We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andres Marin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Andres, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
As a photographer, I aim to capture memorable experiences, our lives can be narrowed down to a series of events that total our entire existence. I strive that through my work I can document those precious moments that make people who they are and to accentuate why certain locations around the world are unique.
In retrospect, the significance to me transcends from the experiences I’ve gone through in my life and the effects they’ve had on me. Whether it was learning through positive or negative outcomes or the journeys that have changed me for the better. This led me to conclude that I want to capture a memorable experience from any adventure or individual I associate myself with, as it would be a way to document a milestone I perhaps wouldn’t have even considered achieving. In a way, it motivates me to better myself and seek out challenges in life that my experiences would allow me to overcome such obstacles through the education I acquired through them.
Andres, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’ve been in my field for nearly a decade as a photographer, I mainly focus on landscapes, cityscapes, architecture, and certain experimental styles of photography such as multiple exposures and long exposures for story/artistic purposes. I got into my industry while working at a Marketing Firm that aimed to launch marketing strategy plans for start-ups and local brands. Throughout my experience working at the firm, I learned about appreciating the atmosphere, environment, locales, and community certain locations offer.
Once I began to understand what I wanted out of my photography I released a series of Prints, which inadvertently led to one of my first private commissions. I was asked to create a series of 5 large photographic murals for a client, the aim was to capture the essence of the city they reside in, in this case, it was Austin. Throughout the process, I realized certain factors I wanted my work to reflect on my creation outcome which was enlighting and allowed me to grow personally and professionally.
That being stated, is one of the reasons why I believe I am best suited over others in my field as I have the ability to experiment and seek out what is best for my clients. In addition to the quantified experience of a variety of diverse projects and endeavors, I’ve had the fortune of being part of. Growing up abroad for a larger part of 2 thirds of my life has thought me about different cultures, their view of life, and what is around them.
Moreover, it was an experience I try to carry throughout my work, to reflect certain factors in life we should appreciate more often than we choose to. Such as the environments and atmospheres we choose to be around and the attributes that makeup who we are. This led me to embark on a life project when I turned 20 that is somewhat still in the making, highlighting Urban Nature and its importance of it in our everyday lives. Which Austin clearly embraces and it is something I am overjoyed to be part of every day.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The ability to manifest my fundamentals, beliefs, ideals, and missions into reality. It brings peace of mind to be able to showcase what I stand for through my work, it allows for both personal and professional growth, and for adventures alone or with others with far or alike mentalities. This is frankly refreshing, because it teaches me to view life differently through others’ eyes.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
You’d probably read this and think “Great another guy talking about Jordan Petterson, Vishen Lakhiani, Yuval Harari or some other mainstream author.” that is completely acceptable, Everyone has the right to their own point of view, and frankly, that’s what I love about discussing such topics because it allows me to view certain things I’ve read in ways I otherwise wouldn’t if I didn’t explore it with other people.
My top 5 Books would be
1. Code to the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani
2. 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson
3. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
4. How the world thinks by Julian Baggani
5. The Subtle Art of not giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
My one takeaway from each book would be
1: Be experimentally creative for innovation
2. Discipline is key to an organized efficient life
3. Historical knowledge is crucial for the understanding of certain fundamentals in society.
4. Internationalism is unavoidable and understanding other cultures gives you an upper hand to interact with them in the future.
5. Do not care what others think, there will always be people who won’t agree with you and that is okay, just do you.
These are by far some of the best resources I’ve had to “get out there” so to speak and be able to focus on my endeavors.
Contact Info:
- Website: andresmarin.org
- Instagram: Andresmmedia
- Twitter: Andresmmedia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB6X1ZKHgTXbX641t2NEUzQ
- Other: campsite.bio/andresmarin