Living in a small house in Burnaby with a wife and three daughters, there was little room for photographer Rick Marotz to develop his pictures — but he found a way.
Marotz converted the only bathroom into a darkroom, and when it was free, he got to work.
“I couldn’t spend too much time in there,” he laughed.
Marotz came to Canada from Germany in 1954 and met his wife on the boat on the way over. After working as an architectural draftsman and designer, and living in Burnaby for 26 years, Marotz retired and moved to a house he designed on Pender Island, complete with a professional darkroom.
In 2003 he and his wife moved to the area to be closer to their daughter who lives in Coombs, and their grandchildren.
Over the years Marotz has taken a variety of photos and won numerous awards. He enjoys taking landscape and nature photos and his awards have included the Kodak International Newspaper Award in 1982, first place and judges choice at the 2004 Brant Festival and Best of Show in the 2005 Oceanside Arts Festival. He was a major contributor to the book The Expo Celebration and has been featured in Canadian Camera magazine, also winning contests in that magazine.
Marotz recently exhibited his brilliant French Creek Harbour photos at the McMillan Arts Centre (the MAC). He said he feels the harbour is a moody place and likes to portray this into his photographs. Marotz has shown his work four times at the MAC, but his most recent exhibition this past summer was his last, he said. He may show his work at the Island Exposures Gallery down the road, but he is now 84 years old and ready to retire from exhibitions. But that won’t stop him from taking pictures, he said.
“I hope to get better, there’s always so much to learn, even though I’ve been doing photography all my life.”