By: Norman Corrion
The thing that gets Michael Robb most excited to go to work is making connections with people, and he passes that excitement on to his students.
“It’s all about the information and telling the story,” Robb said.
Robb started out telling stories through photographs published in newspapers. Robb realized in the 1990s that he needed to expand his skillset and also started making websites. In 2008, Robb found websites lacking when telling a story about their client, so he left the Flint Journal to start Ohno Design, in Bay City, filling the gap for the Tri-Cities area.
Throughout Robb’s career, he discovered a passion for teaching and helping interns figure out what they wanted to do. In 2023, Robb decided he wanted to use that passion to start giving back to people and became Delta’s photojournalism instructor.
In Journalism 220, Maddie Hardenburgh said, “Professor Robb gets us out of the classroom to take photos. He utilizes the textbook but doesn’t rely on it.”
Robb brings his real-life experience to the classroom, using his past assignments such as the Berlin Wall coming down, flying in B-52 bombers, telling the story of Brian, a child with burns all over his body. Robb also brings history on photography to the class teaching famous photographers and how you used to have film requiring a mix of formulas to get lighting correct.
Students would be surprised to find out Robb is a dual citizen, with two names, one recognized by Germany and one by America. Robb’s teaching highlights his experience in Michigan, sharing stories that connect with students on a hometown level. When asked about the different areas of Michigan, Robb mentioned Flint being amazing because of all the news. He jokingly compared it to other areas where the big scandal is about someone owning too many dogs.
Discussing with Robb or being in his classroom highlights his ability to keep conversations light-hearted and engaging. A skill that helps him with his favorite kind of photography: photo stories.
“I think everybody has a story. You know that’s the thing, it’s like you can be sitting across from somebody and if you take the time to talk to them it’s like oh my god and I try to use that in all aspects of my life,” Robb said. “I try to give people an intimate look at somebody else’s life, their struggles, or triumphs, to be able to go in and create images that really tell a story. The story of Brian was a lot of pain but triumphs along the way with connections to the community.”
Robb’s student, Hardenburgh said, “My biggest take-away from his class is that any picture has potential, and you can connect with the subjects along with having an outside point of view.”
If anyone is interested in photography as a career, to enter the field Robb suggests, “These days you almost have to think out of the box a little bit in terms of, if you start something, something along the lines of like people of New York, or if you can kind of create some kind of a little niche for yourself with something that helps your community or that gets your name out in front of more people and it’s so hard to do that and I think if you start small like local community it makes it much easier to transition to a larger community.”
Robb mentioned that when he started in photography you had to do an internship and build a portfolio and it was competitive.
“I think today there are more options for you, it’s just that you need to be able to explore those and say hey, what is it that I can do and enjoy doing and at the same time would get my name out,” Robb said.
The one piece of advice Robb would give to any new photographer? “Focus on moments, try and capture moments, and you can do that with any kind of gear.”
