Biography
After working for years in an IT environment that left me completely unfulfilled, I decided that it was time for a change of direction. After many years as a keen amateur photographer, I decided to start a small landscape photography business which I ran alongside my main job. As business steadily increased, I found myself working long, but rewarding, hours just to keep up with the demand.
Then along came that memorable day in December 2006 which would change my life. I was unexpectedly offered early retirement with a pension that would be enough to supplement my earnings from my photography business and allow me to turn professional. I must admit I chewed the offer over for a good 2 seconds before I said yes please.
I now run my photography business full time with my wife Sheila who took early retirement from the same IT establishment also in 2006. I hold monthly sales at the Moot Hall in Keswick and exhibit at several galleries in and around the Lake District area. I have supplied images for several calendars and websites and contribute to a couple of stock libraries.
A major investment in January 2007 of a wide format printer allowed me to print some of my most popular images onto canvas and to produce larger prints on photographic paper, especially panoramas. This was a real turning point for the business which is now going from strength to strength. People seem to like what I produce and I now have many customers who collect my work. My love of fell-walking has allowed me to access and capture images of many of the places that visitors to the Lake District hold close to their hearts. ‘Memories on the wall’ is how I like to describe it.
The introduction of this new website and the re-branding of my old ‘Lakescenes’ image into ‘Martin Lawrence Landscape Photography’ will hopefully allow me to increase my internet sales and to reach out to customers both old and new in 2008 and beyond.
I live in Broughton near Preston with my wife Sheila and our 16 year old daughter Rebecca who is also a keen photographer. Our older daughter Debbie lives and works in London. I have a pine lodge at Bassenthwaite near Keswick where we spend many weekends and which I use as a base for my business.