Former Marion Athlete Treks Through the Winter Wilderness for Perfect Pictures

Michael McAreavy, 50, sees the world in near-square-shaped boxes. These boxes frame pictures the photographer and former Marion High School football player sees in his mind’s eye, and captures around the country.

McAreavy’s photos are filled with land formations, trees, heavy shadows, and foregrounds that seem to loom out of the picture, right in front of the viewer.

“I have always been fascinated by light,” McAreavy, who thinks of himself as a “light chaser,” said in an interview during a visit to his hometown of Marion.

He added he likes to give viewers the feeling of rocks scraping their knees and river-water trickling over their toes.

McAreavy’s work hangs permanently at Campbell Steele Gallery on Seventh Avenue. He uses a medium format film camera and a wide angle fixed lens, tools he said fit his vision. This type of camera produces pictures with a more square-shaped format than those of a typical 35 mm camera.

McAreavy, who now lives in Oakland, CA, currently seeks a publisher for two books of photography he recently finished. One book chronicles a year-long trip he took in 2009, bouncing from California to Marion, Canada to Mexico, and many places in-between.

His second book chronicles his experiences in California. McAreavy’s interest in photography sparked when his former girlfriend gave him a camera as a gift. With thoughts of Ansel Adams’ photos in mind, he began learning how to use his camera to shoot outdoor scenes roughly 20 years ago. Since then, he’s been hooked.

McAreavy’s past pursuits include football and track, college at the University of Northern Iowa, and a career in finance on his way to becoming a professional photographer.

At Marion High School, he and three of his siblings made the Marion High School Athletics Hall of Fame.

“Our family lived and breathed every sport,” he said.

Though sports are no longer McAreavy’s main passion, he said his background in athletics at Marion High School continues to impact his photography career. He likes hiking, backpacking, and camping during the chilliest months of the year to find perfect, pristine scenes for his photos.

“You have to be half insane to do this,” he said.

The high-energy photographer uses a fixed lens only, which means he must walk to the exact spot he wants to shoot from without zooming. He enjoys finding these places with his feet rather than his lens.

Priscilla Steele, co-proprietor of Campbell Steele gallery, reviewed McAreavy’s work for installation at the gallery. She thinks it’s important for people in Marion to know McAreavy is more than just a football star.

Steele said McAreavy, who she described as physically vigorous, seems to feel the beauty of landscapes very deeply. She thinks McAreavy’s colorblindness heightens his awareness of tonal range.

“That makes for a very rich composition in black and white,” she said.

McAreavy is currently working on portraits. Steele said she looks forward to watching how he handles this shift in subject matter.