Photography | PORTLAND Interview with Martin Waugh
-As a child what did you want to become? (profession-wise)
A high-school math teacher. I did receive a certificate to teach physics at the high-school level but never exercised it (I realized that school bureaucracy and I were not going to get along.)
-In which town did you grow up? Boulder, Colorado.
-Do you think your background influences your current photography style? If so, what specific element in your background is most pervasive in influencing your current photography style?
The subject matter (drops and splashes) is inspired by various high-speed images I have seen throughout my life but probably especially those of Harold “Doc” Edgerton. I believe my style is just my own or perhaps an amalgam of dozen different styles that I can’t name. As I was developing my approach, there was always a little voice in my head saying things like, “Well, that’s nice, Martin, but the real people have a cleaner background.” So, I’d work on that. Then, “That’s nice, Martin, but the real people get better light,” and, “That’s nice, but the real people get more color.” And so on. When my website was “discovered” on the internet, and many people wrote to ask about how I took my images, I realized that in fact there weren’t any “real people” out there doing this kind of art - I was following my own sense of style.
-What inspires you in the job of being a photographer?
The technical challenge of capturing something unseen.
-How is it to work with companies that are embracing your photography?
It is gratifying that so many of my customers share my vision of the value, beauty and the importance of water.
-Do you have any other creative ambitions or dreams to which you aspire?
I am currently working on photographing the eye. Partly for medical diagnostic purposes, partly artistically.
Eyes in | 41
-Which basic elements of creativity did your family teach you?
Eclecticism - my father had many interests ranging from chemistry to English history to watercolor painting, writing, and fishing. Working with my hands - My father used to say, “For Christmas and birthdays, I buy my sons tools. Even with the astonishing attrition rate, they last longer than toys.” All of my brothers are creative with their hands (silversmithing, blacksmithing, woodworking, carpentry, painting, photography). Self-confidence - There was an expression in the family: “If some other dumb SOB can put it together, I can sure as hell take it apart.”
-How did you get the idea of this type of photography?
When I studied physics in college, I was exposed to high- speed techniques for research purposes. I remember being captivated by a slow motion video (it was a “film loop,” in those days) of drops and splashes. Nine years ago, I decided that I should try to recreate some of the classic high-speed photos: drops splashing, balloons popping and the like. Drops were the most challenging partly for the timing aspects, and partly for the lighting issues. As I was working one night, I noticed a shape that at first I couldn’t explain – it just didn’t look like any splash I had seen before. I realized that I had accidentally captured a drop-splash collision. It set me to wondering, “If it can happen by accident, can I make it happen on purpose?” That opened a universe of tempting technical obstacles and intriguing images. I still have a long list of experiments to try.
-Do you have a favorite photographer yourself?
It would be hard to choose. There are many types of photography - for landscape, Ansel Adams; for people, Cartier-Bresson; for natural-light color work, Jay Maisel.
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