About

NAME Mike Martin
LOCATION Warrensburg, Missouri
EDUCATION Blue Springs High, University of Central Missouri (Photography major)

20+ years ago I was looking for a class to fill out my senior year schedule in high school and photography looked fun. I shot everything I found in my viewfinder, begging the instructor for more darkroom time, to the point that I jimmied the lock on the door to the art department (where the darkroom was, and with the tacit permission of the instructors) where I would spend the bulk of my lunch hour (I have photography right after lunch) developing negatives and making prints.

After high school I shot a lot for a few years but gradually other things took my interest and I wore out the Canon AE-1 my aunt had lent me (and later gave me). The repair would have cost me more than the camera was worth, my interest had waned, and I wasn’t willing to spend the money on a new camera at the time so I went without for a few years. Eventually inexpensive (relatively) point and shoots came out and I got one. It reignited the passion for photography and I started saving my money for a digital SLR. I looked at my options and since none of my old Canon lenses would fit the new digital bodies (without adaptors) I made the switch to Nikon and I have never looked back.