Luca Martinez is a nature and wildlife photographer and videographer from Miami, FL. It was likely destined, as when he was a little boy Luca wanted to be outside from sunrise to sunset. He couldn't wait to be in nature and growing-up in South Florida meant he could be outdoors almost every day of the year.
His love for ospreys took him to the Everglades where he's been shooting regularly for the past three years. Lost for hours and days at a time, he draws inspiration from the subtropical wilderness among the grasses, cypress trees, and wildlife. Luca spent months wading through remote cypress domes and sloughs. It was the crystal-clear water and vibrant green aquatic plants that kept him going back. But only seeing it from above wasn't enough. His curiosity took him below the surface where he realized the world underwater in the Everglades is just as extraordinary and alive as its dry reflection.
Luca has introduced the beauty of a rarely experienced Everglades to more than 100 million worldwide viewers through viral cinematic videos on social media. When he's not out in the field, Luca gives talks about the wonders of the wetlands where he takes the audience through his experiences diving in cypress domes and photographing wildlife.
Luca is deeply passionate about inspiring his generation and others about the importance of preserving our South Florida ecosystem. He hopes to be doing this forever.
Awards + Achievements
- FOX Weather interview, Wild, August 2022
- Cover and feature story, Everglades Foundation Magazine “The Everglades in Our Hands: 28 Youth Voices Making a Difference” August 2022
- Interview on WLRN, Sundial, Wildlife Thursday, April 2022
- Collaborations with Everglades Foundation, UNESCO & Google, 2022
- Contributing photographer for BBC Earth
- Out of Chicago Global Photography Conference Instructor, 2021; youngest instructor to be invited to present at the conference
- National History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year - youth category two-time finalist, 2020 and 2021
- Center for Great Apes Photography Contest Winner and Exhibition 2019
- Miami Waterkeepers Junior Ambassador
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