Mike is the founder and principal photographer for Black Ice Studios. He is 32 years old and has been involved with photography for about 20 years. Currently in the process of turning what had been a hobby into a career, Mike’s passion for photography has exploded tremendously since the purchase of his first digital SLR in May of 2007. Mike’s background for photography had primarily been in nature and landscape photography until he began shooting model portfolio work in October 2007. Mike’s photography has been featured in galleries in the Madison area. In February 2006 Mike was a featured local artist at the Frame Workshop. In October 2006 he was featured artist at Absolutely Art and during Madison’s Gallery Night. He was also featured photographer for PhotoMidwest that month. The areas of fashion, glamour, and artistic photography are Mike’s primary interest. Creating imagery that is edgy, unique, and “outside of the mainstream” is his primary goal and where his passion leads him. Mike also creates stunning digital landscapes that have a unique combination of fantasy and realism that draw the viewer in and make them want to explore these imaginary worlds. Mike is currently employed on the UW-Madison campus doing science research as his “day job”. In May 2005 he graduated from the UW-Madison Medical School with his M.S. in Biotechnology. He is also the proud father of 2 boys and engaged to the most amazing woman.
Samantha (Sam) is co-founder, booking agent, and principal model for Black Ice Studios, and is currently a photography intern working as assistant photographer. She is 21 years old and is from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Sam has been involved in modeling for 8 years. She is currently signed with First Choice Modeling & Talent Agency in Green Bay, and has been signed by agencies in St. Cloud, MN and Chicago in the past. She works as a line therapist for autistic children and is a fulltime student at UWGB, majoring in Communication Arts and minoring in Dance and Communication. She has been dancing for 15 years and currently teaches Hip Hop & Jazz for girls and is choreographer for "Fashion For Hope", an annual hip-hop based fashion show for charity at the Weidner Center in Green Bay.