Hey I’m Martina! Nice to meet you

My Story

I’ve always been enthralled with the world, seeing every corner as a painting or movie scene - sometimes to a distractive fault . Finding charm in the simplest of moments and things. The camera became the best way for me to channel that. I am first and foremost a travel + documentary-style photographer and videographer, but I also focus on commercial / brand work, portrait, and lifestyle.

I vowed to not only capture photos, but to capture the rawness, soul, and essence of everything I shoot. Here, we focus on cinematic storytelling, mindfulness, and connection to one another & the earth.

We live in a world that is constantly bombarded with division. Through my work I aim to create community through art, showcase the beauty and humanity that exist in the world, and bring light to the human experience.

While photography has been my biggest passion since I was a child taking photos of water droplets on blades of grass, I ultimately decided to double major in Multimedia and Communication Studies at McMaster University, and then a Post Grad in Event Management at Niagara College. This has provided me with a broader range of knowledge, which (aside from photography & videography) led me to work in event planning & coordination for over 8 years, and marketing / social media & content creation for over 6 years.

I am a sucker for meeting people and creating impactful relationships. I am fascinated by peoples’ lived experiences and life lessons, and the way they light up about their passions. Let’s have a coffee chat, whether that is virtual or in person. I find that it’s important to resonate with the people we our putting our energy into.

My Influential Milestones

  • My parents and I immigrated from Bulgaria to Toronto, Canada in 1995 with very little money. With a lot of hard work and very tough years, I grew up watching my parents become successful business owners. They’ve always encouraged me to follow my dreams and work hard on my passions. Growing up in a multicultural society blessed me with learning about my friends’ different cultural traditions and stories. This is something i’ve always treasured and the kind of depth I seek to capture on my journeys.

  • When I was in middle school I started spending a lot of time shoving myself into flowers, rolling in the grass, and capturing every landscape and candid moment on family trips with my small digital camera - trying to describe the artistry to my friends and family. Then in high school I had a wonderful photography teacher who constantly inspired my path and helped me grow into the art.

  • After unforgettable trips to Iceland and back home to Bulgaria in 2018, with a range of inspiration from the simplest of moments to the grandest of landscapes and immense beauty of our planet, the little creator voice inside of me came rushing out. Internally, I knew it was time to commit to visually telling stories and inspiring others to seek more depth in travel, connect to nature and one another, and to find the joy in the simplest and oftentimes, seemingly mundane. I’ve leaned into this in full force since.

Inspiration behind a lot of my work

  • Nature

  • Movement

  • Emotion

  • Connection

How I try to approach life

Living intentionally and learning about / practising emotional intelligence.

Get to know me even better

You can often find me:

On the road somewhere, out in nature, dreaming up new creative projects, and shamelessly goofing around.

I was born beside the Black Sea (my mom’s side); the other side of my family near the mountains. I will forever be inspired by, and drawn to the ocean. And I will forever have a soulful tie to mountains.

I am absolutely in love with travel (if that’s not obvious by now, ha!). I think it’s the most humbling, educational, and life altering activity we as humans can partake in. We develop so much empathy and discover ourselves. There is an unspoken connection between humans around the world, and travel reminds us we can all connect in many ways we never would have thought when we sit at home and see everything as foreign or “other”.

I’m an adventure girl through and through - in my free time I am exploring new corners, meeting new people, or enjoying adventure sports - I love hiking, snowboarding, ATVing, and recently tried surfing for the first time; instant love.

Although I am normally quite calm and laid back to the general public, I have a theatrical soul. People who know me best will often find me singing, dancing, and getting lost in music. Performance and a plethora of art forms run in the family on my mom’s side. Dance has actually been a significant art form for me for many years. It was, and still is, my connection to deep inner emotion and a release of expression. It remains prominent in my life in many ways, and very often shows up in my work.

I tend to be a wanderer who finds home in different places. For me home base is different than home. This has been a tough concept to grasp over the years, as a life like this is unconventional to most. I am someone who very deeply connects to people in my life, so life is often an emotional journey.