A series documenting the hardworking people who have helped build the American Midwest.
Michael Knapstein (b.1956) is a fine-art photographer who has earned international recognition for his insightful and nuanced visual exploration of the American Midwest. He lives in Middleton, Wisconsin, USA.
His photographs have been featured in hundreds of solo and group exhibitions in a variety of museums, galleries and festivals in 22 countries on five continents. Knapstein’s images have also received more than 350 awards in some of the world’s most prestigious photography festivals and competitions.
Awards Michael was counted among “14 Inspiring American Artists” by Skillshare and Feature Shoot. The Royal Photographic Society (Bristol, England) named him a winner of their Documentary Photography Awards. The Barcelona Foto Biennale (Barcelona, Spain) named him the International Landscape Photographer of the Year. The Moscow International Foto Awards (Moscow, Russia) named him the International Portfolio Photographer of the Year. The Pollux Awards (Kent, England) twice named him their Grand Prize Winner as well as International Landscape/Seascape Photographer of the Year. And Photolucida (Portland, Oregon) named him a Critical Mass Finalist four times.
His photographs have received awards from and/or been exhibited by the Royal Photographic Society (England), Prix de la Photographie Paris (France), Les Rencontres d’Arles (France), Grand Prix de la Decouverte (France), Photography Masters Cup (England), Moscow International Foto Awards (Russia), Tokyo International Foto Awards (Japan), LensCulture (Netherlands), Black and White Spider Awards (England), Budapest International Foto Awards (Hungary), Head On Photo Festival (Australia), Lucie International Photography Awards (Los Angeles, CA), New York Center for Photographic Art (NYC), Photo L.A. (Los Angeles, CA), Center for Photographic Art (Carmel, CA), Center for Fine Art Photography (Fort Collins, CO), SE Center for Photography (Greenville, SC), Communication Arts (Menlo Park, CA), Camera USA (Naples, FL) and National Geographic (Washington, D.C.).
His work is included in numerous public, private and corporate collections, including the George Eastman International Museum of Photography (Rochester, NY), Dubuque Museum of Art (Dubuque, IA), Racine Art Museum (Racine, WI), PNC Bank (Pittsburg, PA) American Girl (Middleton, WI), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (Chippewa Falls, WI) and The Sierra Club (Madison, WI).
