<img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gOX5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb1337e7b-4072-41bc-8cc7-4b12438b1512_1133x1413.jpeg" containerstyle="" wrapperstyle="display: flex">There are some people you meet for the first time and feel like you’ve known forever. That’s Michelle to me. I admired her work from a distance, we did some IG stalking on each other, and then we became friends. She’s the perfect example of what happens when you surround yourself with good people. We are of a similar age, both of us grew up on West Coast hip hop (Dogg Pound anyone?), and both of us come from a sporting and business background before landing in the creative world. Did we just become best friends? (so much room for activities)Michelle has shot an amazing array of artists, including Genesis Owusu, TKAY Maizda, Ruel, Illy, Hilltop Hoods and G Flip. She’s created the acclaimed Rise and Her Sound Her Story projects. She’s got two separate portrait series sitting in the National Film and Sound Archive. She’s won an ARIA and shot her first Rolling Stone cover with Amy Shark. She also runs Next Studios in Melbourne with her husband Jarvis. What a boss.Fifteen years of that, built from a cold start.What I didn’t know until we sat down was her villain origin story. Michelle was 31, on a three-day admin contract, when her boss walked her to a dishwasher to show her one dirty cup she’d missed. That’s when she decided she was done, and it was time to give photography a try.Six months later, she went pro. (sporting reference see) She built her name through full immersion, every hip hop gig in Melbourne, every night, until she was part of the furniture.Every conversation I have with Michelle, I walk away more impressed than the last. That’s why I wanted to sit down and put it on record, at least for the stuff we could say without getting cancelled, lol.So here’s episode 3 of the "More Questions Than Answers Podcast” podcast. (powered by Mentor Academy)In this episode we cover:<ul><li>The dishwasher moment that pushed her to quit corporate for good</li><li>Picking up a camera for the first time at 31, with zero experience</li><li>Going professional within six months</li><li>Full immersion in the Melbourne hip hop scene and how it built her name</li><li>Why her business background became her biggest creative advantage</li><li>The unreleased shots she still thinks about, and the ones she’s told friends to release if she dies</li><li>Winning an ARIA and shooting her first Rolling Stone cover</li><li>Building Next Studios with her husband Jarvis and creating a space for the next generation</li></ul> Press play to hear Michelle’s story.<ul><li>Listen and watch on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/3O4wHQzrQVnMhQKpZMKb0N?si=o2fmge1nRruOe_ajPGugcg">Spotify</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtu.be/_HDCo3qmVKg?si=vk1WN6FKh8K1zIVu">Youtube</a>.</li></ul><div class="youtube-wrap" id="youtube2-_HDCo3qmVKg" style="position: relative; border: 0px; margin: 32px auto; --tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-gradient-from-position: ; --tw-gradient-via-position: ; --tw-gradient-to-position: ; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; color: rgb(54, 55, 55); font-family: Spectral, serif, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, &quot;Apple Color Emoji&quot;, &quot;Segoe UI Emoji&quot;, &quot;Segoe UI Symbol&quot;; font-size: 19px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><div class="iframe-wrapper" style="display: flex; justify-content: flex-start;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/_HDCo3qmVKg?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" width="728" height="409" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="max-width: 100%; text-align: left;"></iframe></div><p style="line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 20px; color: rgb(54, 55, 55); --tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-gradient-from-position: ; --tw-gradient-via-position: ; --tw-gradient-to-position: ; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; font-family: Spectral, serif, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, &quot;Apple Color Emoji&quot;, &quot;Segoe UI Emoji&quot;, &quot;Segoe UI Symbol&quot;; font-size: 19px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"></div>

Michelle has shot an amazing array of artists, including Genesis Owusu, TKAY Maizda, Ruel, Illy, Hilltop Hoods and G Flip. She’s created the acclaimed Rise and Her Sound Her Story projects. 

Episode Three: Michelle Grace Hunder - The Photographer Behind Australia's Biggest Album Covers, and the Story She'd Never Told Out Loud

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Episode Three: Michelle Grace Hunder - The Photographer Behind Australia's Biggest Album Covers, and the Story She'd Never Told Out Loud

Episode Three: Michelle Grace Hunder - The Photographer Behind Australia's Biggest Album Covers, and the Story She'd Never Told Out Loud

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