So, who are you and how did you come to be?
This is the "how did you come to be" part. The company was started in Highland Park by Michael Metzger in his kitchen and basement in 1973. It was known a Printmakers but everyone kept making the checks out to Michael Metzger, so 8 months later he change the name to Michael Metzger & Staff, Inc. The goal was to make a living as a commmerical photographer whatever that might means to different people. To Michael it meant, "take images and make them into photographs and sell them at a profit". He had already built a darkroom in the basement of the home and had been "experimenting" with larger format cameras. Prior to the formation of the company, he had used a box camera since he was 6 yrs old and then graduated to a "real" 35mm camera in 1962 when his dad gave him and Argus C3, using Kodachrome, Ektachrome, Plus X and Tri X. Michael's earlier photo involvement will be cover elsewhere for those interested. For now, we will stick to the company known as Michael Metzger & Staff. Inc. Michael has taken the company through many changes. Over the years he has had as many as 8 full time employees and 6 part timers, dowm to the present one man operation. Below lies the results of all those years of training and exploring the world and its people. Total time with mom and kids: one hour and 40 minutes, we had never met and only spoke on the phone. The resulting album was met as a surprise for her husband. He liked it so much, they all (now three kids) came back two years later for another session.
