Inspiration: Marcus Beretta
January 8, 2019
Toronto-based photographer Marcus Beretta can break down his creative process into three steps. The first is inspiration, then explanation and finally execution. Or as he says, “This is what I want to do, this is why I want to do it and then actually doing it.”
As a landscape photographer Beretta explains that it is his duty to show what it is like to be in a specific location. “I want the viewer to be right there with me when they see my photography.” Having a clear creative process helps him achieve just this.
Although his process is defined, it may not always work out in his favour. Beretta explains that his biggest challenge is weather; it could make or break all of his planning. Especially when his plans have been prepared beforehand and are time sensitive (like only having a few days in a certain location). But Beretta rolls with the punches, “if it’s raining and dark looking then [I’ll] go with that – I just document what I see.”
Something that may surprise you about Beretta is that he always shoots to print, meaning that his work is not complete until he edits and physically prints out his pictures. “I went to school for photography and come from the days where you have to print something and hand it in,” he says. For Beretta, it’s all about having a tangible end piece.
“I grew up on old National Geographic magazines, stacks and stacks of them. When you look at them, its raw imagery, it’s not filtered, it’s the photography of the given moment,” he says, as an explanation for the inspiration for his work.
When Beretta was interviewed for this piece, he asked to give a shout-out his parents - “Thank you to Cynthia and Mike.”