A Photograph of Mike & Aleah Perry standing next to a rusty truck at Hackberry General Store in Hackberry, Arizona on Route 66.

Thanks to a mutual photography instructor, Mike & Aleah Perry met at The Art Institute of Dallas in 2014. Mike and Aleah first officially met at what was commonly referred to as “The Cage” next to the photography studio at school. It was at that point the two quickly realized that each other was the other person their instructor was telling them about. Mike and Aleah realized early on they worked very well together in the studio. Their friendship began inside of a photography studio working on projects together. In June of 2015 Aleah graduated with an Associates of Applied Science in Photography. Later that same year, Mike graduated in December with his Associates of Applied Science in Photography.

After graduating in 2015, Mike and Aleah kept in touch as friends. However, the two had different paths until April of 2017. Mike and Aleah got back in touch again in April of 2017. They finally got a chance to sit down and catch up over a cup of coffee at Starbucks. It was at this point Mike and Aleah began to wonder what they could do to together to make money as a couple. In July of 2017, Aleah went to Mike with the idea of becoming an over the road truck driver. This is when the real journey began.

In August of 2017, Mike and Aleah decided to give themselves the shock of their lives. They started truck driving school together. They spent the next month going through trucking driving school in Texas and Indiana, taking the CDL A test, passing the maneuvers course, and finally obtaining their Class A drivers license. After they obtained their license, Mike and Aleah spent all of September and October of 2017 over the road confined in a truck with a driver-trainer. As a result, the two have spent the last six years driving tractor-trailers together as a team.

During their time as over the road truck drivers, Mike and Aleah have seen every state in the lower 48 except for Maine. They have managed to take over 20,000 photographs all over the country. This includes cell phone, digital camera, and drone photographs. On a historical note, and although most of it has been neglected, Mike and Aleah have had the opportunity to travel a good portion of Route 66. After five years of dating, six years of working together and traveling the United States, Mike and Aleah got married in Canton, Texas on January 1st, 2021. The “Husband and Wife Photography Team” currently resides in Canton, Texas and are still creating photographs every chance they get.

Professional Awards & Academic Recognition

Photography Awards & Recognition

December 2015 President’s Award for Academic Honors & Excellence

July 2015 Published in Journal of Photographic Society of America

November 2014 1st Place - City of Richardson Photo Contest

November 2014 Honorable Mention - City of Richardson Photo Contest

September 2014 PSA National Scholarship Recipient

August 2013 3rd Place - Texas Health Resources Photo Contest

April 2012 1st Place -City of Garland Photo Contest

 

 

Photography Exhibitions

September 2015 - Yellowstone National Park PSA Photography Conference,

Photographic Society of America, Yellowstone, Wyoming

February 2014 - City of Richardson Photo Contest, Civic Center, Richardson, Texas

August 2013 - THR Photo Contest, THR Presbyterian Hospital, Dallas, Texas

April 2012 - Get Out & Play Photography Contest, Holford Park, Garland, Texas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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