John Martell Photography

My goal, when presenting an image, is to invite the viewer into a moment in time that has touched me emotionally. Sometimes it’s gorgeous light, other times it’s the feeling of mist hitting my face as I watch the ocean crash on the rocks below.  These images provoke feelings of awe, of beauty, of wonder at how anything could be this magnificent!

To that end, I fully utilize all the tools available to me: camera, current photo editing software and of course a large high definition computer monitor to view progress. I am an artist in every sense of the word. As a painter would use reference photos, I use RAW images directly from the camera. And, just as a painter adds and subtracts with paint and a brush, I add and subtract with software editing tools. Maybe natural highlights need toning down; maybe light needs to be added to the shadows. For that, I make no apologies. The editing process allows me to convey the emotions that a moment invoked in me, in a way that an unedited, RAW image simply cannot.

The process is both technical and artistic. When shooting in the field, I do everything in my power to capture tack-sharp, color-saturated, technically strong images.  Experience and up-to-date equipment are imperative. Once captured, the artist in me takes over. Blending images, taking the best from each, this is the artistic element. Maybe cloud formations taken four minutes prior go best with the vivid colors of a later image. In the end, I need my vision--my feelings--to be accurately represented in a digital file.

Finally, the image needs to be presented. What medium best suits the feeling that has been created? Metal is always a possibility if the image has water, clouds and reflections. Perhaps, Fine Art paper. matted and framed is preferred. Canvas can be the perfect solution if the image has a painterly quality. Ultimately though, the beauty of any art form is that the emotions that an image, song, painting or poem, elicits in the observer IS, in fact, the power of the piece. I invite you to browse, dream, create and imagine with me. Choose your image, select your medium, and above all, enjoy the process.