Today we’d like to introduce you to Johnny Martyr.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As a young introvert, I developed a passion for mid-century photojournalism and stream-of-consciousness literature. I merged these interests by chasing candid moments with b&w film.
In the early aughts, I exhibited urban still lifes and author portraits in various Baltimore, Frederick and New York art galleries.
While taking theatre production stills, I met my future wife Stephanie Lee and we started Martyr & Lee Photography, LLC.
Marie Claire magazine and Buzzfeed News published my event photos. Kodak began sponsoring my work.
I took production stills for director Bob Giraldi, concert photos for 90s grunge icons Veruca Salt, portraits for autism advocate Sarah Stup, rally images of the Clintons, and in recent years, tour photos for comedian Nikki Glaser.
Well into the second decade of my photographic career, I continue to shoot documentary work exclusively on b&w film with manual 35mm and 6×6 cameras. I also write film-centric news and op-ed articles for Petapixel.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Well, sometimes the parts of the road you expected to be smooth turned out to be rough and vice versa!
But this is all part of photojournalism – you have to be agile and roll with the punches. The better you can observe what is really happening, moreso than looking for what you expect to see, the stronger your photos will be.
Real photojournalism or documentary photography are a challenge to sustain on a business level. With commercial or editorial photography, you bring the perfect light to the perfect location and the subjects hair and makeup are perfect and you have time to pose them perfectly. As a photojournalist, you have to accept that some shoots just aren’t very strong because nothing noteworthy occurred. A photojournalist’s total value rides on things happening that they have no influence on at all. All you can do is be ready to react accordingly when they do. So when nothing is happening and photos are mediocre, it’s hard on your emotional state.
One time I photographed a Ted Cruz rally where a transgender youth was removed from the premises. The sea of other reporters failed to get the shot because they were set up to just record what was happening on stage. The story made national news and I had the exclusive shot. But you could show up for 100 political rallies where nothing like that happens and you just take your formulaic photos of a politician standing at a podium.
Finding inspiration to push through those other hundred events while staying ready to see and react and not doubting yourself is the challenge.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
People seem to know me best by my commitment to developing film by hand in an industry that has largely moved to full digital processes.
But what I’d like to highlight is that b&w film is more than just impractical aesthetics for me. It’s a component of the message I’m trying to send by making honest, emotionally-driven and thoughtful photography.
I think that what sets apart my work from other professional photographers, even other film or b&w photographers, is that I’m attempting to align my specific medium with the topics that I cover, in order to make one coherent message about how we see and interact with the world.
What does success mean to you?
For me, success is earning opportunities that allow you to work exactly how you want to work and how you’re best at working. Every time that someone doesn’t ask me, “can you shoot this on digital and in color?” that is a success.
By demonstrating compelling results over and over again, people stop questioning what strange or unique thing you might be doing and just let you work how you want to work. Be it because they understand what you’re doing, or just because everyone else says you’re good and they are open to seeing it for themselves. They let you work the way you are best at. To me, this is the ultimate goal as well as a great gift for which I’m grateful each time a client gives it to me!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.JohnnyMartyr.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JohnnyMartyrPhoto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnnyMartyrPhoto/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/JohnnyMartyr
