This is the story of a boy and his camera.

1. In 2004 my Grandpa, (Al Rogel) took me to Best Buy and said, “get what ya want”.  After a lot of back-and-forth decisions, I decided to pick up a Sony DSC-W1 at the time, I believe it ran for close to $500! After reading the manual a few times (I love manuals to my toys) and figuring out every detail of every mode I eventually learned some things about photography.
2. Being an adept at the things I enjoy, I began to amaze people in college with what you can do with a little point and shoot camera.  I became known as, “onephotonerd”.  I dove into photography with every chance I could by reading blogs, buying books, talking to experts, and watching countless “how-to” videos on YouTube.  People would say things like, “you have such a natural eye…” or that I’m “naturally gifted.”  The truth is however, my natural eye stunk. I had to LEARN how to see things differently.  Seriously.  I remember having breakthrough moments where I would apply a visual technique like the rule of thirds and just be able to feel the emotional difference between photos, I blew myself away sometimes.  Creativity can be learned.  Inspiration can grow from knowledge.
3. In 2007 it was finally time for my first SLR.  I went with the Nikon D200, which I named Colbie (after Colbie Caillat).  I purchased the 17-55 f/2.8 lens from Michele M. Waite whom I found on Craigslist.  Her work became a source of inspiration for me (and still does!). After realizing the capabilities that I now had with more bells & whistles my creativity began to skyrocket.  I had much more control with this camera, it’s like driving a muscle car after you’ve been driving a civic your whole life.
4. In the summer of 2008 ALL of my gear was stolen the day after I graduated from college!  I have some strong evidence telling me who did this but the fact remains that I lost everything.  The worst thing about it is that Allstate told me that because I had accepted money in exchange for photography in the past that I should have had business insurance and they would not help me out whatsoever.  #fail
5. For about 3 months I was without camera.  I saved up a lot of money working as a Mechanical Engineer and decided to get back into the game with the best camera I could get.  My friends and family really encouraged me to get back into photography as well.  It was pleasantly surprising to hear just how much my lack of photography had affected people and how much they wanted me taking pictures of them!
6. After purchasing a Canon 50D and a Canon 5D Mark II with some L-glass lenses, some strobes, some alienbees, softboxes, umbrellas, light modifiers, gels, tripods, monopods, I was ready to be dangerous with photography again!
7. Since purchasing Colbie II (the Canon 50D – also a cropped sensor like the D200) and Jocelyn (the 5D Mark II) I have booked countless gigs doing everything from weddings and senior portraits to product photography and light painting.  I have seen an exponential increase in the quality and satisfaction that I deliver to clients since I got back into the game and it seems like with each new week I am leaps and bounds further than the previous week.
8. Now that I have been laid off as a Mechanical Engineer my sights are set BIG!  I plan on being the most well-known and valued photographer in Vancouver, WA.  For real.  That is my goal and I have full confidence that I will hit it in 3 years or less.  For now I want to focus on weddings, lifestyle, and portraiture but also include many other forms of photography such as fine art, macro, product, food, etc…
9. So far I have been able to make a living solely off of photography.  With my rapid rate of growth and large goals I plan on growing and expanding David Martschinske Photography to great heights.  Some dreams of mine are to do destination weddings and destination vacations (where I document your family vacation).