Michael Lynch: Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

Michael Lynch: Sacred Places and Sacred Faces by Aline SmithsonMay 12, 2025

©Michael Lynch, Book cover for Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

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©Michael Lynch, Spread from Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

Michael Lynch has just released a new book, Sacred Places and Sacred Faces that is a testament to a journey, both internal and external. Sacred Places and Sacred Faces is a remarkable antidote to a world in chaos as we accompany the artist on his journey to deepen his spirituality. The book is an expedition of self-discovery as he unpacks his backpack of visual treasures of memory, wonder, and human connection. The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage of the soul, as Lynch reveals through his astute connection to faith, light, and beauty. It is a book of profound seeing, not only of the landscapes and churches, but the travelers who share their stories, hopes, and dreams. Sacred Places and Sacred Faces is a rare combination of deep reflection, emotional healing, and a heightened sense of mindfulness. Most importantly, it is a record of hope and renewal.

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©Michael Lynch, Spread from Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

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©Michael Lynch, Spread from Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

©Michael Lynch, Spread from Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

©Michael Lynch, Spread from Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

©Michael Lynch, Spread from Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

Michael Lynch is a Visual Artist whose practice explores the belief that there is a sacredness and profound beauty in the ordinary moments of life. Lynch received a BA in English from the University of California at Los Angeles, completed a course of photographic study at Santa Monica College, and a Fine Art Certificate from the Los Angeles Center for Photography. After a career as a Business Analyst at UCLA he has returned to his photography roots.

Lynch has exhibited in the Santa Monica College Photography Show, garnering best experimental photograph. He was awarded both second prize and honorable mention in the Los Angeles Center for Photography’s (LACP)Thresholds: Street Photography Now Exhibit and his work was featured in the Projecting L.A. exhibitions in 2022 and 2024, Griffin Museum’s Winter Solstice Exhibit and LACP’s We Love L.A.: Re-inventing the Horizon Exhibition in 2025. He recently released the monograph Sacred Places and Sacred Faces chronicling his 500-mile pilgrimage on foot along the Camino Frances from Saint Jean Pied-de-Port in south-west France to Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain which was featured in Dan Mullins’ My Camino Podcast.

Instagram: @mikeylynch22

©Michael Lynch, Los Arcos Angel from Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

“The art of pilgrimage is setting off to a place far away that you find is already inside you when you arrive.” —David White

I first heard of the Camino Santiago, an ancient five hundred mile walking pilgrimage from south-west France to north-west Spain where the remains of Saint James rest, from my friends Deb and Dave who had completed the route in 2015. I kept the Camino in the back of my mind as something I would like to do when I retire. Then in 2016 my good friend Phil Kent died of Pancreatic Cancer. Phil was a larger than life character and we shared many laughs and adventures together including an epic trip to Europe in 2015 where we had discussed returning to Europe for more adventures. Thus, Phil’s death prompted me to reevaluate my life and led to my decision to retire early, when I reached age 60,freeing me to pursue more adventures and to avoid leaving things undone.

In 2019, the Camino was more an ego based desire to do something big as I transitioned into retirement. I decided to walk the Camino Frances and my friend Sharon Kent, Phil’s wife, agreed to join me on the entire journey with my wife, Veronica, joining us for the last 120 miles due to work commitments. We were all set to start on May 20, 2020, but the Covid 19 Pandemic put the brakes on that in early 2020. Initially, I was very frustrated but learned a powerful lesson of acceptance as the trip got pushed from 2020 to 2021 and then to 2022. The downtime allowed me to be better prepared physically and also allowed me to learn more about the Camino. I read and listened to account after account of spiritual transformations happening to many people who walked the path. Being a lapsed Catholic I felt I could use the journey to renew my faith and deal with the losses of my mother, Maura, father, Seamus, sister, Marie and brother, John, as well as many other family members I had lost over the years and of course my good buddy Phil.

During the pandemic delay I had also been exposed to the work of many photographers through the variety of resources that were made available online such as Nobechi Creative’s Evenings with the Masters and classes offered by Nobechi Creative and the Los Angeles Center of Photography. During this time I also joined a Street Photography Collective led by Julia Dean. I learned that in order to be taken seriously as a photographer you needed to work on a project. Then the idea to work on a photographic project while I was on the Camino arrived.

Thus, due to the delay, my Camino became a physical, spiritual and artistic journey. Essentially what started out as an ego based desire became a calling; something I had to do.

I believe there is a sanctity in every day life that can be captured if you pay attention. Something interesting always happens when I have a camera and when I am in the moment connected to my surroundings. Photography allows me to connect deeper with the world. This has never been more evident than when I was walking along the Camino Frances.

©Michael Lynch, Pierre Dintihlac, Rodell, France from Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

The journey caused my world to slow down to a walking pace allowing me to focus mainly on the day ahead. Which enabled me to spend much more time in the moment than I normally do. What resulted was profound and prolific seeing of the sacredness and beauty that I was constantly surrounded by in this new way of being. I was transfixed by the churches I visited but the landscape I was traversing was also a sacred place bringing deep moments of peace and serenity. But more so than the churches and landscape I experienced sacredness in the connections I made with the pilgrims and other people I met along the Camino. The slowness also allowed me to ponder and resolve some of the grief I was carrying for lost loved ones.

My project’s initial focus was to meet and photograph one pilgrim per day asking them the following questions:

Why are you walking the Camino?

What do you want to take away from the Camino?

What do you want to leave behind on the Camino?

I envisioned a book of portraits which would include the interview results but upon my return I felt it was also important to share my transformational journey photographically. At first I took a linear more diaristic approach to laying out the photographs but in working with my designer and editor, Luca Bogoni, I was guided to focus more on paired and single images. This resulted in a shift from telling my story to showing my story.

©Michael Lynch, Burgos Pedestrian Traffic from Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

Therefore, the book Sacred Places and Sacred Faces is presented in two parts. Part One depicts my journey in 74 photographs. Part Two focuses on the 43 pilgrim portraits and interviews. As a result, I feel Sacred Places and Sacred Faces is a much stronger body of work. The paired images are usually a pair representing the sacredness of every day life in juxtaposition with a sacred place. There is conversation going on between the images whether that is motherly love, similarities of composition, or commonalities you interpret on your own. I am hopeful this conversation along with the single images convey my transformational and often cathartic experiences along this fantastic journey which has changed me. I also hope you find delight and gain insights regarding why the 43 subjects from 14 countries were walking the Camino. I also hope the work changes you.

©Michael Lynch, Bernadette Allen, 60, Dunstible, England from Sacred Places and Sacred Faces

Sacred Places and Sacred Faces, published by Thin Places Press, is exclusively available via the Michael Lynch Photography website: https://www.michaellynchphoto.com