: Mr. Martin, is it true that you were inspired for your multimedia project “Terra” by a single photograph?
Michael Martin: Yes, that was the photo of the Earth as a blue pearl, taken by Apollo astronaut William Anders in 1968 on the Moon with a Hasselblad camera.
: And where did this photo icon lead you?
Martin: I worked on “Terra” for five years, during which I took about 400,000 photos on 32 trips.
In Interview: Michael Martin
born in 1963, he is a travel photographer and author. He published 15 photo books and has organized since the 1980s more than 1,700 slide lectures.
: What was it about?
Martin: I studied geography and selected ten natural landscapes such as the Himalayas, the Andes, and the Great Rift Valley, which exemplify the formation of our Earth.
: What did you do with this vast amount of images and travel impressions?
Martin: I had already begun during the COVID-19 pandemic to cut a series of TV films from my photos and film footage, to develop a large image-and-text volume, and to design the multimedia show, in which I present these landscapes on a screen in a two-and-a-half-hour image journey using 1,400 photos and explain them.
: With this you are now on tour.
Martin: Yes, since autumn 2022 I have been on tour with the show. I have now performed it more than 300 times. And now, in the third winter, I am slowly recouping my costs of 500,000 euros.
: What role do the other media play in monetizing it?
Martin: Cross-marketing is very important to me. At the events I sell my books, and the TV films bring little money, but they drive people to the events.
: But isn’t such a live multivision, which is basically a carefully staged slide show, not antiquated today?
Martin: Yes, the medium is completely anachronistic. Also because I show only still images, not videos, but they are synchronized with the music and unfold their effect on a large screen.
For the two events in Hamburg on January 4 at the Filmkunsttheater magazine, there are only a few tickets left at the box office. On March 20 Michael Martin will perform in Oldenburg and on March 21 again in Hamburg. His four TV films will be broadcast on New Year’s Eve on the educational channel ARD Alpha.
: Why does it still seem to work for you?
Martin: I am a child of this lecture scene and the only one who has built up a fan base. People come to my shows not because of the topics and titles of my talks, but for me. But it has become difficult.
: When were the good times for photography lectures?
Martin: The golden years for us began in the early 1980s, when suddenly the desire for long-distance travel arose and could be realized because there were cheap flights. Back then there was little information, so no Internet and also no travel guides like today. Then these photo lectures were a proven means to learn about individual long-distance travel. And that filled the halls. That was the perfect time to start such a career, and I was one of those who sparked this boom.
: But then it went downhill?
Martin: Yes, today we have a completely different picture. At home people have excellent 4K televisions and, via streaming services and in public broadcasting, there are very good documentaries. There are also wonderful websites and forums to learn about travel. The motivation to go to a travel talk has become much lower.
: And isn’t printed photography hardly in demand anymore?
Martin: Yes, that’s like musicians who used to earn money from vinyl records and CDs and today must live from their concerts.
: So you are one of the last of your craft?
Martin: Let’s say one of the last who can still live well from it.
