Meet Martina Gonzalez Bertello | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Martina Gonzalez Bertello and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Martina, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
There wasn’t an exact moment where I decided to pursue anything artistically, it’s more so a hobby that for the first time I wasn’t getting bored of. I’ve been doing photography for a little over 3 years now and it’s still something I can constantly learn from. When I first started it was through my first digital camera (Canon Rebel T6I). So it was first digital photography, then film photography, then learning how to work in a darkroom and develop and print my own film, and this year I’m beginning to get into cyanotyping. So there’s a lot to explore in this medium.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It started with night photography where I would drive around looking for spots that’d look interesting. I had my own lights that I had bought to help achieve certain looks I had in mind. I quickly got into film photography with a Minolta X-370 and started to shoot conceptual ideas in the daytime. Then came black and white photography where a film class I had taken taught different film formats and techniques. I’ve learned that I enjoy many different styles which makes it tricky when you’d like to stick to a certain theme. I go back and forth from wanting to curate a very specific style to wanting to explore every avenue out there.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Raleigh has a lot of greenery and a lot of favorite coffee shops of mine. My favorite places to take people are the NCMA, the farmer’s market, or one of our many parks. Reader’s Corner I go to when I need prints or a cheap book. Trunkshow when I need something to stand out in my apartment. CAM and 311 Gallery on First Fridays when I’m out in the downtown area.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
As far as mentorship, NC State’s Craft Center was where I had first took a class on digital photography. And soon after graduating it was at UNC where I had my first class in the darkroom where I learned to develop and print my own black and white film photography. Southeastern Camera and The Fotoshoppe are where I buy and get my film developed around here, but they also offered a lot of help whenever I’d get stuck on something.

Instagram: marto.graphy