I Travel the world through her lens ~ Maria, SNAPD Photographer & friend

She is a teacher, world traveler and documentary photographer. I met Maria Tuckler, 13 yrs ago at Ryerson in our history of photography class. We clicked instantly and I am proud to call her my bestie. Surrounding myself around strong artistic women is a blessing I will always cherish. SO, I asked Maria a bunch of questions and to share some of her work. Scroll below...

How did you know you wanted to be a photographer?

Photography has been an interest since I was little. Every time I had a camera in my hands, I would point it at people and things, and the resulting photos would end up in a bunch of albums I would put together after filling up each one. I’ve collected a bunch of old school albums which eventually have morphed into photo books.

While in university, I had wanted to explore my creative side and a friend, who was doing Film at Ryerson would tell me about the Photography program there. But it wasn’t until after university and settling down in my career, that I had the time to devote to my love of photography. I took every course available, not only at Ryerson, but at OCAD, George Brown and Humber College. I wanted to learn from different instructors and different aspects of photography.

I didn’t know I wanted to be a photographer, I only knew I wanted to learn everything about it... But that lead to a photography business that allowed me to meet a ton of people and has led me to build a business and now to work as a photographer and writer for Snapd Magazine. A job that I love as it allows me to combine the several aspects that I enjoy about Photography: taking pictures, meeting people and being creative.

Can you describe a specific photo or series of photos that you are most proud of?

Back in 2008, I was yearning to do something different, something more challenging and engaging. I had many ideas and after thinking about it for a while decided on a whim over sushi on January 1, 2009 that on that day I would start a 365 Selfie Project. That was the best decision I could have made. From that day for a year, I would take a selfie in a variety of settings and post it daily on my Flickr page. It was hard work at times, but the project taught me about discipline, dedication and photography skills I had not explored before, and also left me with an immense sense of pride for the accomplishment at the end of the year.

Who is your favourite photographer?

I enjoy and appreciate the work of many photographers, but I’m a big fan of Anton Corbijn’s work. I like his gritty, grainy and raw style. I came across his work through my favourite band, U2… He has photographed U2 for decades and I’ve loved his style since.

How would you describe your style?

I have dabbled with many different styles of photography trying to understand and learn from each one. But I personally like images that are not sharp, a bit blurry. We are constantly trying to live life in focus and always need to see things clearly, however, life is a blur, constantly in motion. I like photographs that lean toward the way life really is.

I also work with a lot of black and white. I love colourful, contrasty, bright images, but my true love lies in black and white. There is simplistic purity in black & white that I enjoy.

What kind of camera do you shoot with?

Currently I work with Canon. I have 3 Canon bodies: Canon 40D, 7D & my new toy, 7D Mark II. I also have 2 lenses that are my workhorses: 24-105mm L lense & Tamron 17-50mm…

What's your next project?

At the moment, I’ve got several ideas but work gets in the way of my hobbies. I actually want/need to organize the many negatives, binders full of prints, photos and files. So, my organization project takes precedence at the moment.

What is your dream photo project?

My dream project would be to photograph my two favourite bands in concert all over the world. I have had the opportunity to photograph The Heavy in concert in Toronto (twice), Paris, NYC & Tokyo… I would love to follow The Heavy and Kaleo from city to city to document their awesome concerts.

View more of Maria's work here on flickr and follow her on instagram @travelmt40

Thank you for reading/viewing!

Until the next post,

Daniela xoxox