May 12, 2020

Meet Scott Dressel-Martin

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Dressel-Martin.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Scott. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m one of those rare people that has always know what I wanted to do in life. I picked up a camera at the age of 14 and still haven’t put it down. I realized immediately that photography was an excellent catalyst to meet people and learn their stories while still expressing myself creatively. I got a degree in Communications from Michigan State University because that major had so many options. It allowed me to take every photo and film class on campus from ever department and to work for my college newspaper as a photographer and later the photo editor.

I began my career in photojournalism for my local newspaper at the age of fifteen while still in high school. After Michigan State I went on to earn a Master of Science degree in photography from Syracuse University on a teaching scholarship. That long road of training has helped me to be an excellent problem solver in every photographic or filmmaking situation. My job is to ALWAYS deliver the images or video to the clients on-time and on-budget with creativity and professionalism. Photography is nothing if not creative problem solving. It’s my job as a photographer to figure out how to create the images they will best tell my client’s stories. Having photographs in so many differing situations has helped me amass a great collection of experiences I can draw on when photographing something new or in a challenging setting.

I started the company under the name F.8 & Be There with partner Dave Stout in 1993 while living in Vail, Colorado and working as the photographer for the Vail Daily newspaper. Our first venture was leading a successful photography workshop in Alaska. After Scott and Amy married in 1993, we bought Dave’s share of the company and changed the name to Dressel-Martin MediaWork. We changed the focus to photography, writing, publishing and then added video a few years later. We moved down to Denver in 1997 after a six month stint of writing and photography in Europe and have been building our client base ever since. Through the years we’ve worked with some of the greatest institutions in Denver. One of our first clients in Denver was Ocean Journey when it was still a non-profit. We’ve worked with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Children’s Museum, Children’s Hospital Colorado and Mundus Bishop and many others. Currently we are working with the Denver Botanic Gardens, InnovAge, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, VISITDenver, Denver Health, the Children’s Hospital Foundation, Hensel Phelps Construction, GH Phipps Construction, Lime Green Design, Valerian, Hord Copland and Macht, Design Concepts and many other businesses and institutions.

I can trace my entire career from person to person and if someone had the time and inclination to listen, I could explain in detail how each professional and personal relationship I’ve had throughout my career has helped me get where I am today. Nothing was by accident but nothing was a foregone conclusion either. We worked hard to get know and we were lucky to meet some great people along the way! You never build a business alone. You have mentors, clients, associates, friends and the odd stranger with a great bit of advice. The great thing about Denver is that ultimately our creative community feels like a small town. You run into the same people over and over. I have consistently worked with many of the same folks in different capacities in my 23 years in Denver. Denver has a very exciting creative community doing amazing work. It’s such a fun place to be working now!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We’ve been very lucky that our growth was very consistent in the beginning and eventually reached a very comfortable plateau. We have a busy and consistent level of business now. We seem to have found that sweet spot of having enough projects to stay highly motived and creative but not so much that we’re constantly stressed out. There were definitely days when we were waiting for the phone to ring or for a check to arrive. Luckily those days have long since passed and we’re now working on exciting project all the time.

Our business is very much word-of-mouth and is based on our reputation. I would say to any creative getting started in today’s world that every project is important and you need to do your best work. You also need to be easy to work with and accommodating. I consider myself very much a craftsman in my profession. Doing my work well and meeting my own extremely high standards is always a priority. However, I always keep in mind that I work as a commercial artist, not a fine artist and that my work in always in service to my clients. communications goals. I’m always focused on expressing my client’s brand and mission through photography and video. The benefit of working with clients for many years is that you really learn to understand their brand and culture and can help express that to the public in a very effective way!

Please tell us about the company.
We are a photography and video production company. Our specialty is creating entire libraries of images for our clients that they can use to express their mission and brand to their customers or communities. We work often with non-profit institutions to help tell their stories in an interesting, diverse and compelling visual style. Our video production work has been mostly focused on telling the important stories of our non-profit clients. Video is an emotional medium and we strive to capture the appropriate emotional impact with every project we create.

One of Scott’s specialties is photographing people that aren’t used to being photographed. Whether it’s new homeowners, seniors, kids or members of a corporate staff, Scott’s comfortable and easygoing style puts people at ease and let them relax and express themselves in front of the camera. I absolutely love to photograph people in their own worlds. To me everyone is beautiful and deserves to be photographed with respect and dignity. Everyone has a great story to tell if you just take a moment to listen and let them get comfortable with you.

I’ve worked in nearly every genre of photography from sports to landscapes to astro-photography. I’ve photographed scientists, doctors, preschooler’s, artists, rare wildlife, unique cultural events and amazing buildings around the world. People often ask me what my favorite subject to photograph is. I always answer the same. Anything in good light. It’s the quality and character of the light that makes an image really explode. I’m always looking for great light!

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
“Luck favors the prepared mind”, Luis Pasteur. We have two college age kids now and they can both tell you that our family motto is “Never let an opportunity pass you by without at least considering it.” What we mean by that is the opportunities about everywhere, all the time. It’s our job to recognize those opportunities and then run them through our personal filter to see if we can benefit from them or perhaps someone we know can benefit. We are all conduits for opportunity for ourselves and others. Where luck comes into that is that we’re always on alert for something positive to happen. Considering those opportunities and then deciding to jump at them is often viewed as luck. You were in the right place at the right time is an oft quoted saying. But if you weren’t paying attention and looking for positive opportunities you may have missed that “lucky break”.

I’ve been lucky enough to meet so many amazing, generous and creative people that have helped me build my career to what is today. Ultimately all business is about relationships. You have to get the work done and it has to be great, but being a good person that’s great to work is really the key.

I also can’t ignore that there are cultural biases and inherent privilege at play in my success. As a white American I believe I was offered opportunities that many in our society are never afforded. I don’t take that lightly and try to acknowledge that privilege when appropriate. I also try to help people that may not typically be offered the same opportunities I was offered as I went through school and built my career.

Contact Info:

Website: www.dresselmartin.com
Phone: 303-463-5992
Email: scott@dresselmartin.com
Instagram: sdresselmartin
Twitter: @dresselmartin

Image Credit:
Photo of me at work should be credited to Taage Dressel-Martin. All other photos are ©Scott Dressel-Martin.

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