About Michael
Hi, my name is Michael Hughes. I am a graduate student, freelance author, and wildlife enthusiast with a passion for photography. Blessed to be homeschooled until college, I have spent many days walking, hiking, and camping in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, all while engaged in the addictive pastimes of wildlife observation and photography. These experiences resulted in the publishing of my first book, Wildlife in the Desert, at age 17. After graduating high school, I attended Southeastern University in Florida. During my second semester at college, a friend and I teamed up to produce Florida Animals A to Z, a children's book designed to be used as a supplement to science and/or art curricula. Summer 2013 saw me traveling to the mighty Amazon rainforest, and the following summer I completed a book about my adventures in Brazil. In May of 2015, I traveled to beautiful Costa Rica for 10 days and worked with the indigenous BriBri tribe, teaching a new method of water purification (the SODIS method), how to make solar ovens (to minimize secondhand smoke inhalation from wood-fueled cooking fires), and how to cheaply and easily make fly traps to reduce the spread of disease. In 2016 I graduated at the top of my class and moved to Missouri for grad school. In 2017 I completed another educational book in my children's series (Arizona Animals A to Z). I'm currently finishing up my thesis about gar (Lepisosteidae) population dynamics in tributaries of the Middle Mississippi River. I plan to continue writing and wildlife photography in the years to come.