Today we’d like to introduce you to Ed Marsh.
Hi Ed, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
It’s been a long road! Growing up in Colorado, I was initially inspired by my father, who with no formal training, began writing for national sporting magazines, and upon retirement, had a regular column in the Colorado Fishing and Hunting News. In high school, I took journalism and photography classes and was on the newspaper and yearbook staff. After high school, I joined the Navy specifically to become a photographer and graduated from the Naval School of Photography in Pensacola, Florida. I served as a Navy photographer for five years–three of them in the western Pacific based on Guam. I did a wide array of photography in the Navy, including aerial photography, photojournalism, crime scene photography, studio work–the works.
My last tour in the Navy was here in San Diego at the Naval Training Center. After the Navy, seeking a different direction, I attended college on the G.I. Bill and graduated from UCSD with a degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Photography and writing remained a hobby of mine throughout my 30-year biotech career, and I was occasionally called on to write for trade publications or photograph products for a company’s website. As an avid climber and mountaineer, I was inspired by the late Galen Rowell, the leading adventure photographer of his time, and would frequently document my climbs.
Having now raised a family and (mostly) retired from biotech, I have returned to my original passion and started writing and photographing with all the enthusiasm I once felt, but with the added benefit of a lifetime of experience to help me see the world. Although I don’t climb or surf as much as I used to, I still have a deep appreciation for capturing dramatic and beautiful moments in sport.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As a Navy photographer, there were a lot of opportunities for interesting work not available outside the military–attending Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE) training, being embedded with the Marines during a three-day assault on a small island in the Pacific, aerial photography of Russian ships and chasing Russian submarines during the cold war–things like that. But there was also a crushing amount of routine–endless re-enlistment ceremonies, retirement ceremonies, parades, etc., and after five years, I had lost my enthusiasm for photography. After leaving the Navy, I switched careers to science–my other passion.
Throughout my biotech career, I always maintained the dream of one day being able to earn a living doing feature photo essays for outdoor adventure magazines, I had always imagined that climbing photography would be relatively easy–after all, you’re in this amazing place doing this interesting and adventurous stuff–just point the camera! Although I usually took a camera and documented my climbs, I found I was usually more focused on survival and my attempts fell short of my ambitions, and my submission attempts floundered. Gradually the demands of my career and family took me away from San Diego and the adventurous lifestyle I was used to.
Now, back in San Diego and being semi-retired, although I still ski, surf, and climb when able, my focus has shifted away (pun intended) from just doing adventure photography and I find I’m really fascinated by human interest stories. The obscure or little-known worlds that are all around us. My recent story about the Timekeepers horology shop, published in Encinitas Magazine, was so much fun to research and write, and I was so pleased that the photographs captured the unique flavor of that fascinating shop!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I returned to doing photojournalism full-time (or mostly full-time) at the beginning of this year and have published three stories and have some others in the works. I’m really interested in the human element of the world around us. As I mentioned, the Timekeepers article was fascinating, and I’m very proud of it–third-generation horologists trained by their father and grandfather in Croatia, they represent an Old-World testament to a dying art, a living example of our modern digital world colliding with a specialized field of refinement and artistry.
I also recently published an article about a dance school, Encinitas Performing Arts Workshop, now in its 26th year, that sets a very high bar on inclusion and fighting against the toxic body-shaming culture so endemic in the dance world. It was delightful meeting the dancers, learning about them, and capturing their artistry. I recently photographed a CrossFit competition for the gym I work out in, and it was so fun and rewarding! I think my life experience–ex-military, scientist, outdoor adventure enthusiast, having experienced different countries and cultures, growing up in very modest means but having climbed the corporate ladder–helps me to really appreciate the human element in the world around us and to capture that in my work.
Lastly, I think, as a lifelong photographer, scientist, and outdoor enthusiast, I have a deep appreciation for nature and the inherent beauty from the micro- and macroscopic to the larger world around us, and to work to capture that.
What’s next?
Gosh–I have so many ideas for stories there is no way I can do them all. My youngest son has 2 years of high school left, and my wife is an airline pilot, so I am a bit limited in being able to get away whenever I want, but there are so many places I want to go and document and find those interesting behind-the-scenes stories in!
Contact Info:
- Website: edmarshphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edmarsh.photo/
Image Credits
Ed marsh
