A Visit with Michael K. Anderson: Unassuming Gift to the Community

Musician Jim Hall. Photo by Michael Anderson.

I can't recall precisely when I first met Michael Anderson, though my guess is that it was about five years ago. The occasion was a Duluth Dylan Fest concert with Scarlet Rivera, Gene LaFond and a host of others. I could see by the camera gear he wore like a necklace that he was probably a pro photographer, and when I learned that he was documenting the concert for the Armory, it wasn't hard to come to that conclusion. As a blogger also playing the documentation game, I was please to learn he would be happy to share with me his photos afterwards.

So began a relationship of several years duration in which I would be on the receiving end of Michael's generosity on behalf of the community.

Over time, I learned that photographer Michael Anderson, like most of us, has many other facets and upon learning of some of these varied interests I wanted to shine a light on this man who has been so self-sacrificing, whom so many know but really only know in a very narrow way.

EN: Briefly outline you career path from college to present.

Ryan Lane. Photo Credit: Michael Anderson.

Michael K. Anderson: I finished my undergraduate work in 1992, a 23-year process between a couple of semesters after high school through a couple of decades working as a journeyman millwright at a local industrial plant. The bachelor’s degree was a big goal for me as I never believed I was smart enough to ‘make the grade,’ graduating in the lower half of my high school class. I initiated college classes while I was still working full time and the confidence and momentum continued to grow until I was close enough to finishing the degree (start of my senior year) and I had vested myself in the retirement program with 20 years at the plant.

After finishing the Bachelor’s degree I started singing principal roles in local musical theater and grew quickly as an actor/singer (a potential I’d always had but did not have the confidence or incentive to move in that direction).

At the same time I was developing a reputation as a photographer with an initial focus on the Superior Municipal Forest & The St. Louis Estuary. I was working as a canoe/kayak instructor with The UMD Kayak & Canoe Institute and the Trek & Trail program in Duluth. I had also initiated a guide service into the Municipal Forest Called Urban Wild. My intention at the time was to let people know of the significance of the Forest and the value of an urban wild within the city boundaries. The Forest totals over 5,000 acres of Boreal Forest as well as 27 miles of shoreline: part of the St. Louis River Estuary System. I was able to take two of the Superior mayors into the forest by canoe to let them know of its beauty and significance. At that time there were issues with potential development in The Forest and I figured the greater the awareness of its significance the better opportunity to stop the development.

Over time the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources took an interest in establishing a State Natural Area in half of the forest & waterways, considering it an ‘exquisite’ natural area and, a few years after, the National Oceanographic & Aeronautical Association (NOAA) chose the St. Louis River Estuary as the second fresh water National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in the nation. I acted as a resource with my experience guiding in the area as well as sharing my photography.

This is a history of the unfolding after finishing the Bachelor’s degree. Even with the opportunities as a singer & photographer I had the opportunity to go back to work as a millwright at the hardboard plant for financial reasons. The plant closed 5 years later, burning that bridge, opening other options in my life. At this point I was able to step into the masters in social work program at UMD with re-training funding available for dis-placed workers ( a program Paul Wellstone made possible).

Josie Langhorst. 2018 Singer/Songwriter performer.
Photo: Michael Anderson

EN: We met through your photography work on behalf of the Armory. I then discovered you have been shooting all variety of subjects. How did you come to take a serious interest in photography?

MKA: With the social work degree (and a commitment to digital photography equipment) I started photographing many social justice events, volunteering my services to gain experience & increased recognition. This has facilitated publication of my work nationally & internationally.

I also enjoy portrait photography, looking to capture the ‘character’ of my subjects.

EN: In addition to psychology and photography you’re something of an outdoorsman. How does canoeing and being out on the water inform your other interests?

MKA: I have always been connected with the outdoors and, with a painful break up in the early ‘80s, my time on the waters of the St. Louis River & The City Forest increased significantly to facilitate healing. This retreat into nature lasted for years & enhanced my creativity as a writer & photographer.

Water washing kindly, gently through my life
Calming my concerns, removing my fears
Clarifying a vision, a direction in life

My watercraft is guided
Floating gracefully on a sea of complexity
And I, in my place, paddle in hand
Have become an observer, calmly over-seeing

Like the process of sanctification

This deepening spiritual connection lead me to facilitate/guide others into a similar connection with nature. I was able to do this as canoe guide/instructor, photographer, and occasional writer.

"Shakespeare's in the Alley" Dylan tribute by the artist Skye.
Photo: Michael Anderson

EN: You mentioned the importance of breathing properly, which pertains to both singing and yoga. Why is breathing correctly so important?

MKA: My mother was quite the singer who had a passion for music. She wanted the 4 of us kids to take piano lessons to at least have a foundation of musical awareness. I suppose I also was gifted with a voice but I spent years not following that path of vocal development until later in life, especially after leaving the industrial plant the first time & finishing the under-graduate degree. I connected with a voice teacher from New York 15 years ago who was in town. He recognized the potential in my voice but said it needed more foundation: the deep belly breath which connects with the potential (which I believe is found in the belly: our energy center), supporting the vocal expression.

Over the next years with an increased focus on breath & voice work I realized the connection with the physiological & psychological components of vocal expression. I incorporated the work of Reich (a student of Freud) and Alexander Lowen in my master’s thesis on The Effects of Breath & Vocal Training on Self-Expression, Self-Esteem, & Self-Efficacy. This thesis related breathwork with counter-acting sympathetic autonomic nervous system reactivity to external & internal stimulus. We can consciously alter breathing patterns toward belly breathing/yogic breathing to relieve stress stuck in the physiological & psychological body. (Recent studies on trauma & shame support this.)

Facilitating belly breathing to support the vibrational tone has made a significant difference in my ‘voice’ as well as freeing me from the issues around ‘self-expression.’ I have also incorporated bits & pieces from a plethora of ‘routes of knowing’ to continue supporting my thesis and to bring into my work as a psychotherapist, focusing on releasing anxiety (bound up energy) and depression, often leading to other mental disorders. All under the auspices of Voice Work!

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Related Links
Michael Anderson's Photo Galleries
Bob Dylan Way home page

Meantime, Life goes on all around you. Engage it.