Photographer of the Week
Edwin Martinez - Escaping through Landscapes -
by Yugel Losorata –
Relaxation is a form of escaping from the hustle and bustle of the city life. A photographer goes out of town to commune with nature, carrying his all-important camera.
For Edwin Martinez, a firm lover of outdoor photography, shooting landscapes is his greatest escape. As a marketing guy, he has to meet a lot of people during weekdays and talk a lot. It’s not that he never enjoys this routine, but he certainly needs a breather to recharge. He found that photography is the air he needs and the best way to relax.
This 6’ 1″ landscape photography specialist knows exactly the good effect of being a lensman. He said, “Photography is my relaxant, a stress-buster. After a tiring week from an eight-hour job, holding the camera in the outdoor and being in a coastal scene or mountain make your mind free to visualize without restraint.”
Just three years in serious mode with the craft, he has already made a mark in the field, proving that one doesn’t have to count years to prove his worth; a real talent is immediately developed. Amazingly, he is the first-ever Filipino to be featured in the prestigious Digital Camera Magazine, UK.
His pictures project the ‘marriage of vision and technique’ which is totally important in his field of expertise. Consequently, his ingenuity was boldly recognized among 120,000 entrants from all over the planet. His photo graced both the front and back cover of the ‘bookazine’ related to the 2008 Photographer of the Year contest launched by Digital Camera mag.
“Landscape photography is usually one of the hardest types of photography since the photographer is at the mercy of nature,” he noted. “Unlike fashion and portraits, you cannot conduct the arrangement of elements. You have to find order in chaos and visual design in nature. This makes landscape a challenging reward.”
Since grade school, his potential for producing good visual stuff was obvious. He had more sketches than notes, as he disclosed it. After schooling and while at work, a simple gesture ignited the fire in his heart. A friend named Roland Abella lent him a DSLR and that was enough for him to realize the value of photography.
He was first enthralled with portraiture where emotions are sealed inside frames. Then he found his niche in landscapes, describing that “there is something in the way nature reveals itself.”
It didn’t take long when his photos started attracting online buyers. With another landscape shooter named Jay Jallorina, he formed Chasing Light Workshop, a premiere workshop for landscape, infrared, and night photography.
Martinez shared, “The most interesting subject for me is the play of light in land, the way colors affect each foreground or mountains and how it gives character in the process. It gives me a sense of completion to be able to capture that character or emotion and communicate it to my audience.”
This former Letranite, who is simply getting even better as he shoots more, was also featured in Digital Photographer Philippines’ Coast-to-Coast and Urbanscapes issues. His images have been circulating in various local and international magazines.
Photography for Edwin is a technological advancement in its own form, thus he is so much into the digital thing. It makes more sense that magazines with ‘digital’ on their title regard him well.
Recently, he got special citation in a brochure from big camera company Canon. A Canon advocate, he believes its product is “best for landscapes.”
Martinez simply assessed, “For me, effective photographs are the ones that invoke emotions. As Galen Rowell, one of the premiere landscape photographers of modern time, said: ‘All great photography is about communicating an emotion.’”
Relaxation is a form of escaping from the hustle and bustle of the city life. A photographer goes out of town to commune with nature, carrying his all-important camera.
