Michael Bonocore

Michael Bonocore's road to photography ran through technology. He got his start building databases and writing quality-assurance tests for startups, until a trip to Costa Rica with a simple camera pushed him toward telling stories in pictures instead of code.

Becoming an internationally recognized photographer took more than a decade of work, including a two-page spread in National Geographic. Today he is Director of Partnerships and a travel show producer at PetaPixel, and he has led photography workshops with The Giving Lens, an organization that serves underprivileged children around the world. His assignments have carried him to more than 30 countries, among them Cuba, Morocco, Peru, Jordan, Namibia, and Uganda.

Closer to home, he donates his photography to Boise Bully Breed Rescue and other K-9 rescue groups across the Pacific Northwest. When he is not behind a camera, he is usually outside: snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking, or backpacking through Idaho's backcountry.