Winner of numerous gold and silver medals and several best-in-show recognitions for travel photography and writing. Bronze medal winner in 2024 in the prestigious International Photography Competition for wildlife photography. Winner of the "Excellence in Journalism" award from IFWTWA in 2023. Member of the NATJA Advisory Board. 

My travels have taken me to all seven continents.

I publish my travel stories primarily in HI Travel Tales, an award-winning travel blog I operate in partnership with my wife, Therese Iknoian. 

My specialty areas and primary interests include local culture and history, street art, farm to fork and local breweries / distilleries, adventure, natural wonders, and wildlife. Set me loose in a destination and my stories and photography will connect readers to a place in such a way they will want to embark on their own journeys of discovery.

My photographs appear in our HI Travel Tales website, ebooks, other publications, in Getty Stock, and are available for sale and for license (private and commercial licensing) through Michael Hodgson Photography, my professional gallery. 

Prior to focusing primarily on travel writing and photography, I was a highly acclaimed outdoor writer and my stories and columns appeared in Outside, Backpacker, Men's Journal, Men's Health, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, The Christian Science Monitor, San Jose Mercury News, Portland Oregonian, Salt Lake Tribune, Adventure West Magazine, and others. My published books (some of which are actually still in print) include No Shit There I Was, Compass & Map Navigator, Facing The Extreme, and Camping For Dummies.