Marisa Martinez OM magazine

INTERVIEW
(4) OM-D E-M1X |
M.Zuiko 150-400mm
F4.5 TC1.25 IS PRO
1/2000s | F4.5 |
ISO 800
OM | ISSUE 001 | JAN-MAR 2021

What’s in Marisa’s kit bag

(5) OM-D E-M1X |
M.Zuiko 60mm F2.8
Macro
1/2000s | F3.2 |
ISO 250
OM-D E-M1X
(6) OM-D E-M1 Mark
II | M.Zuiko 300mm
F4.0 IS PRO MC-14
1/320s | F6.3 |
ISO 800

(7) OM-D E-M1 Mark
II | M.Zuiko 300mm
F4.0 IS PRO MC-14
1/160s | F5.6 |
ISO 400
M.Zuiko 40-150mm
F2.8 PRO

M.Zuiko
300mm F4.0 IS PRO
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my OM-D E-M1 Mark II with 7-14mm
F2.8 PRO lens.
In the town where I live, we have
a drinking fountain where numerous
species of birds, reptiles and small
mammals visit. During a hot summer
night I decided on a photo session
with a rodent species, the garden
dormouse, but to my surprise, while
shooting this impressive specimen of
owl came to cool down in front of my
camera (8). My hands were shaking
when I tried to change the lens to the
40-150mm F2.8 PRO without making
a noise!
And a final favourite image, this
features the battle between two male
mountain goats (4), and is a recent
shot with the new 150-400mm F4.5
TC1.25x IS PRO and my E-M1X. It was
very exciting, and a great reward
after the hard ascent to be able to
see and photograph these impressive
animals ramming their antlers to
demonstrate their power and strength
in front of the females.
Has your photography changed
since travel restrictions have been in
place, and if so, how?
It has changed a lot. This year, there
were six scheduled international
trips that had to be cancelled due

M.Zuiko 12-40mm
F2.8 PRO
to restrictions and of the 10 national
workshops, only three could be held
in spring/summer. I have resorted to
photography in nearby areas, always
complying with the established rules
due to this new situation; fortunately,
we have a wonderful country with a
lot of biodiversity and many animals
that make it easy to obtain images in
nature. During lockdown, we
took the opportunity to practice
macro techniques and organise the
photo archive!
To my surprise, while
shooting this impressive
specimen of owl came
to cool down in front of
my camera

M.Zuiko 1.4x
Teleconverter MC-14

M.Zuiko 2x
Teleconverter MC-20

What is the first thing you would like
to photograph or a place you’d like to
visit when moving around gets easier?
The first international destination
I have planned in May is to revisit
Yellowstone National Park in the
United States. Spring in Yellowstone
is an explosion of life: wolves, black
bears, grizzly bears, bison... all
these animals with their young and
cubs – plus you can still find snowy
landscapes. It will be a good start to
get back to normal!
8

What would be on your ultimate
wish list to photograph over the next
five years if you had the chance?
I have always enjoyed travelling a lot,
to different destinations and taking

5
9

10
11

I have always enjoyed
travelling a lot to different
destinations and taking
photos of all the natural
wonders on our planet
(8) OM-D E-M1X | M.Zuiko 40-150mm F2.8 PRO
1/100s | F5.6 | ISO 250
(9) OM-D E-M1 Mark II | M.Zuiko 300mm F4.0
IS PRO
1/250sec | F4 | ISO 800
(10) OM-D E-M1 Mark II | M.Zuiko 40-150mm
F2.8 PRO
1/1250s | F2.8 | ISO 320
7
6
46
(11) OM-D E-M1X | M.Zuiko 300mm F4.0 IS
PRO
1/1250s | F4 | ISO 320
photos of all the natural wonders on
our planet, but of course I also want to
continue taking photos and highlighting
the nature of my country. Firstly, in
terms of international destinations I’m
planning to travel to two countries
that I have not visited before, and that
I actually had to cancel due to the
pandemic. These are Brazil, to take
photos of jaguars in the Pantanal,
and the Philippines for underwater
photography. Other destinations that
are scheduled are Papua New Guinea,
where I will take photos of birds of
paradise, and repeat destinations like
India, Kenya, Svalbard, Yellowstone,
Florida, Ireland... I’d have answered
quicker if I’d just have said that I want
to travel the world!
What advice would you give to
someone starting out in your field?
Observing nature up-close is a
great way to get started if you’re
interested in nature photography,
and binoculars (the new Olympus
10X50 S are a good option) are great
for getting a closer look. Getting
to know the habits of wild animals,
such as the branches a bird prefers
to perch on, or the favourite trees of
squirrels, will make it much easier
to understand their movements and
capture great photographs of them.
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The next step that I recommend is to
belong to an association of nature
photographers who would usually
do group outings with their partners,
or to join a specialized workshop
with the opportunity to learn in a
more personalised way and put that
knowledge into practice.
If you are just getting started in
photography and don’t want to spend
a lot of money, I would recommend
the E-M5 Mark III and the new
M.Zuiko 100-400mm F5-6.3. And if you
know that nature photography is your
thing, upgrading to the E-M1X and the
new 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO
is the perfect professional kit.

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