From Not-So-Humble-Beginnings…Learning the Art of Landscape Photography

Martin shooting old buildings

The journey of becoming a professional landscape photographer is filled with many twists and turns. Sometimes it makes you feel like a broken pretzel.

If you were considering photography as a career or a hobby…

About now, you might be thinking this story is going to be depressingly negative, right? Stick around…it is going to be fun!

I remember my first photography class like it was yesterday. It was back in 2017. My wife and I found ourselves at Cole-Marr Photography in downtown Boise. Little did I know that I would be choosing this profession as a way to express my passion for creativity.

My wife was taking detailed notes (like the excellent researcher she is). I was attempting to follow what our instructor was teaching. It sounded like Greek to me. Listening to David Marr throw around terms like shutter speed, aperture, and ISO made me feel like I was in the middle of the food fight scene from Animal House! I thought the term photographic histogram was something associated with my seasonal allergies. It sounded like a problem that would require me to refill my Allegra prescription as soon as I got out of class. I walked out of there with my head about to explode…not to mention bruises all over my body (figuratively speaking)!

I was just trying to figure out how to be a better point-n-shoot photographer…not the next Ansel Adams!

I quickly realized I was in way over my head. It felt like being under water while someone below you is holding on to your feet. You know that feeling? Of course you don’t, but we can all imagine…can’t we?

So…what did I do? I did what any wanna-be-who-thought-he-was-a-photographer would do. My notes went in a file and I continued to be the photographer on full auto…auto focus, auto ISO, auto aperture. I thought to myself, aren’t these fancy digital cameras supposed to be the all-everything of landscape photography? I mean if it spells NIKON on the surface…that is what my ego was telling me, but my frontal lobe was telling me that I was not even at ground level. I was in the pre-larvae stage of becoming a photographer.

Well here it is 2023! It took me five years to get over myself and get serious! Last fall, I repeated the same basic course. I took more courses and continued my study. I am now honored and privileged to be a private student of David Marr. It is really open-up-your-head-and-pour-it-in-time. To sit at the feet of such a renowned professional photographer is amazing! It is humbling. The knowledge that he is sharing with me is mind-blowing. And yes, I am still in the pre-larvae stage, but with a totally different mind-set. Now it is about learning, practice, making mistakes…discipline!

This is where it all begins. I have a long road ahead, but the training provides an excellent roadmap to follow. The mentorship is second-to-none.

Success in landscape photography is like any other profession. It is about taking the first step. The step of humility. Each day is a new step and a new beginning.

Whatever you do in life…challenge yourself. Commit to excellence. That commitment will never fail you.

Find your niche and make it happen!