I like this photo more than the original portrait I made of him in Belfast; it captures the essence of his character more fully

Benedict Brain is a UK-based photographer, journalist and artist. He is an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society and sits on the society’s Distinctions Advisory Panel. He is also a past editor of Digital Camera Magazine, and the author of You Will be Able to Take Great Photos by The End of This Book .

This is Marty, a professional bridge player (the card game). I first met Marty while sailing on a ship between Lisbon, Portugal and New York City, USA, in early 2022. I was one of the ship’s lecturers, giving talks about the art and craft of photography, and Marty was the ship’s onboard bridge instructor.

I made a portrait of Marty as we wandered around the streets of Belfast on a damp, drizzly day. He was an interesting and intriguing character and a compelling subject. I wrote about the image I made of him on a different trip in a previous column . To my surprise, I met Marty about a year later on a different ship in the North Atlantic. We were sailing in and around Iceland and Greenland, but I never made a portrait of him on this trip, which was a shame.

This second encounter made me think what a small world it is, but it is even smaller when you consider that I bumped into him again in Miami in January 2024 as we both boarded a ship bound for LA.

I made this portrait (above) of him on this trip, during which we spent more time chatting and swapping stories. I discovered more about his intriguing lifestyle and found out that, since 2004, he’s spent over 4,500 days (that’s over 12 years) at sea on cruise liners.

Hopping from one ship to the next as a travelling bridge instructor, he spends as little time on land as possible. There’s more to his story, too, so I managed to record a short interview with him this time, which I shall edit and share soon.

I had used the original portrait I made of him in my book, You Will Be Able to Take Great Photos By the End of This Book , so I was thrilled to give him a copy of it, which he liked. I like this portrait more than the original portrait I made of him in Belfast; it captures the essence of his character more fully. I wonder where in the world I’ll bump into Marty next, but I feel confident I will, and I look forward to making another portrait of him then!

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