A Henderson photographer has captured 250 veteran portraits ahead of the United States' 250th birthday.
Mikel Conrad, born and raised in Henderson, has worked as a photographer for 35 years. He's affectionately known as 'Henderson's Photographer.'
Over the years, Mikel has found his niche: snapping photographs of military veterans.
"My favorite uncle served military during Korea times," shared Mikel. "For his 80th birthday, he gave me about 600 slides that I was to go through and he wanted a book. So I created a book for him with all those slides and he had all sorts of stories."
Each picture takes Mikel back to the stories his subjects shared of their military past.
"There's so many more people out there from World War 2, Korea and Vietnam that have these stories and they need to be told. So we don't forget their service, that they did, whether they are on the frontline or where they were back behind supporting the frontline," said Mikel.
His experience working with veterans inspired him to take on a new project, '250 Faces of Service and Sacrifice', which will serve as a tribute to an important anniversary for the United States.
July 4, 2026 will mark 250 years since the United States was established. By then, Mikel will have photographed over 250 veterans.
Mikel hopes to bring their stories to life with a gallery to fully display the portraits. He plans to have biographical information tied to each veteran so people can understand the story of their service.
Check out some of Mikel's work here.