Your Bio

Hello. My name is Marten Blumen.

You can find some of my favourite photographs from my adventures here on SmugMug.


In 1998 I first started shooting with disposible film cameras around Sydney, Australia and have since learnt there is a little more to photography than a point-and-shoot! Over the next eight years I shot over 9000 slide frames from around the world and in the first week of owning a digital SLR I shot 1000 frames around Auckland. I now shoot digital or film SLR cameras based on the weather conditions. i.e in -25C mountain weather a film camera works much better than digital. In 2004 I had my first photo published in National Geographic Magazine and I currently am pursuing a career in photojournalism whilst spending as much time in the mountains as possible.

To round out my skills, this year, I am turning my attention to wildlife, advertising, and documentary photography whilst also teaching workshops in outdoor photography and post-processing.

Professional site:
http://www.martyblumen.com

Email:
martyb[AT]gmail.com or marty[AT]martyblumen.com

Galleries

North Island photos : For your consideration, photos from New Zealand's North Island.

North Island photos

For your consideration, photos from New Zealand's North Island.

Updated: Apr 16, 2008 12:45pm PST

NZAC Workshop 12/13-4-8 : I ran a photography workshop for the New Zealand Alpine Club at Mt Ruapehu. An informal affair from dusk until early morning, nine of us walked up Saturday night and photographed a variety of conditions including dusk, mist, advection clouds, night-time, starlight, quarter moonlight, dawn, and sunrise. We also saw some great optical effects including anti-crepuscular rays, Mt Taranaki in the shadow of the Earth, and alpine glow on Mt Ngurahoe. The temperatures were cold enough to form frost on the rocks and tent. With all of us mountain-able I could concentrate on a wide range of questions about photography from camera weight versus performance to white balance settings.

NZAC Workshop 12/13-4-8

I ran a photography workshop for the New Zealand Alpine Club at Mt Rua ...

Updated: Apr 16, 2008 12:21pm PST

Whakatane Workshop 4-4-8 : I tried out a photo workshop by a famous Kiwi nature photographer Dr Kim. Although I was bored for 4/5ths of it it was still worth going. My favourite photos were on the drive there at the Coromandal Peninsular, 2.5 hours east of Auckland.

Whakatane Workshop 4-4-8

I tried out a photo workshop by a famous Kiwi nature photographer Dr K ...

Updated: Apr 16, 2008 12:18pm PST

Bryces 23-3-8 : Bryce's Cafe bouldering cave - unwrapped! Wharepapa South, New Zealand

Bryces 23-3-8

Bryce's Cafe bouldering cave - unwrapped! Wharepapa South, New Zealand

Updated: Mar 23, 2008 1:05pm PST

Glenn and Cesca's 22-3-8 : The Photographers Selects - Glenn Pennycook and Fracesca Eldridge marry at Kaitarakiho Beach. The reception took place on a beautiful Easter night at Elevation Cafe, Waitakere, Auckland.

Glenn and Cesca's 22-3-8

The Photographers Selects - Glenn Pennycook and Fracesca Eldridge marr ...

Updated: Mar 23, 2008 3:13am PST

Digital photo library : Searchable stock library featuring digital photographs

Digital photo library

Searchable stock library featuring digital photographs

Updated: Mar 25, 2008 2:56am PST

NZAC climbing competition 8-3-8 : New Zealand Alpine Club Mt Eden Quarry Master's Rock Climbing Competition

NZAC climbing competition 8-3-8

New Zealand Alpine Club Mt Eden Quarry Master's Rock Climbing Competit ...

Updated: Mar 08, 2008 3:34am PST

NZAC Photography Workshop 7-3-8 : NZAC photography workshop, One Tree Hill

NZAC Photography Workshop 7-3-8

NZAC photography workshop, One Tree Hill

Updated: Mar 06, 2008 4:32pm PST

Captive animals - Auckland Zoo 2-3-8 : A full day shooting photos at the Auckland Zoo. An excellent introduction to 'wildlife'. The speed at which you have to work is amazing, even without the animals going anywhere!

