Michael Behlen

Michael Behlen is a photographer, curator, and publisher whose practice explores perception, temporality, and presence through analogue photographic processes, particularly Polaroid instant film. Rooted in metaphysical and phenomenological inquiry, his work approaches photography as a contemplative discipline centred on stillness, uncertainty, memory, and material transformation.

Behlen’s practice is deeply tied to the physical limitations and unpredictability of instant film. Chemical drift, surface imperfections, and unstable emulsions are embraced as essential components of the image, reflecting broader themes of impermanence, fragility, and the passage of time. His work often focuses on the environmental and psychological landscapes of California’s Central Valley and Sierra Nevada regions.

Behlen’s Polaroid photography has appeared in publications including Diffusion Magazine, Fraction Magazine, Seities Magazine, and Polaroid Now (Chronicle Books, 2021). He has self-published two Polaroid photobooks - Searching for Stillness, Vol. 1 and I Was a Pioneer. His third book, Searching for Stillness Vol. II, was published in 2020 by Static Age. His forthcoming self-published Polaroid zine, Where the Water Waits, will be released in July 2026. (Website, Instagram)