Marcelo Canizares

Marcelo Canizares’ initial interest in photography was with landscapes. Inspired by Ken Duncan’s work, the Sydney-based photographer started capturing outback vistas while on a visit to the Northern Territory in 2010. At the outset, all he had was a point and shoot, and only picked up a DSLR in 2011.

Canizares has been a graphic artist for almost 10 years. Shortly after his Northern Territory trip, and frustrated at the countless hours spent trawling through stock libraries looking for a perfect image to use in his design work, he decided that he could do better. And so began an interest in a career as a professional photographer. “I had a great visual in my mind,” he says, “but I could never find the perfect photo to bring that idea to life. This led me to consider taking my new hobby a little more seriously.” The idea Canizares initially had was to combine design and photography and have total creative control over his work. In order to hone his skills, he studied at TAFE, in Sydney, from 2012 – 2014. And by 2015, he had a string of awards for his work.

Given his design background, Canizares likes to shoot images of a commercial nature, but he’s also open to experimentation. “I’ve always had a fascination with surrealism and would like to further explore this in a photographic sense,” he says.

Some of his recent awards and accolades include winning the Advertising category of Australia’s Top Emerging Photographers 2015, being named Advertising Photographer of the Year 2015 (non-pro) at the International Photography Awards and being a finalist in the Discovery of the Year 2015 category at the 13th Annual Lucie Awards.

Canizares’ plan is to continue to working in the commercial/advertising sector. With a current focus there, he is all about crafting detailed images, rather than snapping the event of a fleeting moment. “I get a real kick out of seeing a visual concept or idea come to life,” he says.

www.marcelocanizares.com