Michael Donnelly is a South African born photographer who moved to New York in the mid nineteen eighties. His work has appeared in Elle, Gourmet, House & Garden, Travel & Leisure and The World of Interiors. Michael is recognized for the striking directness and intimacy in his photographs, and for his ability to communicate beauty. He moves easily from studio to location and his characteristic narrative style is sought by a wide range of clients including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, LL Bean, Crabtree and Evelyn, Eddie Bauer, Pendleton and Garden Botanika, who come to him for his sensuous, sophisticated and free spirited images of people and places.

He has photographed award-winning books on chefs and restaurants including Chefs Night Out, 'Dining Out' ‘Becoming a Chef’ and ‘The New American Chef’ by the James Beard award winning authors Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. A new book by Regan Books, ‘A Grown up Girls Guide to Style’ has just been released.

His portraits of Adam Tihany appear in the designer's two monographs and together they have collaborated on Prague in Europe and Las Vegas in the United Stated. Two new photographs, from an upcoming exhibition, are installed in Excelsior, the Tihany designed restaurant in Boston.

He is currently living in New York and working on his own new book on chefs.