Eric Martin at the Ironside Gallery for Arts Arcata

Eric Martin says his goal with his photography is to challenge the viewer to take a second look and try to notice hidden subtleties in his work, and figure out what he is trying to convey. The name of his business, 2ndsights Photography, came about as a result of this goal.

He graduated from HSU's Studio Art Department in 2007 and has been a photography enthusiast since his first black-and-white film class at HSU with well-known photography professor Don Anton. While he was always interested in photography, Martin didn't know much about the medium. In fact, as a teenager he dreamed of becoming a career potter, having used the potter's wheel since he was 14. At HSU he focused on ceramics, but since he graduated, he started devoting more time to developing a style with photography.

Now 29, Martin aims to create visually striking work by overlapping multiple photos of common objects, places, textures and quiet phenomena, things and people one might pass by every day and may not appreciate.

His work references a common darkroom technique often called sandwiching, which he first learned about and tried during a beginning black and white film class at HSU. While several other ways to achieve the same effect using film, Martin works digitally to create the final product the viewer sees.

Sometimes his subject matter is easily identified, but often it is not on purpose. The layered imagery that results from his process could be said to hold a mysterious and even dreamlike quality, with a familiarity that draws the viewer to explore deeper.

Since he graduated, Martin and his partner have lived in Grass Valley, where he worked for an Americorps program, then Chico, where she received a teaching credential and he worked as a professional picture framer. They moved back to Humboldt in June 2010 because, he said, they missed the nature, ocean, family and friends who live here.

Martin says his biggest challenge has been figuring out the right career path to follow.

”I'm married now and we want to be able to purchase a home and raise a child, so I need to have consistent, reliable employment,” he said. “For most people that precludes being a career artist. I'm still working towards a career that can help provide us all these things. So I do my art at night and on the weekends.”

Once he moved to Old Town in 2011, Martin started displaying his work often in the local shops and says he has received positive responses.

”For now, my goal is to just keep displaying locally, so my work becomes recognizable,” he said. “Eventually I would like to market my photographs in the Bay Area and some of the places in between here and there. My goal is to have my photography generate a more substantial part of our income. Since we live in a globalized economy, I look forward to expanding my customer base to include people from the East Coast and even different countries.”

Martin can be reached through his online shop, www.etsy.com/shop/2ndsightsphotography or 845-9479.