Self-Portrait,
1999
| About Martin | I graduated from University Laboratory High School in Urbana, IL, on June 2 2001. I have been interested in photography since I was a freshman, teaching myself about photography. The one photography class I've had was the pre-college summer residency program at Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, where I took an intensive month-long B&W darkroom class. Half of the long exposure portfolio was done for the final project in the class, printed as 11x14 fiber prints. I also recently won a scholarship to attend the 2001 North American Nature Photography Association's annual conference in Las Vegas, where I met a whole lot of really nice people and great photographers. It was really inspiring to see all these people that make their living off of nature photography. The Nevada portfolio is from the outings we did during that week. |
| Experiences | I've been fortunate enough to have already done a fair amount of traveling, as well as countless wilderness backpacking and camping trips all over the country. Traveling in Nepal for a month December 2000 greatly changed my perspective on the world. |
| Equipment | I currently use the 35mm Canon EOS system, with a Canon Elan IIe and three lenses, but as soon as budget permits I want to start playing with some medium & large format equipment. The Canon has worked great, but most of my shots tend to be carefully planned and composed with a tripod, so much of the Canon's automation is not needed. However, I don't think I'd carry anything but 35mm while traveling. |
| College Plans | I will be going to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York State, starting September 2001, majoring in Photography (either fine art photo or photojournalism). Their school of photographic arts and sciences is one of the largest and best photo schools in the world. |
| Career Plans | At this point in my life, I can't see myself doing something that doesn't
involve either photography, graphic design, or the environment. Some sort
of professional photography would be wonderful. I know that photography,
is a tough business, but I really couldn't think of a better job. My goal
is really to use my photography to support good causes and open up peoples
eyes to the world around them.
'You gotta look outside your eyes, you gotta think outside your brain, you gotta walk outside your life until the neighborhood changes' - Ani Difranco |
Self-Portrait,
1999