Michael Tarabay - Texas Car Photography

By: James Wilder

Photo by Michael Tarabay

Michael Tarabay's photographic art uniquely blends urban and automotive elegance, capturing the vibrancy of culture and the beauty of automobiles in each frame.

Based in Austin, Texas, Michael Tarabay is a talented photographer and career musician. He pays the bills by playing bass, while simultaneously honing his photography skills. His musical career has taken him on tours across the United States and Europe multiple times. During these journeys, he always carried a point-and-shoot camera to document his experiences.

I've been following Michael's photography for years because of his creative car compositions. I would describe his art as a fusion of street photography and car photography, a style I call "Parked Photography."

Here are a few of my favorite photos by Michael Tarabay, along with insights into his cameras and photographic influences.

Photo by Michael Tarabay

Michael is a big fan of Fujifilm. For car shows and meetups he uses the Fujifilm X-T5 with a few of his favorite lenses, such as the XF 18mm f/1.4, XF 33mm f/1.4 and the XF 56mm f/1.2. When there's a bit more room he uses the XF 50-140mm f/2.8.

Photo by Michael Tarabay

For street photography Michael uses his everyday camera, the Fujifilm X-E4 (sadly no longer available) with the XF 35mm f/2 or the XF50mm f/2. Most of Michael's parked photography images are from the Fujifilm X-E4.

Photo by Michael Tarabay

Michael rarely edits his photos except for cropping/straightening and the occasional brightening. "I rather spend more time taking photos than sitting at a computer editing which is why I prefer Fujifilm."

Photo by Michael Tarabay

Michael's favorite photographers are Joel Meyerowitz, Saul Leiter, Elliott Erwitt, Daido Moriyama, Frank Horvat, Richard Kalvar, and Harry Gruyaert, among many others.

Photo by Michael Tarabay

Finally, Michael's first two cars were a 68 Mustang and then a 69 Chevelle Malibu. "I wish I still had them!" (famous quote!)

Photo by Michael Tarabay

Michael's Cameras. Photo by Michael Tarabay

Fujifilm X-T5
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujifilm_X-T5

Fujifilm X-E4
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujifilm_X-E4

Finally

Thanks to Michael Tarabay for collaborating with me on this photography spotlight article. I hope to see car photography in Texas grow and flourish so I want to help spread the word about the individuals elevating the art of Texas car photography. I wish Michael all the best!

Michael is working on building up a portfolio of work that will be available for purchase.

You can find Michael at the various Top Notch Hamburgers meetups and car shows all around Austin and beyond...

And, if you read this in time, you can see some of his photos at the Manual Focus event in Austin on June 30, 2024.

And online at:

Michael Tarabay Photography
www.fotosemplici.com

Michael Tarabay on Instagram
instagram.com/fotosemplici

Photographers Mentioned

Joel Meyerowitz
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Meyerowitz

Saul Leiter
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Leiter

Elliott Erwitt
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_Erwitt

Daido Moriyama
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daid%C5%8D_Moriyama

Frank Horvat
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Horvat

Richard Kalvar
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kalvar

Harry Gruyaert
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Gruyaert

Article Topics: Texas Car Photography, Texas Car Culture, Austin Texas photographer, Austin Street photography, Fujifilm Car Photography, Everyday Carry Cameras, Compact Cameras, Parked Photography Genre.