DanielMartinez
Daniel Martinez is a photographer/artist born and raised in The Bronx, New York. Growing up in the city,
he was molded into an individual who strived for opportunity. Following high school, Daniel was accepted
to The School of Visual Arts and attended for a year before deciding to take time off to pursue photography
full time. Leaving school wasn’t a simple decision to make but it was the one that made the most sense
and eventually shaped his life for the better. From a very early age, Daniel felt he was meant to do more than
what was expected of him and having a passion for photography pushed him to begin his career. He began
his own photography business and photographed over one hundred weddings in the first two years. Although
he specializes in wedding photography, his true passion lies in telling stories and documenting the people
and places that are a part of his life. His main goal with his career is to not only document what he’s passionate
about, but also to challenge himself to do things differently with each endeavor. His work has been featured
in the New York Times online edition and was also on display at Photoville 2016. Daniel is an after-school
photography program instructor at Lab High School in Manhattan and is currently planning to launch the
gallery show for A Gated Community by this September.
A Gated Community
My photography teacher probably didn’t know it at the time but her words inspired me to find a story worth telling and to use my
craft as a way to communicate what I feel, what I see, and what I am a part of. Throughout the beginning of my photography career
I’ve been in search of that story, and little did I know it was one of closest things to me.
They call it the Bronx, the birth place of hiphop, the BX, but for me it was home, and that’s why I chose to share this story through
my photographs. It’s the story that starts at the small basketball court that to many of us was our own backyard. It was the place
I spent every summer since the age of 12, where I witnessed everything from gang fights to just regular summer love. This was
a piece of my community and I loved every bit of it.
A Gated Community (AGC) is a series of photos documenting the basketball court that was a huge part of my life. Capturing the
good the bad and the ugly. I want to show that the Bronx has way more to offer than just the Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Zoo or
its bad reputation. I want to tell the story of my community as well as introduce my community to a different experience that’s
rarely a part of our lives.
For example, I will never forget when I started the project and lugged out huge lights and cameras to take photos of my friends,
immediately after showing them, they said ! “yoooooooo it looks like I’m on a magazine!” followed by tons of kids saying “wow
I didn’t even know you were a photographer” or “wow I want to learn that in college.” It opened my eyes to how excluded we
were from the art world, and how little it takes to inspire someone and push them in a different, more creative direction. My ultimate
goal with this project is to bring the arts to the small community in my neighborhood. When A.G.C is complete and I have enough
photos to properly represent my community, the final art show will be exhibited inside the actual basketball court. I want people
to get an experience that is as real and raw as the photos I try to capture.
Daniel Martinez . Manny, A Gated Community Series . 2016
D a nie lM a r t in e z .n y c
20 Nueva Luz
Nueva Luz 21