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 with a focus on inequality, cultural identity, and the beauty found in everyday life.
Born in Taiwan, Mike is fluent in Chinese Mandarin and comes from a tech background in software engineering at Apple and sales at Box. His passion for documentary photography stemmed from years of solo backpacking which grew into a full time career in photojournalism. Notable adventures include hitchhiking from Beijing to Europe by land, motorbiking 4000km across India and Nepal, and volunteering with 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 also writes for The New York Times and TIME as well as cinematography for National Geographic Society.
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
Languages: Chinese Mandarin (fluent) & English (fluent)
Technical Experience (Linkedin):
2019 - 2023: Box Sales - Senior Platform Solutions Engineer
2012 - 2016: Apple - Software Engineer
Education: B.S Electrical Engineering & Computer Science - University of California, San Diego
Hostile Environments & Emergency First Aid (HEFAT) High Risk Certified
Dan Winters
