Martin Osner standing on the roof of his Land Rover, photographing a dry riverbed
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The Studio Journal

Two kinds of writing, both by Martin. Stories are the making of a work or a series. Essays are the thinking: art and the camera, Photo Alchemy, the joy of creating, and collecting.

Martin Osner on location
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Stories and essays from the workbench

Written from forty years at the easel, in the darkroom and in the classroom. New writing about twice a month, and a written companion for every long film.

Abstract Photography, Explained by an Artist | Martin Osner
Story

Abstract Photography, Explained by an Artist

What is abstract photography? Martin Osner explains the two kinds of abstraction, the techniques behind his own work, and how to look at and enjoy it.

Abandoned Car Photography, No.36 in the Karoo | Martin Osner
Story

Abandoned Car Photography, No.36 in the Karoo

Abandoned car photography by Martin Osner: the story behind Abandoned No.36, a forgotten car on a Karoo hill near Klaarstroom, and the book of all forty.

When the Lens Becomes a Brush | Martin Osner
Story

When the Lens Becomes a Brush

From weathered boats to leftover paint on scrap paper, how photographic montage turns the lens into something closer to a brush, and the series it made.

Eternal Shepherd, Painting Jesus as Shepherd | Martin Osner
Story

Eternal Shepherd, Painting Jesus as Shepherd

A shepherd painting of Jesus by Martin Osner: the story behind Eternal Shepherd, a palette knife work he made for himself, and why it moved so many people.

Fields of Gold, a Karoo Landscape Painting | Martin Osner
Story

Fields of Gold, a Karoo Landscape Painting

A Karoo landscape painting by Martin Osner: the story behind Fields of Gold, near Montagu, an open gate, a windmill and years of photographs, now in paint.

Street Photography Stories: On the Move | Martin Osner
Story

Street Photography Stories: On the Move

Street photography that tells a story: six candid black and white moments from one week in Cape Town in 2007, and how Martin Osner's On the Move was made.

The Story Behind Ayanda and Her Sisters | Martin Osner
Story

The Story Behind Ayanda and Her Sisters

How a leftover sheet of aluminium became Zinhle, how she found a twin, and how Ayanda made them sisters. The story of Martin Osner's Tshazile paintings.

Intentional Camera Movement: Creation's Story | Martin Osner
Story

Intentional Camera Movement: Creation's Story

Intentional camera movement in a misty forest: how Martin Osner made the four Creation photographs in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, days before an exhibition.

Letters from the studio

New writing and new work, once a month

A short letter when there is something worth sharing: a finished painting, a new collection, an essay, an exhibition opening. No schedule for its own sake.