29 May Stephenson Showcase: “History in Focus” by Michael White
In a world saturated with instant images and digital filters, photographer Michael White slows down. He embraces process, patience, and the quiet poetry of handmade photographs. His upcoming exhibit, History in Focus, celebrates not only the historic architecture of Noblesville but also the enduring art of analog photography.
Michael first fell in love with photography in the late 1980s while attending North Central High School in Indianapolis. Enrolled in black-and-white film classes at the J. Everett Light Career Center, he began exploring exposure, light, and the magic of the darkroom using his parents’ Minolta X-700. That early hands-on experience lit a creative spark that’s been burning ever since.
Over the decades, Michael’s process has evolved into a hybrid of old and new. While his foundation is in traditional film photography, his current work spans digital, infrared, and a range of historical techniques including pinhole photography, direct positive prints, and the wet plate collodion process. “I love pairing vintage equipment with modern tools,” he says. “It keeps the work grounded in tradition while still exploring something new.”
That spirit of exploration is at the heart of History in Focus. Shot with a large format field camera and his great-grandfather’s reconditioned early 1900s lens, each image is a direct positive print—made entirely in-camera, without digital manipulation. The result? Singular photographs that honor both craft and subject, highlighting the aged elegance of Noblesville’s historic buildings. “The city values its past,” Michael says. “This work is about capturing that quiet dignity.”
The show’s origin lies in legacy. When Michael inherited a 1902 Kodak No. 4 Plate Camera, he couldn’t restore the body, but the lens still held stories. Now mounted to a modern camera, that same lens, over 120 years old, once again captures the types of scenes it saw in its own time. “There’s something powerful in that continuity,” he reflects. “This work honors my family’s history, the city’s, and photography’s long tradition of storytelling.”
History in Focus will be on view at the Stephenson House Gallery from June 6-28, 2025. Visitors are invited to meet Michael and explore this one-of-a-kind collection at the opening reception on Friday, June 6, from 6-8 p.m.