and he picked up his camera more and more. By the mid 80’s Mike knew he wanted to concentrate on only photography, and specifically enjoyed doing erotic photography. He didn’t make any money at it, but he enjoyed it.

In 1988, he attended the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors, and all hopes of ever pursuing a normal, money-making career were dashed forever. Here at last, photography, sexy women, strange people, celebrities and horror movies all came together. Mike jumped down that path, and never looked back.

Since that show Mike has been the show photographer for Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors, Motorcity Comicon, Cleveland’s Cinema Wasteland, New Jersey’s Chiller Theatre, Motorcity Nightmares, and has lugged his camera around dozens of other shows.

Concentrating on photographing Horror celebrities for the past 25 years, he has amassed a ridiculous amount of portraits, almost all of which were photographed in hotel rooms.

Rooms in which Mike and his hapless assistants create a crazy, almost embarrassingly low budget makeshift studio. A studio consisting of used lights, (fake) blood-stained backdrops, and a variety of props which can range from movie quality all the way down to Halloween dime store silly.

FUN FACTS ABOUT MIKE & HIS WORK: 

Mike still shoots film. He still enjoys printing his own photos in a darkroom.

NONE of his pictures have digital re-touching.

His secret technique to obtain models is to walk up and ask them. Dozens of convention guests have said “No”. Just ask Margot Kidder or Cerina Vincent.

Once he was kicked out of a convention for taking 2 pictures of Rutger Hauer.

He collects toy robots, and has a regular 9 to 5 job that pays the bills.

He attends about 7 or 8 conventions a year.

He still wishes he could have photographed Vincent Price.

Mike’s photos, (and sometimes accompanying articles and interviews,) have been published in: Fangoria, Scream Queens Illustrated, Horrorbiz, Draculina, Rue Morgue, Chiller Theatre Magazine, and once, even Mad Magazine.