Captive animals - Auckland Zoo 2-3-8

A full day shooting photos at the Auckland Zoo. An excellent introduct ...

Updated: Mar 02, 2008 3:12am PST

Mt Eden Quarry Long Side climbing 29-2-8 : Rock climbing at Mt Eden Quarry - Long Side.

Mt Eden Quarry Long Side climbing 29-2-8

Rock climbing at Mt Eden Quarry - Long Side.

Updated: Feb 29, 2008 1:54pm PST

House + quarry 27-2-8 : First digital long exposure shots. 30 seconds at ISO 800. Also William Pike's first abseil and climb since his run in with a volcano.

House + quarry 27-2-8

First digital long exposure shots. 30 seconds at ISO 800. Also William ...

Updated: Feb 27, 2008 11:15am PST

One Tree Hill 26-2-8 : One Tree Hill, Auckland. I tried out a Lowepro Slingshot 100AW bag for this run, it worked quite well but is more suited to climbing.

One Tree Hill 26-2-8

One Tree Hill, Auckland. I tried out a Lowepro Slingshot 100AW bag fo ...

Updated: Feb 28, 2008 2:19pm PST

Waitakere tramping 23-2-8 : Karamatura Track. Time: two hours, including a detour to a summit lookout. It was wet and misty and we had a blast planning trips over the next year.

Waitakere tramping 23-2-8

Karamatura Track. Time: two hours, including a detour to a summit look ...

Updated: Apr 16, 2008 12:28pm PST

Mt Eden Quarry Short Side 16-2-8 : Natural pro workshop at Mt Eden Quarry Short Side and my first digital SLR camera rock climbing shoot. Super fun!

Mt Eden Quarry Short Side 16-2-8

Natural pro workshop at Mt Eden Quarry Short Side and my first digital ...

Updated: Feb 16, 2008 2:40am PST

NZAC Workshop 16-2-8 : NZAC photographic workshop at Mt Eden, Auckland. I lead a successful photography workshop for the New Zealand Alpine Club. Four eager students walked up the hill before dawn to learn to '"create photographic opportunities."

NZAC Workshop 16-2-8

NZAC photographic workshop at Mt Eden, Auckland. I lead a successfu ...

Updated: Feb 16, 2008 3:02am PST

MacMillan samples :

MacMillan samples

Updated: Feb 14, 2008 12:02am PST

Advertising samples 14-2-8 : My first ever shots specifically for advertising. It's a different beast to editorial! UPDATE - I'm filling the gallery up new advertising shots.

Advertising samples 14-2-8

My first ever shots specifically for advertising. It's a different bea ...

Updated: Feb 16, 2008 2:41am PST

Digital Camera tests 12-2-08 : My first morning run with a Canon 40D digital camera. The preview screen on the back of the camera was great to learn how the flash was affecting and effecting the photograph. I could easily 'work' the scene to get a better photograph. I also found the 'live view' excellent to capture the silhouette of the horses. I placed the camera down low where I couldn't fit my head and could see the shot on the preview screen. A big thumbs up for digital!

Digital Camera tests 12-2-08

My first morning run with a Canon 40D digital camera. The preview scr ...

Updated: Feb 11, 2008 12:43pm PST

The Climber - Mt Ruapehu article :

The Climber - Mt Ruapehu article

Updated: Apr 16, 2008 12:25pm PST

Mt Taranaki Dec 2007 : Shiva Nami and I headed to Mt Taranaki on New Zealand's West Coast. We had a nice taste of alpine climbing and I'm hooked! The weather lived up to it's reputation, we had fine hot days, a crazy wind storm and snow all within 3 days.

Mt Taranaki Dec 2007

Shiva Nami and I headed to Mt Taranaki on New Zealand's West Coast. We ...

Updated: Dec 29, 2007 1:01am PST

Photographic submission :

Photographic submission

Updated: Nov 09, 2007 7:41pm PST

Whakapapa Alpine Adventures II : Photographs from a weekend of alpine skills training in the mountains with Glenn Pennycook. Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand.

