Born July 25, 1983, in Corpus Christi, Texas, I am the oldest of four children. Over the years I have either lived in, visited, or been deployed to over a dozen nations around the world. Mexico, France, Spain, Italy, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Kuwait, and Iraq to name a few. The majority of my travels took place during adolescence, and left lasting impressions including an appreciation for various artistic styles, and a more broad understanding of world cultures.
Photography became an outlet for creativity, as well as a means for reflection on life, while I was deployed with the headquarters element of the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom III (2005-2006) and Operation Iraqi Freedom V (2007-2008). My photographs provided a link between deployed soldiers and their loved ones, affording those at home an opportunity to see their loved ones from thousands of miles away. After receiving a good deal of praise from people around the world, for showing a side of war seldom seen, I decided to pursue photography more seriously.
-- Anthony J. Martinez