Formhals was born in
St. Cloud, Minnesota. He earned a degree in communication and journalism at nearby
Saint John's University, Collegeville in 1999. In LA he took a class at
The Second City doing
improvisational comedy and wrote a screenplay. This resulted in the series
Genesee Ave. In 2009 he moved east to
New York City, first to
Greenpoint, Brooklyn and then in 2012 to
Astoria, Queens. He founded and was managing editor of
LPV Magazine, curating
documentary and
fine-art photography in print for 7 issues between 2011 and 2013 and on the web. a conversational
podcast about photography books. LPV Show guests included
Khalik Allah,
Mathieu Asselin,
Richard Bram,
Noah Kalina,
Susan Meiselas,
Greg Miller,
Elle Pérez,
Gus Powell,
Ken Schles and
Rachel Sussman. In 2014, Formhals and
Stephen McLaren co-edited ''Photographers' Sketchbooks,
described in The Independent'' as a "meticulously researched book [that] offers a fascinating insight into the work and methods of more than 50 photographers." Formhals is currently focused on "walking, pedestrian infrastructure, and urban greenery" in New York City through photography, a weekly newsletter, and a conversational podcast made with Starkweather called
Way of the Walk. He has earned a living as content strategist and managing the social media team at
B&H Photo, and
Adorama. ==Publications edited by Formhals==