Benedict Brain says it’s a small world, and you never know who you will bump into again…
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 in the September 2022 issue of Digital Camera magazine. 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
