Mic-Anthony Hay (@micanthonyhay) is a travel and adventure photographer and videographer. The Alpha Imaging Collective member thrives on discovering and exploring new places, all while capturing the moments with his camera. There are a lot of travel vloggers and content creators, but something that sets Mic-Anthony apart is genuine joy. You can see the passion and enjoyment in his eyes when he turns the camera around to capture his own expression as he’s enveloped by a place and culture that he’s never experienced before. His latest video was made in Thailand, a place he had never visited before. As we look forward to the prospect of traveling again watching Mic-Anthony is inspiring. We talked with Mic-Anthony to learn more about this passion and how he manages to live in the moment while still hitting the record button so he can share it with others.
“I actually started recording short videos on some of my trips when I was just solely doing photography for my family,” explains Mic-Anthony, “just because they did enjoy seeing some of those reactions. And I'd be like, ‘Mom, I'm really here right now. Can you believe this?’ So that’s kind of where my love of turning the camera on myself started.”
He continues, “I think that travel can feel out of reach for many people for a variety of reasons. I like to put myself in the scenes I see as much as possible so that the people who know me and know where I’m coming from see that it’s a reachable goal for others who want to travel someday.”
While in Thailand, Mic-Anthony had the Sony RX100 VII to record the moments he was experiencing. He wanted something that didn’t scream, ‘I’m a professional photographer!” but still gave him the focal reach he needed. It proved to be the perfect choice for catching those raw moments.
“When you’re experiencing something for the first time, it’s such a raw and authentic feeling. You can compare it to seeing the world through a child’s eyes, because that’s really what it is. When I show these videos to people who can’t imagine leaving their little community, the reaction on their face is almost mirroring mine in the video. I think that is so powerful. Because of the internet and our access to incredible, small cameras, I am able to not only put a smile on my face and have those memories, but I can show it to others so they can also see the world through my eyes.”
