{"id":2107,"date":"2011-03-23T01:09:02","date_gmt":"2011-03-23T05:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=2107"},"modified":"2011-03-23T11:50:20","modified_gmt":"2011-03-23T15:50:20","slug":"featured-street-photographer-jason-martini-from-chicago-illinois","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/23\/featured-street-photographer-jason-martini-from-chicago-illinois\/","title":{"rendered":"Featured Street Photographer: Jason Martini from Chicago, Illinois"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
"High Brows" - Jason Martini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chicago is an amazing city with tons of hustle and bustle in the streets. When it comes to showing the soul of the city, Jason Martini is definitely one of the most talented street photographers out there. He is able to capture the people of Chicago in their natural and gritty environment doing what they do best–live. Check out more of his soulful images below and get inside his mind as well.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1.\tHow did you get started in street photography?<\/h2>\n
\""Headways"<\/a>
"Headways" - Jason Martini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have always loved big cities.\u00c2\u00a0 I think that is how I got started.\u00c2\u00a0 I told my mom in 1984 that when I grew up, I wanted to be either a breakdancer or in the mafia.\u00c2\u00a0 When I took a photography class in high school, 1993, it was a perfect fit.<\/p>\n

I began to study photojournalism in college but quickly changed to another major\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and put the film camera down in 1997.\u00c2\u00a0 But I always had in my head that I wanted to live in a big city like New York and take gritty photos.<\/p>\n

I finally bought a Nikon D40 in 2008.\u00c2\u00a0 My long walks through Chicago, taking photos of what I found interesting began to focus on people and street photography before I even really knew what it was.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always been a people watcher.\u00c2\u00a0 I posted a photo on flickr and someone said it reminded them of a Henri Cartier Bresson photo.. so I looked him up and instantly became obsessed with street photography.<\/p>\n

2. How do you shoot in the streets?<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
"Big Deal" - Jason Martini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s evolving but I like to shoot like there is no tomorrow!\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m trying to make up for lost time.\u00c2\u00a0 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if I will live in Chicago forever so I try to take it all in.\u00c2\u00a0 I go out with the goal to get a more powerful shot than the ones before and outdo myself.<\/p>\n

I have always loved interesting plays on light and shadows, thinking about it like how I used to develop film and what worked.\u00c2\u00a0 I look for interesting characters and watch for scenes to unfold.\u00c2\u00a0 From the beginning, I knew that I had to get as close to people as possible. I shoot a lot from the hip, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fun and it helped me get over my issues of shooting people.<\/p>\n

I move around a lot and get a coffee half way through!<\/p>\n

I shoot with a Nikon D40 and D300s and usually bring a 17-55mm 2.8f and 50 1.4f or 35 1.8f.<\/p>\n

3. Where do you find inspiration?<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
"Enjoy the Game" - Jason Martini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well the biggest source of inspiration for me has been Chicago.\u00c2\u00a0 I enjoy the feeling of being uninspired because I know I can change that blank feeling if I just go for a walk or get on the train.<\/p>\n

I find inspiration in everything going on in my life, art, news of the city, the world, the music I listen to while shooting or editing, a memory the scene reminds me of. I relate to all of my work in that way when I finished.\u00c2\u00a0 Usually each photo means several different very personal things to me.\u00c2\u00a0 I like to title some photos in a sort of cryptic message that I understand based on what that means to me.<\/p>\n

I find inspiration in photographers and the connections with street photographers from all over the world whose work I admire.\u00c2\u00a0 Vivian Maier.<\/p>\n

4. What do you love most about street photography?<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
"Come What May" - Jason Martini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I love the entire process of creating street photography but would have to say the time I spend shooting in the streets.<\/p>\n

The moments that happen so fast my finger hits the shutter before my brain tells me to.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe your eyes and what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening in front of them.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shots like those, or when a scene is unfolding and you are waiting for that moment and everything somehow falls into place.\u00c2\u00a0 And then you get home and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better than you imagined.<\/p>\n

5. What is the #1 tip you have for aspiring street photographers?<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
"Waiting Game" - Jason Martini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shooting, I say get close to people. Editing, I take my time and look at my images over and over.\u00c2\u00a0 I rarely process or publish a photo quickly.\u00c2\u00a0 I usually need time warm up to my photos.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m always amazed at how many of my images I have learned to love after thinking they were total crap when I first saw them.\u00c2\u00a0 Make a few edits and then come back to them the next day with a fresh look. Go back 6 months, a year, and try to find images that you missed or what you want to change now.\u00c2\u00a0 Move to Chicago. :)<\/p>\n

Links:<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
"Mercy Me" by Jason Martini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Webiste: www.jasonmartini.com<\/a><\/p>\n

twitter: @jasonmartini<\/a><\/p>\n

flickr: http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/people\/mr_martini\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Email: jasonmartiniphotography@gmail.com<\/p>\n

What do you think of Jason’s work? Got a question or want to show him some love? Leave a comment below!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chicago is an amazing city with tons of hustle and bustle in the streets. When it comes to showing the soul of the city, Jason Martini is definitely one of the most talented street \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[372],"tags":[124,64,614,658,21],"class_list":["post-2107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-photographers","tag-chicago-street-photography","tag-feature","tag-interview","tag-jason-martini","tag-street-photography"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/1-high-brows-by-jason-martini.jpg?fit=964%2C640&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}