Whakapapa Alpine Adventures II

Photographs from a weekend of alpine skills training in the mountains ...

Updated: Apr 16, 2008 12:22pm PST

Whakapapa Alpine Adventures : Photos from a days adventure on Mt Ruapehu's Whakapapa. All the climbing we did was within the ski field - we got lots of strange looks! 2007-07-09

Whakapapa Alpine Adventures

Photos from a days adventure on Mt Ruapehu's Whakapapa. All the climb ...

Updated: Feb 18, 2008 11:58am PST

The Climbing Life - June 2007 : There are many stories within these photos but I'll leave that until I see you in person.

The Climbing Life - June 2007

There are many stories within these photos but I'll leave that until I ...

Updated: Jun 28, 2007 1:18am PST

Urban dry tooling - Auckland : Dry tooling in the urban environment. 2007-6-14

Urban dry tooling - Auckland

Dry tooling in the urban environment. 2007-6-14

Updated: Jun 14, 2007 2:48pm PST

BW : Scotopic experimentations. Dutch Fusion '5 courses' party 2007-6-3 and Ti Point rock climbing 2007-6-4

BW

Scotopic experimentations. Dutch Fusion '5 courses' party 2007-6-3 ...

Updated: Jun 05, 2007 7:29am PST

Whanganui Bay : 2007-05-13 Whanganui Bay, Lake Taupo. After a sleepy 5 a.m. departure from Auckland all 10 eager climbers were at Whanganui Bay by mid-morning. It was a great two days of climbing. Other highlights were an awesome dinner, a stuck rope and a long drive home.

Whanganui Bay

2007-05-13 Whanganui Bay, Lake Taupo. After a sleepy 5 a.m. departur ...

Updated: May 20, 2007 5:12am PST

Mt Eden Quarry : 2007-05-06 Mt Eden Quarry 'Long Side' THE local inner-city crag with good, hard natural pro climbing and only a few bolts.

Mt Eden Quarry

2007-05-06 Mt Eden Quarry 'Long Side' THE local inner-city crag with ...

Updated: May 20, 2007 2:17pm PST

Nikau Cave : 2007-04-16 Exploring the 1km long Nikau Cave, Waitomo. After 44 days at the service center I finally got my external flash back and was super keen to try it out in a cave. It was an interesting setup. The camera was a Nikon F100 and the flash was a Canon Speedlite 420EX. To 'sync' them I set the camera on 'B' and held open the shutter until Shiva 'popped' the flash.

Nikau Cave

2007-04-16 Exploring the 1km long Nikau Cave, Waitomo. After 44 d ...

Updated: Apr 15, 2007 4:04am PST

The Pinnacles : 2007-04-08 An attempt to traverse The Pinnacles in summer, Mt Ruapehu.

The Pinnacles

2007-04-08 An attempt to traverse The Pinnacles in summer, Mt Ruapehu.

Updated: Apr 16, 2008 12:44pm PST

Marty's favourites : The reason I keep on shooting.

Marty's favourites

The reason I keep on shooting.

Updated: Apr 17, 2007 2:15am PST

Photo library : Photos from around the world. Images include landscapes, nature, rock climbing and various outdoor adventures.

Photo library

Photos from around the world. Images include landscapes, nature, rock ...

Updated: Jul 03, 2007 3:48pm PST

2007 NZAC Akl section winning images : I won 4 out of the 6 categories - Photojournalism, Alpine Activity, Rock Climbing and Humour - in the first competition I have entered.

2007 NZAC Akl section winning images

I won 4 out of the 6 categories - Photojournalism, Alpine Activity, Ro ...

Updated: Feb 16, 2008 2:37am PST

Top 12 Photo Keywords

auckland  ·  blue  ·  competition  ·  mountains  ·  new zealand  ·  new zealand alpine club  ·  nzac  ·  rock climbing  ·  silhouette  ·  snow  ·  sunrise  ·  sunset

Friends & Family