I hold a Masters degree in East Asian international relations and Japanese language and history from the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and a first class history degree from the University of Nottingham.
I spent three years living in Japan and South Korea, and have travelled in over 40 countries on 4 continents.
The photographs here are a snapshot of my best atttempts to capture the magic of the world around us - a magic that makes travelling the greatest pleasure in life.
"The world is a book and those who do not
travel read only one page"
St. Augustine
steven.martin83_gmail.com
I lived in Okayama, Japan for two years, and during that time bought my first DSLR, a Nikon D40, as well as a 55-200mm lens and a 50mm f1.8. Japan has a wealth of stunning locations perfect for photography, from the futuristic wonders of Tokyo, to the austere elegence of Kyoto, and the stunning snowy wilderness of Japan's northernmost island, Hokkaido.
I lived in Seoul, South Korea for one year. It's an extremely welcoming, friendly place to live. One particular highlight was the stark, beautiful mountain range of Seoraksan in the north-east of the country, close to the demilitarised zone (DMZ), the border with North Korea.
Living in Japan and South Korea allowed me to travel extensively in Asia; to the Philippines (Christmas 2006/7), Thailand (summer 2007, summer 2009), Malaysia, Hong Kong & Singapore (Christmas 2007/8), Taiwan (spring 2008) and Vietnam (summer 2009).
I visited Tangiers, Fes, Merzouga, Marrakech and Essaouira in Morocco in 2010. The highlight was definitely the south-east outpost town of Merzouga. It's a town that feels like it's at the end of the world - a bit like Abashiri in Hokkaido but in a very different way, with oppresive heat and dryness.
I visited Croatia - Split and Dubrovnik - in the early summer of 2011. Here are some of the results.
