Martin’s Biography

Art interested me from childhood, and I began a career with photographs made on film in 1988. I established a commercial photography business and a film processing/printing laboratory. I wanted my finished images defined by the end-to-end actions that went into creating.

It didn’t take long to realise that artists need business skills to thrive. Despite work and family commitments, I attended the University of Nottingham Business School and 1994 received a Master of Business Administration in management and marketing.

With the rise of digital camera systems in the early 1990s, I sold the laboratory in 1996. I moved to a career in digitalisation, where I developed a profession for the next twenty-four years. This led to being the global head of marketing and sales for a division of Capgemini and leading sales operations for the CAC 40 Group.

Since its conception, digital photography has fueled the most remarkable age of fine art photography. In 2018, I resigned from my executive vice president job and established Martin Urch Photography to concentrate again full-time on visual arts.

Until my retirement in December 2024, my business provided commercial and fine art photography, specialising in maritime and hospitality brands. I traded as “the photographer to grow your brand,” leveraging the knowledge gained as a chief marketing officer. I also set up Incredible Journey indie publishing.

Throughout the last 15 years, I have visited urban and rural parts of India many times. My empathy for India's culture led me to produce photojournalism about the need to protect its special places and customs. I am now a Trustee of Tigers4Ever, which works to give India’s wild tigers a wild future.

I am lucky to have visited over 50 other countries and met with indigenous people who shared their customs and beliefs. I travel and write about national heritage and culture in retirement, continuing Incredible Journey as a photo essay newsletter.