Mike Kai Chen is a Taiwanese American documentary photographer and National Geographic Explorer based in San Francisco and Taipei. His work explores the complexities of the human experience within equality, identity, and purpose.
Born in Taiwan, Mike is fluent in Chinese Mandarin and comes from a background in software engineering at Apple and sales at Box. His passion for documentary photography stemmed from years of solo travel and volunteering which grew into a career in photojournalism. Notable adventures include hitchhiking from Beijing to Europe by land, motorbiking 4000km across India and Nepal, and volunteering at nonprofits in China and Bangladesh.
Mike is a regular contributor to The New York Times. Other select clients include National Geographic, TIME, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal among others.
He has also written for The New York Times and TIME as well as cinematography for National Geographic Society.
2025 New York Portfolio Review
2023 National Geographic Explorer
2022 - Present: Eddie Adams Workshop Faculty & Volunteer
2021 Eddie Adams Workshop XXXIV
2020 Missouri Photo Workshop
Member of Diversify Photo
Archive represented by Redux Pictures
Fluent in Chinese Mandarin & English
Hostile Environments & Emergency First Aid (HEFAT) High Risk Certified
Technical Experience (Linkedin):
Box - Tech Sales: Senior Platform Solutions Engineer
Apple - Software Engineering & Engineering PM
B.S Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
University of California, San Diego
Dan Winters
